COMMENTARY

By Matt Hayes

updated 9:16 p.m. ET Aug. 11, 2006

Matt Hayes

It's a sure sign, all right. A team is struggling, the coach is panicking, and the inevitable reach for a quick fix follows. The head coach fires a coordinator, promises new schemes, new attitudes and a new direction.

"It's the reality of our business," Texas A&M coach Dennis Franchione says.

The reality is this: If Franchione doesn't get things straightened out at Texas A&M, he'll be part of the next quick fix. For that reason, this is the most important spring practice of his coaching career. And he's not alone.

Three coaches at major BCS programs are at a crossroads, and each must use this spring to find a way out of the mess.

Franchione
The Aggies hired a new defensive coordinator, Gary Darnell, and are implementing a 4-2-5 scheme to combat spread option plays, which have become increasingly popular in the Big 12. The Aggies want more speed on the field to limit lateral movement -- and to reduce the 31.4 points per game the defense has allowed over the past three seasons.

Larry Coker, Miami
Two losses in one season doesn't cut it at Miami; three is unacceptable. Six over the past two seasons is tragic. You better believe Coker is feeling pressure, no matter how he downplays it.

He gutted his staff (five new assistants) and says the Canes must throw the ball with more confidence.

Miami has been a run-first team under Coker, relying on big backs to wear down opponents and set up play-action passes. New coordinator Rich Olson, who ran a one-back system under Dennis Erickson at Miami, and quarterbacks coach Todd Berry, who ran the spread as head coach at Army, want to use more three- and four-receiver sets, and they plan to throw more early in possessions.

That means quarterback Kyle Wright has to make quicker reads and better decisions. The staff also will tinker with using speedy, rangy wideout Lance Leggett in the slot to gain matchup advantages.

Phillip Fulmer, Tennessee
The '05 Vols were the biggest underachievers of the past two decades. So Fulmer, like Coker and Franchione, retooled his staff and started over this spring. The only difference: He brought former offensive coordinator David Cutcliffe back into the fold instead of searching for new ideas.

Then again, when Cutcliffe had the Tennessee offense rolling in the 1990s, it didn't matter that everyone in the stadium knew what it was doing. This, though, will be Cutcliffe's biggest test. He must rebuild quarterback Erik Ainge's confidence and give the offense an identity again -- something it hasn't had since 2001. And he has to do it fast.

Boosters -- and eventually administrators -- get antsy when change doesn't result in change.

When a quick fix doesn't translate to a quick fix.

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