Is it coach recycling or simply those with connections getting jobs?

Amy: Whoever coined the phrase "one man's garbage is another man's treasure" must have been speaking of coaches.

Gary Crowton has gone from the trash heap to the Museum of Natural Wonders just by changing jobs. While BYU loyals talk about the Crowton years like the Great Depression, Oregon fans are amazed at their good fortune.

Chuck: Maybe the "Peter Principle" caught up with Crowton in Provo. Just like it caught up with me when I was asked to co-write this column with you.

Crowton's chaos in motion puts up points in the college game. It was in the pros where his offensive schemes were criticized for lacking sophistication.

Amy: Either that or he has better horses, a better head coach (to guide him) or better karma. My point is sports seems to be the epitome of the Good Ol' Boys network. It's one of the few places where who you know is more important than what you know, and everybody KNOWS it!

Chuck: Only sports? "Better connected" has a .900 winning percentage going one-on-one against "more knowledgable" regardless of playing field.

So tell me, are they "Good Ol' Girls" when a women's coach gets canned and lands another job with one of her XY coaching cronies?

AMY: What's good for the gander should be good for the goose. Only us girls don't have nearly the network the boys have because they've been "playing" so much longer.

Chuck: We'll see how the GOB network treats John L. Smith after "Petering" out at Michigan State.

According to the Principle's coaching corollary: Football guys rise to head coach positions at schools commensurate with their compentency, only to be hired away for coaching jobs beyond their abilities at bigger schools.

Still, it's mind-blowing talking this way about the last coach to enjoy any success at Utah State. Or who walked on mint juleps at Louisville where he was once a hotter commodity than TMX Elmo.

Can Big-10 football be that much of a step up? Or is it just a run of bad luck following so much good?

Amy: I doubt John L. is losing much sleep over his probable dismissal. He'll get the rest of his contract money and some former coaching or playing buddy will offer him a job before the door has a chance to hit him in the behind.

While this recycling coaches thing baffles me, I'm more concerned that sports writers will never really know what players and coaches think of each other, management or the game's officials.