Rippee Writes: Bianco thoughts and golf updates
A head coaching search in limbo, golf fights, and a Magnolia State golf check in.
A happy Wednesday to you all. We have a new podcast out with Rebel Grove's Zach Berry. We looked back on the Ole Miss 2021 football recruiting class, how the pandemic has changed the recruiting landscape and what to look for in the 2022 class. Check that out here or anywhere you get your podcasts.
We've got a lot to get into today. Let's go.
Report: Bianco, Godwin to interview for LSU job in person
From the moment Ole Miss was eliminated from the NCAA Tournament in Tucson on Sunday night, the speculation regarding Mike Bianco and the LSU vacancy has intensified. The season offered a bit of a cover for a story that was already very real as far back as 10 days ago, but now, with the bats put away for the summer, it has emerged into the mainstream news cycle. Glenn Guilbeau of USA Today reported that Bianco and East Carolina head coach Cliff Godwin will interview for the job in person in the coming days.
I find what's causing the shroud of mystery over these proceedings particularly fascinating. This coaching search is not out of the ordinary in the sense that decision makers want to operate in secrecy, with bits and pieces slowly leaking out via the media. The unusual aspect of this search is the lack of uniformity on the LSU side in terms of who is really calling the shots, who the preferred candidate is and a timeline for making the hire. Couple that with the fact that Bianco, seemingly the consensus front runner at this point, gives no indication on what he's thinking to anyone, not even his own assistants, and you have the odd dynamic we're currently witnessing.
As we wrote about on Monday, this is really a no-brainer on Bianco's end, right? He gets a fresh start at his alma mater, a pay raise and better advantages. His other option is to gamble on himself to make Omaha in 2022 or run the risk of being out of a job due to the program growing stale. What's the decision here and what's the hold up?
I don't know how this plays out. I think I do, but I have learned over the years that trying to accurately get in Mike Bianco's headspace is an incredibly tough task. What I do know is this: if Bianco shows up to an in-person interview for this job, Ole Miss has to move on. The optics of having your sitting head coach interview for the same job at a division rival are brutal, particularly if he ends up deciding to come back to his current gig. Maybe that's a little dramatic given the cache Bianco has acquired through building this program from the ground up, but he's essentially admitting he sought out a better opportunity but decided not to pull the trigger. Even if that is true, (which it is: LSU is a better job than Ole Miss) having your head coach say the quiet part out loud as he rides into a 2022 season with steep expectations is a weird dynamic at best and full-on toxic at worst.
I am torn in my thoughts on the report. I don't know Guilbeau personally beyond a handful of brief interactions in press boxes, but I do know he's been around the block a time or two and is plugged in. At the same time, I don't totally buy the idea of Mike Bianco going down to interview for that job thinking his current one will still be waiting on him when he returns, but then again, self-awareness is not always his strength. That doesn't mean I am doubting Guilbeau's credibility or that he was told this by someone that would know. I guess I just have doubts about Bianco actually ending up in an in-person interview.
Who knows how this shakes out. The writing appears to be on the wall. The only thing keeping this from being concrete is not knowing the headspace of No. 5.
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Magnolia State golf update:
It's a huge week for Mississippians in professional golf. We've got a pair of guys teeing it up at the U.S. Open and a few more continuing on the Korn Ferry grind. I've promised a feature on Wilson Furr this week and I will have that out later today or tomorrow at the latest. This highly glamorous grease salesman life can be time consuming. Anyway, let's check in.
All eyes are on San Diego this week as the 121st U.S. Open is played at Torrey Pines.
Jackson native and Alabama alum Wilson Furr made it thru sectional qualifying last week in the craziest of fashions, including pulling a caddie out of the gallery eight holes in (more on this later). Furr turned pro two weeks ago and now might have the wildest professional debut in golf history. That's slightly hyperbolic, but you get the point. He tees off with Mario Carmona and Davis Shore at 10:47 CT tomorrow morning off No. 1 tee and then 4:42 Friday afternoon of No. 10.
Tupelo native and Mizzou alum Hayden Buckley made it thru sectional qualifying as well. Buckley tees off at 2:41 tomorrow afternoon off No. 1 tee with Taylor Montgomery and Jordan Smith. The group goes off No. 10 tee at 8:56 Friday morning. Buckley had a hell of a week last week. He finished T-8 at the Korn Ferry event and qualified for the U.S. Open. Buckley is 34th in the Korn Ferry Tour standings after winning in Florida earlier this year.
Best of luck to both guys. I cannot wait to watch.
The Korn Ferry Tour churns on in Wichita, Kansas, this week. Three Mississippians are in the field.
Tupelo native and Mississippi State alum Chad Ramey tees off at 6:55 a.m. on Thursday and 12:15 on Friday. Ramey made his 16th consecutive cut last week in South Carolina and has missed a grand total of three cuts in the 34 events he's played in this wraparound season. He's 10th in the standings and well in-line to remain inside the top 25 and earn a PGA Tour Card, and has done this without winning on this tour. It's impossible to overstate how hard this is to do and how impressive his consistency is. Go look at his results log and you'll feel worse about every facet of your golf game, and there's no shame in that.
Olive Branch native and Ole Miss alum Braden Thornberry tees off at 1:39 tomorrow afternoon and 8:19 Friday morning. He's missed back-to-back cuts but four top 10s in this elongated season have kept him in the mix. He's at 52nd in the standings and within striking distance of creeping inside the top 25 with a win or a string of top 5 finishes.
Brandon native and Ole Miss alum Jonathan Randolph at 7:37 tomorrow morning and 12:57 on Friday. Randolph has made five of his last six cuts, but sits at 99th in the standings. Realistically, his focus should center on getting inside the top 75, which would qualify him for the Korn Ferry Finals, a four-tournament stretch that awards 25 additional PGA Tour cards at its culmination.
Hattiesburg native and Alabama alum Davis Riley is taking the week off. Riley locked up his PGA Tour card officially last month by reaching the fail-safe mark in the points standings, meaning no matter what happens, he has earned enough points to remain inside the top 25. In reality, Riley essentially locked up his PGA Tour card over a year ago. He won twice on this tour before the COVID shutdown and is a victim of this pandemic-induced wraparound season. In a normal year, Riley would already be on the PGA Tour. He's essentially spent 2021 biding his time and cashing checks, as well as gunning for a 3rd victory that would grant him an immediate battleground promotion to the PGA Tour. Riley's had a remarkably quick ascent in professional golf and is a star in the making.
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Punches thrown, arrest made on the Korn Ferry Tour
We had a wild story unfold on Monday at the Korn Ferry Tour's Monday qualifier. If you're unfamiliar, Monday qualifiers sometimes bring together quite a cast of characters. It's where guys cut their teeth trying to carve out a life in professional golf. You basically enter a one-day tournament that awards anywhere from 2-5 spots (depending on the event) into the actual tournament later that week. It's a mix of mini-tour guys, Korn Ferry Tour players with partial status, former PGA Tour veterans trying to reclaim their career and even college kids testing the waters on summer break. You also have a few random clowns who slip in under the radar. For example, some dunce got in this week's qualifier, carded a front nine 56 (not good, in case that needed to be clarified) and was asked to leave the course.
The aforementioned scenario is not all that uncommon. What is completely uncommon is physical violence, though I am a proponent of more violence in golf. Who wouldn't want to see Bryson and Brooks wrestle in the rough or joust with the flagstick? Anyway, here's the scene: A threesome consisting of two professionals in Austin Dailey and Derek Fribbs, and a collegiate player at UT-Martin named Luke Smith — who had his father on the bag — teed off on Monday morning. The group fell behind pace of play, not all that uncommon when the entire group struggles. Usually, the group makes it a point to play as quickly and efficiently as possible to catch back up.
Well, the issue sprouted when it became a consistent theme throughout the round that Smith and his father refused to help look for wayward shots. This is a common courtesy at any level of competitive golf. When a guy hits one into the woods, bushes, or whatever, you go help him look for his golf ball. Beyond it being a total asshole move to just stand there while a guy trudges through the gunch looking for his fifth slice of the round, it helps with pace of play, which was clearly an issue already. After a couple instances, Dailey politely noted that it would be helpful if Smith and his father helped look for lost balls. Seems straightforward enough.
Well, little did Dailey know, he was dealing with a pair of psychopaths. The father-son duo immediately began shouting at Dailey about his quality of play, including the father yelling that his son "didn't come out here to look for golf balls." I find this funny given Smith's scoring average at UT-Martin is north of 76, but I digress. This is just a wildly rude and psychotic response to a polite and basic request. Dailey, a bit stunned, brushed it off and began walking to the next tee. Next thing he knows, the younger Smith ran after Dailey, tackled him, punched him a few times and, according to the police report, "held him down until he called uncle." That's a real line in the report, I swear.
Fribbs, who was already on the next tee ready to hit. Runs over to try to break it up, only to encounter Father Smith wielding his son's putter like a lightsaber, ready to beat the living piss out of anyone who looked at him. The group behind them called the pro shop to come break up the melee. Dailey pressed charges against the younger maniac and had him arrested. Fribbs apparently finished his round by himself, failed to qualify and then had his entry fee refunded for having to witness this cage match before noon on a Monday.
Just a wild, wild story on all accounts. The Smiths are from Covington, Tennessee, outside of Memphis. I'd love to know what Father Smith's Sunday wolf game is like and whether or not this is the first time either one of them has assaulted a playing partner before. Can you imagine asking someone to help you look for your ball and having him wave his putter around at you like it's a samurai sword? I honestly do not know how I would react.
Best of luck to the two pro’s in their quest to make it in professional golf. As for the Smiths, well, I bet no one presses on the back nine in their weekend group anytime soon.
On the horizon:
- feature on Wilson Furr's wild path to the US Open
- Mailbag Friday returns.
That's all from me today. Thanks for being a loyal subscriber. Send to your friends and tell them to join the fun. Have a wonderful Wednesday.