Earlier blacks had a better chance of excelling in the army rather than sports but that seems to be changing with rise of blacks to position of top football coaches. They are being hired for the coveted jobs by football teams. Larry Porter got the cap at Memphis, Joker Philips was handed over Kentucky and Charlie Strong got his program to run Louisville and we are still counting. Even UT has hired a black head coach for a major sporting event. Also there seems to be less or no resistance from top bosses to hire black coaches, so it seems the trend is changing.

College football has always lagged behind in hiring black head coaches and as a result Black Coaches & Administrators or BCA was created in 1988 for advocating hiring of minors. It even maintains a report card of schools conducting hiring every year. 2010 season is expected to see a total of thirteen black head coaches. History was created in 2008 when London won a Football Championship Subdivision national title at Richmond under a black. One of the reasons why blacks don't get the coveted job is that they tend to lag behind on the progression ladder. In very rare circumstances schools offer top coaching jobs to candidates who have not been a head coach at lower level and this creates an obstacle for the blacks. The past two hiring seasons have been good and therefore it has given a ray of hope to black candidates. I feel this has to change forever and discrimination on the basis of color has to become a thing of the past.

These guys had breakout seasons in 2009 and moved on from being role players to All SEC caliber players.

Give below is a list of SEC players who will be a treat to watch during season 2010:

John Brantley

This 6 foot 3 inches player weighing 217 pounds had to put in a lot of hard work with first team offense and possesses all the skills of being counted among one of the three quarterbacks in the SEC next season.

Marcell Dareus

He is definitely a player to watch out for and is expected to be the next big defensive lineman for Crimson Tide. He was named as the Defensive MVP in the National Championship Game held in January after returning an interception 28 yards for a touchdown and showing the exit route to Texas quarterback Colt McCoy. Even though he appeared in four games last summer but still ended up with 9.5 tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks. He is a linesman to watch out for sure.

Ronnie Wingo Jr

This 6 feet 3 inches, 220 pound sophomore is fast, furious, tough and can catch the ball out of the backfield. Last season he played all the games and was ranked fourth in terms of total yards and carries and averaged 6.5 yards per carry. Players like him can really wreck apart the opposition on their day.

Rueben Randle

This 6 foot 3 inches player weighing 200 pounds has all the qualities to be the 'it player'. He was dubbed as the No. 1 receiver prospect when he signed up with the Tigers. Last season he started as a freshman and was able to catch two touchdown passes with an average of 15.7 yards per catch. He has just started and will be someone who needs to be watched closely this season; he holds a lot of promise for sure.

Sean Richardson

This 6 feet 2 inches and 210 pound player has got all the qualities to be a big star next season. His 84 tackles last season already made his presence felt in the league last season.

Though I don't like any player staying out of the team but still everybody can't make into the team. You may call it luck or hard work or sheer excellence but these are some of the factors which decide inclusion or exclusion of players in the team. Besides this past performance of the player, current fitness and lot other factors too tend to decide the fate of the player. This year too some will make the cut and some will have to cool their heels on the benches. Given below are some of the players which could be avoided this season:

Clinton Portis
He went unnoticed last season and some believed that he still could contribute to the cause of the team. Age and injury seem to be catching up with him and he may no longer be considered as worthy.

Ladainian Tomlinson
In sports the moment you start touching the age of thirty your value seems to diminish even if you still have got that energy to keep on going. Ladainian Tomlinson is still a very classy guy and if used properly can be quite effective for the team but it seems that he is not in demand anymore.

Ronnie Brown
A talented guy but unfortunately has been ridden by injuries of late. In the last three years he has undergone two surgeries and that seems to have taken toll on him but he shouldn't be underestimated as on his day he can be a game changer.

Willis McGhee
This guy lost his job to Ray Rice and has seen lotta action around the goaline but this year doesn't seem to be for him.

Thomas Jones
He has witnessed some of the best years of his career and even though he seems to have a good fantasy value he may not be sought after as he was in the previous year though he could be a good pick around seven of the draft. Eventhough there is no dearth of talent but selecting a rookie at the moment could be risky. Thomas Jones will still command some fantasy football value but it may not remain the same forever.

No NFL in 2011??? This is impending if labor issues are not sorted out pretty soon. In case no deal is struck in next five weeks it could lead to similar situations as witnessed in 1987 and with no salary cap next season it would mean affluent teams such as New England Patriots and Washington Redskins will be able to spend more than teams such as Buffalo Bills and Jacksonville Jaguars and forcing other teams to fork out more cash even if it means stifling themselves.

In case no deal is struck for 2010 it would mean no NFL in 2011. Also the chances of striking a deal before March or starting of new NFL season looks quite bleak and with players having stronger bonds than before it could mean a lockout situation. The problem as usual is money despite average franchise value of $1 billion and rising TV ratings.

In 2008 NFL owners opted out of the contract and even asked for givebacks from players which included reduction in salaries by nearly 20%. This would work out to $800 million as the overall NFL revenues have been estimated to be around $6.5 billion. Owners feel the agreement expiring next year is more advantageous for the players as they get sixty percent of the revenues which is used for deciding the salary cap.

They intend to achieve an economic system which would be appreciated even a decade later and a right structure could lead to better benefits and salaries for current and retired players. If nothing works out it could lead to similar situation of 1982 and 1987 when unions went on strike. Uncapped season has been unheard of since the time contract system was brought into effect with current free agency and salary cap systems.

This would mean a different system will come into play with no limit on high end or low end or spending of the teams. Each team will have a free hand but this does not mean that NFL salary structure go on the lines of baseball as competitive balance rules will be in effect during the uncapped years. Since there would be no minimum salary cap, small market franchises will not be required to spend like bigger teams rather they would only spend what their pockets can afford.

I feel as fans of the game in such situations the best thing would be to keep your fingers crossed and hope for the best.

When college and professional football season comes to a close it is time of the year when the ritual of coach hiring and firing takes place and this year is certainly not different from the rest. Around 21 college football coaching changes have been witnessed until now and some of these decisions will bring good news for the teams whereas others will have to bite the dust.

It all started with Pete Carroll leaving USC and moving back to NFL. Most of us don't remember that Pete Carroll has previously coached in NFL and he was with the Jets and New England during the nineties and is even credited with the record of 33-31 which he achieved in five NFL seasons but never seemed comfortable in the pros. Later on he tasted success at USC where he was involved in two BCS National titles and compiled a 97-19 record in nine years. Carroll could have moved out of USC due to imminent NCAA sanctions but the money offered by Seattle was too good to be ignored. It is expected he could infuse new strength in Seattle by adding young players and give their teeth back to them. Though the gun may not be placed on his head immediately but he would be expected to bring some good results in another couple of years or so.

Lane Kiffin has now been given the task of taking over what Pete Carroll left and he even brings along his father Monte Kiffin and top recruiter Ed Orgeron with him but if you ask Tennessee Volunteer fan what they think about Kiffin there is always a chance that you might end up with hundred different answers. If we look at Kiffin's track record then he was just 5-15 in the NFL with The Raiders and this can be termed as total disaster. Questions are being raised on his abilities and some feel USC should have waited for some one better.

If you talk about Chan Gailey then he can be dubbed as Bill Fitch of football coaches and is said to have an impressive coaching resume and experience of head coach with Georgia, Troy, Samford, Tech and even in NFL with The Dallas Cowboys. Though he has wins under his belt and is a player's coach but Buffalo Bills need someone like Bill Cowher to take them out of the mess.
Even Notre Dame has hired Brian Kelly as its new football coach and he joins the team after having performed some kind of magic at Cincinnati achieving a career record of 34-6 in four years with the team. Notre Dame has made good decision by hiring Brian Kelly who would certainly perform a better job than Charlie Weis.

Coach hopping has just started so stayed tuned for some more action in the future on this front.