Turner Gill Lands On His Feet At Liberty

It's not Buffalo, and it's certainly not Kansas but it's a Division I head coaching job. Rather than take a year sabbatical and enjoy life, Turner Gill is getting right back into the coaching game with Liberty University of the Championship Subdivision.

(Take note, wise stallions: the Akron job is still officially available. And he took this one. Makes you wonder if that one is officially unofficially spoken for by an unnamed coach who still has another game left to play.)

An FCS job really isn't all that bad. It seems diminished compared to a Big XII job, sure, and it's probably a touch below the MAC, where I think he can return someday. Many able coaches have gone from the FCS to the MAC in one promotion. Off the top of my head, Jerry Kill and Pete Lembo come to mind, and Dave Clawson was additionally a swell FCS coach.

Plus he gets to possibly coach in playoffs. Jealous, everybody else?

And Liberty is the kind of team that could finally get there. They've never qualified but were oh-so-close this year, losing to Stony Brook in their final Big South game to finish 5-1 in the conference but the bid went to Stony Brook. They're coming off four straight winning seasons and actually beat Ball State last year, which is why their previous coach Danny Rocco left for a better job: Richmond.

Gill has the chance here to rebuild his reputation. It's not a rebuild job, though, like Buffalo; it's a stay-good job. Sometimes those are higher-pressure tasks than rebuilders. But it'll be nice to see him finally dealt an advantageous hand and see what he does with it.

Update: Now Liberty is mulling over a leap to the Bowl Subdivision.