Familiar Names

A story headlined Report: Tennessee Titans Coaching Search Taking Shape has two names of potential candidates that should be familiar to Dartmouth football followers.

First is a former Dartmouth defensive back from the class of 1998. From the story:

Matt Burke The Titans gave Burke his first professional start in 2004, so it would be a reunion of sorts for the Dartmouth graduate. … Houston hired him as the defensive coordinator in 2023 to serve under defensive mastermind/head coach DeMeco Ryans. The Texans' devastating defense is a top-five unit in the league.

Find a Dartmouth Alumni Magazine story about Burke HERE. 

The second familiar name the Titans may consider is the son of one of the all-time Dartmouth greats who coached under Buddy Teevens – and brother of a former Big Green quarterback. David Shula '81 doesn't get a mention, but his famous father does. Again from the story:

Chris Shula Shula is the grandson of legendary Dolphins head coach Don Shula and has been quietly making a name for himself without the help of the family legacy. 

Chris Shula is defensive coordinator for the Los Angeles Rams. 

Read the story about the search for a new Tennessee Titans coach HERE. 

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No promises on how long it will available before YouTube takes it down, but if you need a Dartmouth football fix and want to relive one of the Big Green's signature wins from last fall, click you can watch the entire broadcast HERE.

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It probably won't happen anytime soon in the FBS playoffs, but an unseeded team has made it to the FCS championship game. Here's part of what Craig Haley wrote for The Analyst (LINK):

With a 30-14 victory at No. 12 seed Villanova in a national semifinal Saturday night, (Illinois State) became the first team to win four road games in a single playoff – and it’s all part of a nine-game road winning streak since mid-September.

Additionally, coach Brock Spack’s 12-4 squad is the first unseeded team in an FCS playoff with 16 seeds (the 1995-2000 and 2024-25 seasons) to advance to the national championship game.

Illinois State will face second-seeded Montana State, a 48-23 winner over Montana, for the FCS national championship on Jan. 5 at Vanderbilt's FirstBank Stadium in Nashville.

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EXTRA POINT

The drenching rain a couple of days ago washed away much of our snow but there's still a good chance of a white Christmas here on our Vermont hillside. Depending on which forecast you believe, we could be in line for anywhere from one to four inches of the white stuff on Tuesday. Fingers crossed.