Donnan coy over MSU job 10/22/03 By JOHN PRUETT Times Sports Editor [EMAIL PROTECTED] Is Jim Donnan interested in replacing Jackie Sherrill as Mississippi State's football coach? "Right now, I'm interested in playing with my grandchildren,'' Donnan told the Huntsville Quarterback Club Tuesday night when the question was raised. "I was interested in the Kentucky job last year, but that didn't happen. I'm not sure anybody's interested in me. "I certainly miss coaching,'' he said. "It was a big part of my life.'' Donnan, an ESPN football analyst, was the head coach at Georgia from 1996-2001, compiling a 40-19 record before being asked to step aside by Georgia president Michael Adams. Before coming to Georgia, Donnan - a former quarterback at North Carolina State - coached several championship teams at Marshall University. Sherrill, in his 12th year at Mississippi State, announced last week that he would retire at the end of this season. The Bulldogs, who went 3-8 and 3-9 the previous two years, are 2-5 after Saturday's 45-13 loss to Auburn. Asked if he had heard who might be in the mix at Mississippi State, Donnan mentioned two names - Florida assistant coach Charlie Strong and Tulane head coach Charlie Scelfo. "After this weekend,'' he said, "I'm sure there'll be a lot more.'' There has also been early speculation that Mississippi State athletic director Larry Templeton might have Green Bay Packers assistant Sylvester Croom, a former Alabama assistant, on his list. Earlier this year, Croom was one of the three finalists for the Alabama job that went to Mike Shula. Among Donnan's other QB Club observations: On Auburn's resurgence after an 0-2 start: "I've never seen a situation where a team has surprised me as much as Auburn - both early and now. A lot of teams are going to lose to USC. Then, the next week, Georgia Tech sold out everything, took a lot of chances, and all of them worked. "But right now, Auburn's one of the dominant teams in college football. It's a great tribute to Coach (Tommy) Tuberville, his staff and his players.'' On Alabama's 3-5 record in Shula's first year: "That would've been tough for any coach to take over in those circumstances. I think Coach Shula will do a good job. But right now, it's tough.'' On Tennessee (4-2 after consecutive losses to Auburn and Georgia): "Alabama has a chance Saturday because Tennessee's in a similar situation,'' Donnan said. "For the first time in years, Tennessee doesn't have that dominant defensive line or a wide receiver who scares you to death or a couple of those star linebackers. That goes back to recruiting. "They just don't have the talent they've had.'' The SEC divisional races: "The Auburn-LSU winner will go a long way toward settling the West. Georgia's pretty much in control in the East. Of course, they've got to beat Florida. And their Auburn game will be a war.'' Predictions on this weekend's Auburn-LSU and Tennessee-Alabama games: "I picked Alabama and LSU to win. But I certainly think Auburn could go to Baton Rouge and win. Now that I've thought about it, I'm going to hedge a little bit on that one.'' ACC expansion with the addition of Miami, Virginia Tech and Boston College: "They've definitely hit a home run,'' Donnan said. "The SEC? A lot depends on what Vanderbilt wants to do, but I haven't heard of any changes in the works.''
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