College Football Coaching Carousel Impacts Creve Coeur Stars

The end of the college football season is a time where coaches are hired and fired, and student-athletes, those playing at "the next level" and the high school kids who want to be, are left to figure out what the moves mean for them.

This year, current and former prep standouts from Chaminade and De Smet Jesuit are among those really caught up in it.

In February 2011, Christian Suntrup followed through on his verbal commitment to play Quarterback at Boston College and signed his letter of intent, despite late pushes from new coaching staffs at Michigan and Miami.

Read: Student-Athletes and Families Happy Recruiting Process is Over

"He learned about making a commitment...and he didn't waver from that commitment. He didn't talk to other schools, didn't think 'Oh, Michigan, that's pretty cool, or Wisconsin, or Iowa or some of the other schools," his dad, Tom Suntrup told me at the time. "So he really kept to his word, and that's a real nice trait to have," the elder Suntrup said.

Fast forward to the present.

The Eagles struggled for a fourth season under Head Coach Frank Spaziani, who was fired at the end of the season. The new coach, Steve Addazio, brings a different style of Quarterback play to BC. Addazio came from Temple, where he replaced Al Golden after the 2010 season.

Golden left Temple after 2010 to go to Miami, where he tried to recruit Suntrup in February of 2011 before Suntrup stuck with Boston College.

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De Smet Jesuit senior defensive lineman Donnie White, Jr. got a scholarship offer last spring from the Arkansas Razorbacks, but that was two head coaches ago. Bobby Petrino, who made the original offer, was fired in scandal, replaced by John L. Smith on an interim basis. By all accounts, the offer still stood despite the switch. White took a visit to Boston College this fall and ended up making a verbal pledge to Tulsa last month. He can't make it official until February.

Consider this: Of the 9 schools to offer White a scholarship according to Rivals.com, already four of them have either fired their head coach or will need to find a new one heading into next fall.

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The wheels are still spinning on many coaching searches, which could have local impacts. The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel says Iowa State's Paul Rhoads, former Chaminade running back Rob Standard's college coach, could be on a list of candidates to replace Bret Bielema at Wisconsin. Bielema bolted Wisconsin for Arkansas.

Parkway Central grad Brandon Sheperd saw his head coach Mike Gundy interview with Tennessee before staying at Oklahoma State. De Smet Jesuit's KeVonn Mabon, now at Ball State, saw his college coach linked briefly to the Boston College job before it went to Addazio. It really is enough to give observers a headache.

We're not forgetting the very important fact that student-athletes are getting a free top notch education out of these scholarships, regardless of where they go, how much they play or who is coaching them. 

I hope the student-athletes don't forget that either, while they soak up their own lessons about commitment as the coaching carousel keeps on spinning.