Enter The Carousel- Weekend Football Edition

Busy couple of days for coaches... on the good side for a change...

The Army Black Knights have decided to pull from the 1-Double A ranks, plucking Rich Ellerson ((pictured, thanks Johnston/AP)) from Cal Poly to be their new head coach...

Army tried the hyper-trendy spread offense earlier in the year under former head man Stan Brock- with less than stellar results. Brock was relieved of command and in comes Ellerson. Ellerson is widely-regarded as one of the best triple-option coaches in the country. Army went back to the offense most fitting its personnel late in the year, but it was too late for the previous regime.

"One of our primary goals of the search was to find someone capable of turning around our program immediately and we are confident Rich is the perfect individual to accomplish that," Army athletic director Kevin Anderson said in a school-issued news release.

Ellerson's offensive philosophy of running the triple option is appealing to Army, which uses the option as a base offense. He also has family ties to West Point.

"I know that the offense that we run was the hook that got me into the middle of this search," Ellerson responded in the same school-issued news release. "The reason the offense is so successful and the reason it's so appropriate at Army is that it carries over to every phase of the game and carries over into recruiting. We're going to find some novel solutions to problems in order to give our cadet-athletes the best possible opportunity to be successful on Saturday."

He will be formally introduced on December 30.

"Rich has the experience we need," said Army superintendent Lt. Gen. Franklin L. Hagenbeck. "An award and title winning head coach who runs the option, Rich also has extensive ties to West Point and the Army. Not only are his father and two brothers members of the Long Gray Line and career Army officers, but his brother John was the captain of the 1962 team that went 6-4."

Ellerson also assisted Army coach Bob Sutton when he installed his "Desert Swarm" defense at West Point, which helped carry the Black Knights to a 10-2 record and a berth in the Independence Bowl in 1996.

Issue Two: Meechigan State

Sparty must be a happy man right now as the Fighting Dantonio's will be around for another period of time- healthy bonuses included. If he stays through the 2015 season, he gets $2-million for hanging around that long above and beyond the contract dollars he gets.

Dantonio's contract remains a five-year rollover deal with a base salary of $618,000. His overall compensation will rise to $1.8 million per year, up from $1.13 million, because of increased supplemental income.

The new contract rewards stability, according to Michigan State president Lou Anna Simon and athletic director Mark Hollis. Dantonio will get $200,000 each year if he is still the coach through June 30 of that year.

The Michigan State University plays The University of Georgia in the What's-In-Your-Wallet Bowl on New Year's Day.

Not to be outdone... Issue Three: Go Towson

Rob Ambrose was hired as the football coach at Towson on Saturday, signing a five-year contract with his alma mater after serving for seven seasons as an assistant at Connecticut.

Ambrose, a 1993 graduate of the Football Championship Subdivision school, was offensive coordinator at UConn for the past four seasons. He becomes the fourth head coach in the 40-year history of Towson football.

"Rob was on our list from the very beginning," athletic director Mike Hermann said. "We had an outstanding field and discussed this opportunity with many well-respected coaches. At the end, it became clear that Rob Ambrose was the best choice to lead our program."

Ambrose started his coaching career at Towson before he graduated. After an injury ended his playing career during his senior season, he joined the coaching staff as a student assistant and coached the wide receivers.