[Tuck4Bama]

STARKVILLE — Bob Toledo's job description as Tulane's head football coach goes beyond the recruiting and the play-calling.

It's a day-after-day combo of all that, plus some glad-handing, public speaking and being the point man for a department in need of one. Plenty of hats to wear, eh Bob?

"Everybody wants a piece of me, but I've got to coach football," Toledo said with a laugh.

Tulane, which hosts Mississippi State Saturday night at 6, made a splash of sorts last December when it hired Toledo, 61, and his offensive mind and resume that includes taking UCLA to the Rose Bowl.

But he inherited perhaps as intricate a job as exists in college football. Consider a few of Tulane's parameters:


It's a private school with relatively high admissions standards. (Ask Vanderbilt how that's worked out.)


Just four years ago, Tulane's trustees seriously considered moving to Division III or dropping Division I football altogether.

Tulane's Toledo faces odd challenges