Akron:
After Akron officials met with Jim Tressel to discuss their next head coach there hasn’t been much talk on the direction that they will go. Most fans are calling for a coach that has had success at lower levels due to the fact that Akron has hired top flight assistants for their last three head coaches. Reports surfaced in the middle of last week that Akron had talked to Joe Moorhead (UCONN OC), Paul Winters (HC at Wayne State), and Mike Johnson (OC/Interim HC UCLA), but all three coaches had games this weekend. Ed Warriner (OL Coach Notre Dame) was also interviewed this week. Mick McCall (OC Northwestern) is getting recommended and as actively pursuing head coaching jobs reportedly getting interviewed at Tulane. McCall spent time in the MAC as OC at Bowling Green and is regarded as top offensive mind. Chuck Martin (S Coach) Notre Dame) would fit the bill of what the fans want winning 2 national championships at Grand Valley State (MI). He is a Chicago native and is regarded as one of the top recruiters in the midwest for Notre Dame. If Tressel is aiding in the search expect his nephew, Mike Tressel (LB Coach Michigan State) to be talked about. Also, Jon Heacock (DC Kent State, former head coach Youngstown State) to also get a look. Luke Fickell (former Interim HC at Ohio State) was said to be candidate until he accepted to stay on Ohio State's staff under Urban Meyer. Akron will probably be able to interview their remaining candidates this week hoping to make a decision by late this week, early next week.
Arizona:
It appears as if Calvin Magee, Tony Dews, and Tony Gibson will be joining the Arizona staff tomorrow and possibly even Jeff Casteel. Rodriguez may have entire staff together by the end of the week. Frank Scelfo is someone rumored to be staying on staff; however, sources have stated he turned down offer by Rodriguez because he was going to be moved to TE’s coach. Expect four hires to be made tomorrow with more to follow as the week progresses.
Arizona State:
After they couldn’t come to terms with Kevin Sumlin’s agent at the end of the work week, Arizona State has turned their attention to June Jones and he has spent much of the weekend meeting with Arizona State officials. ASU AD Lisa Love has been ridiculed by most ASU fans on how she has handled this coaching search and it appears that they have hired a search firm to aide her in the search from this point forward. There are contradicting reports whether the search firms has delayed the coaching search ending with June Jones or if the search firm recommended June Jones. Many sources have stated that Arizona State is June Jones’ dream job. I believe this hire will be made official this week.
Colorado State:
Steve Fairchild was fired today by new AD Jack Graham. Most likely Graham will employ a search firm to aid him in the search considering he has zero experience in coaching searches. Graham is a former quarterback at Colorado State and has been a successful businessman. Tim DeRuyter (Interim HC Texas A&M), Noel Mazzone (OC ASU), Paul Petrino (OC Illinois), Mike Canales (OC North Texas), Dennis Erickson (former HC ASU), Brent Venables (DC Oklahoma), Billy Gonzales (WR LSU), Jim McElwain (OC Alabama), Justin Wilcox (DC Tennessee), Bobby Kennedy (WR Colorado), Gary Barnett (former HC at Colorado and Northwestern), Chuck Heater (DC Temple), Rick Neuheisal (former HC UCLA), Tony Alford (WR Notre Dame), Brian Polian (ST Stanford), Brian Schneider (ST Seahawks), Mick McCall (OC Northwestern) and Dirk Koetter (former HC ASU) are names that come in mind. A national search is set to begin immediately and as you can see there are more than plenty qualified candidates available.
Florida Atlantic:
Carl Pelini has been hired at Florida Atlantic and he has a lot of work to do. Pelini is a part of the Youngstown Cardinal Mooney coaching tree that includes Bob, Mike, and Mark Stoops as well as Bo Pelini and Tim Beck (OC at Nebraska). He inherits a football program that didn’t win a game in 2011 and most certainly has his work cut out for him. Expect a contingency of current and former Nebraska graduate assistants, members of the Youngstown State staff, ex-members of the Kansas staff (of the last two regimes), and former South Florida assistants to be on his short list as assistants.
Fresno State:
Pat Hill was fired today from Fresno State after 15 seasons at the helm of the Bulldog program. Hill has done a fantastic job dealing with limited resources and consistently putting together a winner in Fresno. Thomas Boeh (Fresno State AD) is a Midwest guy who graduated from Illinois and is from the Chicago area. He was at Northwestern while Gary Barnett was the head coach at Northwestern so he immediately has to be considered a possible candidate. Other names in this search that is just beginning would be Jim McElwain (OC Alabama), Andy Ludwig (OC San Diego State), Brian Polian (ST Stanford), Rick Neuheisal (former HC UCLA), Willy Robinson (DC Arkansas), Kelly Skipper (RB Raiders), Steed Lobotzke (OC Wake Forest), Steve Mooshagian (HC Ventura College), J.D. Williams (DB UNLV), Ron Caragher (HC San Diego), Robin Pflugard (HC Montana), Doug Nussmeier (OC Washington), Jethro Franklin (DL Miami), and Tim DeRuyter (Interim HC Texas A&M).
Illinois:
Illinois AD Mike Thomas has been very quiet on his search as most media people have lost their “inside’ contacts that existed when Ron Guenther was the AD. Thomas is reportedly interviewing Pat Narduzzi (DC Michigan State) and Paul Chryst (OC Wisconsin) in Indianapolis today. There has been a report that surfaced today that Thomas offered job to current Cincinnati head coach Butch Jones who has since declined the offer. Todd Monken (OC Oklahoma State), Kirby Wilson (RB Pittsburgh Steelers), Willie Taggart (HC Western Kentucky), and Paul Rhoads (HC Iowa State) have also been talked about most recently. Thomas has already mentioned that he has a tendency to hire current head coaches; however, he didn’t rule out the possibility that an assistant could emerge. Most believe that Narduzzi, who was DC at Cincinnati when Thomas took over as AD, is the favorite now that Butch Jones has declined the job offer. Thomas has mentioned that he wants to move quickly so expect things to move fast this week.
Kansas:
Kansas AD Sheahon Zenger is reportedly good friends with Mike Leach and most believed that he would act quickly hiring him at Kansas. Since Leach decided to take the Washington State offer, Zenger’s search seems to be pretty quiet. With Zenger’s ties being to Jim Leavitt, Bill Snyder, and the Stoops’, it was a foregone conclusion that Mark or Mike Stoops, Brent Venables, or Jim Leavitt would be Zenger’s next targets. This does not seem the case though as reports have surfaced that Zenger met with Gus Malzahn (OC Auburn) this weekend, Dirk Koetter (former OC Jacksonville Jaguars and Head Coach at Arizona State) is a favorite among the search firms, Larry Fedora (HC Southern Miss), and Justin Fuente (Co-OC/QB’s TCU) seem to be gaining steam. Sonny Dykes (HC Louisiana Tech) and Dave Christensen (HC Wyoming) could also emerge as candidates. Zenger is obviously looking for a big splash hire that will bring excitement to the program. Fedora is the one to watch in this search as he only makes a little over 700,000 per year at Southern Miss and after his big win Saturday against Houston, he will most certainly land a new job for next season. I expect Malzahn, who was once the favorite at Ole Miss and North Carolina, to be in this search until the end as well as Larry Fedora.
Memphis:
Mum is the word when it comes to the Memphis coaching search that is really being kept under wraps. Only speculation has been reported up to this point in this coaching search. Randy Fichtner (QB’s Steelers) has already expressed interest in the job and was a favorite in his time as OC while at Memphis. Houston Nutt is an interesting name to remember in regards to this search as he probably fits the bill as to what Memphis needs as their next head coach. He is a proven winner that has the head coaching experience and resources in the area to recruit very well. Other names that probably deserve a look are Mark Mangino (former HC at Kansas), Tommy Bowden (former HC at Tulane and Clemson), Terry Bowden (HC North Alabama and Auburn), and Ron Zook (former HC Florida and Illinois). All the rumors linking Nutt to the job appear to be just that, rumors; however, if I were the Eastman-Beaudine seach firm that is leading this search, I would strongly consider Nutt. Vic Koenning (Interim HC Illinois) has been linked to the job as well as many others. Kippy Brown (WR’s Seahawks) is an interesting name because of his ties to the university. He is a former QB (1975-1977) and he lobbied hard for the Tennessee job when Lane Kiffin bolted for USC. Sources say he wants back into the college game and many feel his experience would be a far cry from Larry Porter who didn’t make the best game day calls. Curtis Johnson (WR’s Saints and reportedly new head coach at Tulane) was reportedly on Memphis’ radar; however, he is most likely going to be named Tulane’s next head coach tomorrow. At this point, the Memphis coaching search is anybody’s ball game…the real question is how many people are actually interested in this job?
Massachusetts:
Massachusetts is making the jump to the bowl subdivision and into the MAC conference in 2012. They are looking to upgrade their head coach to someone who has experience at this level. UMASS’ search appears to revolve around three candidates: Neal Brown (OC Texas Tech), Jack Bicknell Jr. (Asst. OL Giants), and Bill McGovern (DC Boston College). Neal Brown was reportedly interviewed in Atlanta last week; he is a former UMASS WR who is regarded as one of the top young offensive minds in college football. Brown is only 31 and is a Hal Mumme/Mike Leach disciple. Jack Bicknell Jr. is the former head coach at Louisiana Tech and son of former Boston College Head Coach Jack Bicknell. It appears UMASS likes Bicknell Jr. a great deal and he seems to be the favorite. Bill McGovern is reportedly interviewing for the position, or going to get an interview. McGovern is a longtime Boston College assistant who may be losing steam considering the poor performance of Boston College this season. An interesting name to remember is Mark Whipple who is the former UMASS head coach who won 49 games in six seasons as head coach there including a D1-AA national championship. He was the OC at Miami Florida for two seasons and now is QB coach for Cleveland Browns.
….The rest of the coaching searches will be updated tomorrow and updates to these schools will most certainly be followed as well. Make sure to follow me @cfcoachingnews on twitter all day tomorrow.
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