Just when you think that the Carousel will slow down somewhat, it picks up speed. There have been several moves today, and in some cases some moves that we thought were final were not so much.
There have been developments at Stanford tonight, as the Cardinal have interviewed Yale HC Tom Williams to replace Jim Harbaugh. Remember, Stanford did right by hiring from the FCS ranks last time around when they grabbed Harbaugh out of San Diego. Yale had a very nice season this year, and Williams would be a nice hire that would come from outside of the box.
Let's start back in Storrs tonight, as we were told yesterday that Mark Whipple was going to be named the head coach at UConn today, but not so fast. Current Dallas Cowboys assistant and former Syracuse HC Paul Pasqualoni has pushed his way into consideration for the job. Whipple's contract was being written up at one point today, so it's not a dead issue. Rumors are circulating that Whipple would be reaching out to Fordham HC Tom Masella, Brown HC Phil Estes, Sacred Heart HC Paul Gorham, and former Miami RB Coach Mike Cassano for unspecified jobs on his staff. We had heard several weeks ago that Gorham had been fired at Sacred Heart, only to hear from an inside source at Sacred Heart that he was being retained.
Todd Graham is starting to bring his old staff at Tulsa along with him to Pittsburgh. Paul Randolph and Keith Patterson have joined Graham, as has Mike Norvell. Randolph will coach the D-Line, Patterson will be DC, and Norvell will coach the receivers. Spencer Leftwich is also onboard as O-Line Coach. Former Michigan DB Coach Tony Gibson will also join the staff, most likely as DB Coach for the Panthers. Former Michigan OC Calvin Magee is also coming onboard as OC at Pitt.
Staying in the Keystone State, as Temple has hired Chuck Heater of Florida as DC. HC Steve Addazio has also hired Marshall D-Line Coach Sean Cronin and WR Coach Zach Smith.
UCLA has finally moved on OC Norm Chow today. According to AM 570 in Los Angeles, BruinReportOnline.com, and several other sources, Chow was released today. Rick Neuheisel has been working since the season ended to get enough money raised to buy out Chow's new 3 year contract, a deal that Neuheisel himself had talked AD Dan Guerrero into approving just earlier this year. Former 49ers OC Mike Johnson appears to be the replacement, but it's not a name that's going to get everyone jumping up and down.
Keith Harding has given us a breakdown of Johnson's career, which will be posted later tonight, along with his contribution on Florida OC Charlie Weis called "The Truth About Charlie".
Speaking of Norm Chow, he won't be sitting on his ass for long. Utah has apprently lined up to hire him, along with former Minnesota Line Coach Tim Davis. I was not aware that the Utes had an opening on the staff in either the OC or O Line roles, so stay tuned.
New Indiana HC Kevin Wilson has raided the former Michigan staff tonight, as Wilson has hired Rod Smith as OC to replace the recently departed Brent Pease, and Greg Frey has been named the O-Line Coach. Jerry Montgomery has been hired away from Wyoming and will coach the DEs. It has been reported that Smith may only coach the QBs and that Wilson will rin the offense all by himself.
Former Miami interim HC and O Line Coach Jeff Stoutland has left the staff of Al Golden after he was retained from the staff of former HC Randy Shannon. He will be joining the staff of Nick Saban at Alabama.
Tulsa plans to interview Arkansas OC Garrick McGee tomorrow in Tulsa. Steve Kragthorpe had been a popular candidate amongst the Tulsa boosters, but as of today he is not a candidate for the job. Former OC Chad Morris is a candidate even though he has already moved on to Clemson as OC.
San Diego State officially announced former New Mexico HC Rocky Long as the new head man yesterday, as he will replace Brady Hoke. He will be taking some time to put together a staff.
Long will have to replace his OC first off, as OC Al Borges has decided to leave SDSU to join Brady Hoke as OC at Michigan. Borges will also coach the QBs at Michigan, and he hopes one of them will be Denard Robinson, and Borges and Hoke have both spoken to Robinson already. Tate Forcier will not be one of the QBs that Borges will work with, as he is no longer enrolled at UM.
Dan Mullen has made a move to replace Manny Diaz at DC at Mississippi State. Mullen has hired FIU DC Geoff Collins as Co-DC for the Bulldogs. FIU is coming off of their first bowl appearance in school history.
Art Briles is making changes on his staff at Baylor. DE Coach Theo Young and LB Coach Larry Hoefer have both been released. Former North Texas CB Coach Carlton Buckles and Stony Brook DC Jim Gush have been brought onboard. Buckles will be CB Coach and Gush will coach LBs. DB Coach Kim McLoud has also been released.
Clemson HC Dabo Swinney has made a move to bring on Furman WR Coach Tony Elliott. Elliott also served as Recruiting Coordinator for the Paladins.
Les Miles has been rewarded for saying no to Michigan for a second time. It has been announced that he has been given a new 7 year deal, but will not receive a raise in pay. You have to take the bad with the good I suppose.
There will be a new OC at Boston College, as Gary Tranquill has announced his retirement. Boston College struggled mightily on offense in 2010, and never did live up to expectations as QB Dave Shinskie regressed this season. Freshman Chase Rettig finished the season at QB.
There are now 3 candidates for the DC job at Texas Tech. Tommy Tubberville has narrowed his search down to Air Force DC Matt Wallerstedt, former USF Co-DC David Brickwell, and current D Line Coach Sam McElroy. There has been no timetable set to name the new DC.
Washington State HC Paul wulff has made one more move on his defensive staff, as LB Coach Travis Niekamp has been let go. 2011 will be a make or break season for Wulff at WSU, as he has only won 5 games in 3 seasons. The Cougars lone wins in 2010 came against Montana State and Oregon State.
New Texas State HC Dennis Franchione is filling out his staff. Son Brad Franchione is thought to be the new DC, while former North Texas HC Darrell Dicky is the new Co-OC and RB Coach. He has also made a move and hired Tulsa DB Coach and recruiting coordinator Van Malone. Charlie Reeve has been retained as WR Coach. Middle Tennessee OC Mike Schultz and Montana LB Coach Mike Hudson have also joined up. Former Kentucky assistant Chris Thurmond is also on board.
Texas Tech Grad Assistant Sean Reagan will be the new WR Coach at Troy, according to multiple sources. Troy will again run out of the spread, so Reagan will have his work cut out.
This was one horrible season at Middle Tennessee based on ore-season expectations, and so Rick Stockstill has made a move by releasing DC Randall McCray. No replacements have been mentioned as of yet.
Eastern Illinois has made a hire today, and that would be new D Line Coach Nick Cavallo. Cavallo will join the staff at EIU from Campbell.
Former Texas State assistant Slade Nagloe has found a new home. Nagle has been hired at Central Arkansas, where he will be the new RB Coach for the Bears.
More news on the next episode...
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