Oregon
As has been expected all week, and is highly overdue by at least 48 hours, Mark Helfrich is out as coach of the Ducks, and it is likely going to be a complete sweep of the staff. This move should have been made on Sunday, but Rob Mullens, stupidly and cruelly, waited until today to tell Helfrich what he probably already knew.
Early candidates for this job are Florida Coach Jim McElwain, Boise State Coach Bryan Harsin, Oklahoma State Coach Mike Gundy, and UCF Coach Scott Frost. Three extreme dark horse candidates could be Notre Dame Coach Brian Kelly, West Virginia Coach Dana Holgorsen, and Eastern Washington Coach Beau Baldwin in some capacity. All of these coaches run systems very similar to what Oregon wants, and several are Nike guys with connections to Phil Knight.
Baylor
Chad Morris is still on the list, but is not on top of the list that people in power are holding onto at this point. The Baylor administration is not ready to throw money stupidly at anyone who walks in the door at this point. There are so many issues attached to this job, including a recruiting class that has all but vanished, that Baylor may have to settle for someone that may not be a leading candidate. They are still pushing hard for Larry Fedora, among others as well.
UPDATE: Mark Schlabach of ESPN is reporting tonight that Morris has decided to stay at SMU, and Sonny Dykes, not Larry Fedora, is the new leader, which has been a huge development in the last 12 hours or so. Dykes and Mack Rhoades had several interviews for the Missouri job, and Rhoades has regretted not hiring him ever since. Baylor may also wait until after the PAC-12 title game to speak with Mike MacIntyre about the job, but could move sooner if a deal comes together with Dykes, who really wants out of the Cal job badly. SB
Rice
In a move that makes no sense today, Rice will retain David Bailiff, who is coming off of his second straight losing season, and has an overall losing record at the school. It was largely believed that this would not be the case, but here we are. Really, I am not certain what would get Bailiff fired at this point, but I would have fired him after 2015.
San Jose State
In a surprising move today, San Jose State reached out to former Fresno State Coach Pat Hill, who has not coached since 2013. He is the only candidate officially contacted at this point in the search, but it is very early in the process.
Western Michigan
PJ Fleck will open talks with other schools as soon as the MAC title game is completed. That said, it is not a certainty that he will leave the Broncos at this point, as he does not seem completely overwhelmed by the Purdue job. If some bigger jobs open up, look for Purdue to fall by the wayside with Fleck early next week, which would start a bidding war between Purdue and Baylor for Les Miles, possibly.
FAU
Look for Florida DC Geoff Collins, Michigan QB Coach Jedd Fisch, Alabama Line Coach Mario Christobal, Ohio State assistants Luke Fickell and Greg Schiano, former Miami Coach Randy Shannon, and Colorado DC and former USF Coach Jim Leavitt.
FCS
Lafayette
Frank Tavani is out with the Leopards after 30 years on the staff, the last 17 as head coach. No candidates are known at this time. Tavani had a great deal of success here until the last few years, as the program has been sinking like a stone since 2014.
More news as I get it...
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