We are now just six days away from what I refer to as "Sunday, Bloody Sunday", the day after most of the regular season finales have taken place. We have already had a fairly active early portion of the 2017/18 coaching carousel, so let us take a look at what has transpired, and what will likely transpire this coming Thanksgiving weekend...
UCLA
We start with the biggest bombshell of this past weekend, with UCLA firing Jim Mora, which was likely the result of immense external pressure, according to several sources. What is shocking is not the firing itself, but that Dan Guerrero, the embattled AD at the school, was not let go as well, and was left in charge to pull the trigger. It is my understanding that he will not be flying solo to hire Mora's replacement, as that would be completely foolish, and that he is not really the decision maker this time around. Guerrero has sold his soul to get the cash necessary to fire Mora (north of $12 million), and those same money people will really be making the hire here. Chip Kelly met with Florida reps in New Hampshire yesterday, but he held off from deeper talks, as he wanted to invest some time into speaking with UCLA reps today. There appears to be strong mutual interest, and my understanding is that Kelly is not overly enamored with the Florida job short of a guarantee of massive improvements to the football facilities. Stay tuned to this one, as it is fresh on the hook. Other names, if negotiations with Kelly should go south, could be Utah coach Kyle Whittingham, Washington DC Pete Kwiatkowski, Jedd Fisch, and another host of names that I have seen that really make zero sense whatsoever. One name that does make some sense, and has been floated as well, is Memphis head coach Mike Norvell. Stay tuned.
Florida
Gators reps met with Kelly in New Hampshire yesterday, but left without a deal once UCLA got involved in things. It now appears that there is a solid chance that Florida will have to look in other directions as to not get left behind when all the chips start to fall. Dan Mullen is back in play here, as is Mike Gundy, Charlie Strong, and of course, Scott Frost. We should be getting a ton of news on this front over the next 48 hours.
Tennessee
All you need to know to sop the Gruden rumors is one thing...if other candidate names are floating, Gruden is not in play. Of course there is also the fact that he keeps saying no, every source that we have talked to states that he has zero interest (and this includes a lot of sources), and there is zero evidence that any discussions got beyond a single phone call. So, that leaves in play a host of more realistic candidates. Greg Schiano is now in play for the Vols, as is Dan Mullen of Mississippi State. Mike Gundy finds his name being floated one more time, and there could be legitimate interest, as Oklahoma State loses their core star players after this season to the NFL. Charlie Strong's name is attached to this search, as is Scott Frost, but Frost is more deeply connected to discussions at both Nebraska and Florida. David Cutcliffe of Duke, and Dave Clawson of Wake Forest are also gaining some steam as well.
Ole Miss
There was more news on this front over the weekend, as it was confirmed that the Rebels took a big swing at Willie Taggart, and whiffed. A move from Oregon, where the Ducks could be primed to be making runs at PAC-12 and national titles again in the next 24 months, to Oxford, would be full of derision and confusion. Ole Miss is an afterthought in the SEC West these days, and that does not appear to be close to changing anytime soon. The Rebels will now sit back and re-calibrate, but, it appears for now that all of their eggs were in the Taggart basket, for this week anyway.
Oregon State
Beau Baldwin still appears to be a front runner here, as Bronco Mendenhall has stated that he was never a candidate for this job, as he has zero desire to leave Virginia. Mendenhall is an Oregon State alum, and was the runner up to Gary Anderson last time around, but those were the only reasons he was attached by name this job. Mendenhall has the needle pointing way up at Virginia, and it would not be sane to leave there for another massive rebuild. Another name that has popped up is former OSU QB and current Washington OC Jonathon Smith.
UTEP
There has literally been zero buzz in recent days/weeks over the UTEP job. That does not mean that names are not floating, but there appears to be limited movement towards getting anything done. KC Keeler is a name that I have mentioned, but as the head coach at Sam Houston State, he is prepping for a playoff run, and would not be available until the Bearkats end that run. He has been a long time FCS coach at Delaware and Sam Houston State. North Texas OC Graham Harrell is being foated, as UNT has shown massive upswing under coach Seth Littrell and the current staff. Phil Longo is the OC at Ole Miss currently, and was on the staff at Sam Houston State under Keeler for a time. Ty Detmer, former BYU QB and current OC, has strong ties to the Texas High School community, and is from the state. Colby Carthel is the current head coach at Texas A&M Commerce, and has built an offensive power house there with the Lions. He had formerly worked on the staff of Don Carthel, his Father, at West Texas A&M. Don is a D2 coaching legend in the state. Utah WR Coach Guy Holliday is the Utes recruiter for the Southwest region, and was an assistant at UTEP prior to heading of to BYU, and then Utah. Former Southern Utah head coach Ed Lamb is also a name, but probably the least likely name on the list. He is a current staffer at BYU. Another name to consider is PRairie View head coach Willie Simmons, who has done great things with the Panthers. Hunter Hughes is another name. The current head coach at West Texas A&M, he ran one of the best defenses in the nation on the D2 level while DC at Colorado State-Pueblo. Stay tuned for more news in the coming weeks.
Georgia Southern
Two major names have been floated for this job, with one making more sense than another. Brent Price seems to be the leader here, as the current Army OC has the triple option experience needed for the current personnel. Georgia Southern has historically been a wishbone/triple option offensive football team, and that has been so for decades. If they want to stay in that mold, then Price is their guy. If they are looking to break from tradition and culture, then Tee Martin, current USC coach, is the other name being floated, and it was said during the UCLA/USC broadcast that he has strong interest in being a head coach, and in the GSU job in particular. I don't see this as being much of a good fit for either side at this time, but it has also been stated that Martin, a national title winning QB at Tennessee, would be strongly interested in returning to the Southeast. If the school prefers to stick with the triple option style of play, than another candidate to consider would be Navy OC Ivin Jasper.
Nebraska
The Huskers will be releasing the current staff after the season finale this week. Scott Frost is still the top target, but any talk of a done deal is premature, at best. If they lose out on Frost, look for them to turn their attention to Mike Leach, among others. Stay tuned.
Texas A&M
Kevin Sumlin will be released this coming weekend after the season finale at Texas A&M. There is a list of unrealistic candidates, but that has all been largely media and website driven. We will get more down to reality news sometime after the announcement has been made, but we are still probably 5-7 days away from that information coming down.
Arkansas
Sources are confirming that the reality is coming down to Bret Bielema being out at Arkansas after their season finale this week. With Jeff Long out, his protection umbrella is out as well. Everyone from the top down is calling for Gus Malzahn coming back, but again, that is a huge reach. Malzahn does, however, have some concerns at Auburn, as the fan base may have soured the realtionship with Malzahn. The AD change in recent days has nothing to do with football, and everything to do with the Chuck Person/basketball scandal. With a new AD coming to town, Malzahn will have to decide if it is in his best interest to wait it out, or jump before anything else happens. If Arkansas whiffs on Malzahn, they do have the resources to go big after anyone else they would want to attract, but all eyes are on Gus currently.
Kansas
Indications are pointing to David Beaty being relieved of duty this week as well. There was a ton of on-field nastiness during their 41-3 loss to Oklahoma this week, and it was not nearly all coming from Baker Mayfield, and there was an incident where Beaty mistreated Lincoln Riley as well that has caused some major ruffles from his superiors. With the program still very much in spiral mode, it makes no sense to stay in the current direction, and sources are saying that discussions are ongoing as to how to go about things.
Texas Tech
If the Red Raiders fail to qualify for a bowl, look for some discussion here as well. Kliff Kingsbury has lost a great deal of support, and there are concerns that he will not be the guy to turn anything around in Lubbock.
Rice
All indications are that the mistake that was made in keeping David Bailiff last year will not be repeated in 2017. The Owls are 1-10 heading into their season finale. Prairie View's Willie Simmons has already been attached to this job conversation, as others likely will be in the coming days.
FCS NEWS
Alabama A&M
James Spady has been shown the door for the Bulldogs as of today. No current candidates have been released at this time.
Alabama State
Brian Jenkins, the former successful coach at Bethune-Cookman, was let go as well. Although this job has been open for a few weeks, there are no names being publicly attached at this time.
Arkansas-Pine Bluff
Monte Coleman is out with the Golden Lions. He was wildly successful at UAPB a short time ago, but has fallen on hard times, with three straight losing seasons.
Delaware State
Kenneth Carter was fired along with the AD yesterday. Again, more news as it becomes available.
Florida A&M
Alex Wood found a solid landing spot after he resigned at Buffalo a few years ago, but that spot turned out to be not so soft, as he was forced to resign after three seasons with the Rattlers.
Holy Cross
No new news in Worcester, as Tom Gilmore resigned weeks ago. Expect the coaching search to begin in earnest as the FCS playoffs play out.
Northern Arizona
Jerome Sauers announced that he would not be returning very early in the season after this, his 18th season as head coach of the Lumberjacks. Expect this to be one of the more sought after jobs in FCS football.
Tennessee Tech
Marcus Satterfield, the former OC at Temple, as been let go with a losing record for the Purple Eagles. Tech has long been a lower tier team in the Ohio Valley Conference, and it is possible that they will try to emulate what Austin Peay, a long struggling program, has done.
D2 NEWS
There are currently openings at the following: East Central, Lenoir-Rhyne, Lincoln (PA), and Virginia Union. The best spot open in that group is Lenoir-Rhyne, where the Bears have been able to win in recent years.
In other news, Missouri Western OC Chet Pobolish was named as the new head football coach at SW Oklahoma today. Missouri Western made major strides in 2017 as a team, specifically on offense, and were making a push for a D2 playoff spot well into the last third of the season.
More news as it becomes available!
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