The circus is alive and well around the carousel this evening after what was an incredibly eventful week and weekend. Here is the latest news as the carousel spins faster and faster:
Arizona State: With the firing of Todd Graham (as was expected) in place, ASU has turned their sites squarely on now fired Texas A&M coach Kevin Sumlin, and the interest is entirely mutual. That said, no deal has been finalized yet, and other names are still being tossed about.
One technical hang up for any potential hire could be the insistence that DC Phil Bennett and DC Billy Napier both be retained. Other candidates that have been mentioned are Derek Mason of Vanderbilt, and former Sun Devil Teryl Austin, however neither of those candidates are likely to fire anyone up at this point.
Arkansas: With Bret Bielema out the door, the future of Arkansas football is at stake. There are several high level people in Fayetteville that are pushing hard for the Gus Malzahn move that has been talked about, but after Auburn won the SEC West bu beating Alabama to make it to the SEC title game, that seems less likely than ever to happen now. Mike Leach is another name getting a ot of love from some influential people, so he could very well show up in the circus there if the Malzahn thing does fall through.
Florida: The Gators took three tries, but finally landed their man over the weekend in Mississippi State coach Dan Mullen. Mullen's ties to the Gators run deep, and he has already stated that he would enlist the help of one of his better pupils in Tim Tebow to help re-energize the program. Chip Kelly had a deal in place, but jolted the Gators in the 11th hour for UCLA. Scott Frost, who was their second target, never gave them an interview opportunity.
Mullen is a perfect fit guy for the Gators, and will pour his entirety into this job. That said, the pressures at Florida are much more intensive than in Starkville, and he will find that out soon enough.
Mississippi State: With Mullen gone, all one can do in Starkville is think about what Mullen brought to the program. He has built a fantastic foundation, and leaves with a solid base of talent entering 2018. Word today was received that Alabama DC Jeremy Pruitt had interviewed today, and was teling people close to him that he would be taking the job. That said, it appears that Penn State OC Joe Moorhead is interested, and that the administration wants to speak with Clemson's Brent Venables after the ACC title game as well. Pruitt remains the favorite at this hour, but stay tuned as this is still fluid.
Nebraska: The Huskers are in a corner. They have to find a coach who is a perfect fit for their culture, someone who will cater to a myopically rabid fan base and a booster group that is even more so. Chip Kelly was approached, but they whiffed (it was a terrible fit, anyway). Mike Leach has been discussed, but an ass kisser he is not. We are now down to UCF coach and former Husker Scott Frost, but for Frost, he has to be able to believe that he has a chance to recruit and win in Lincoln. The culture is very different in Lincoln than it was in Frost's days there, as the Huskers had major recruiting ties to Texas as a member of the Big 12. In the Big 10, some of their major recruiting areas dried up for them, and the struggle is real. Something to remember here is that UCF AD Danny White believes that he can keep Frost, and a very lucrative contract extension is being worked on that may have Frost considering sticking around a bit longer. Nothing will be done until the AAC title game against Memphis has played out next weekend.
Ole Miss: The Rebels payed a search firm $137,000 to hire the guy they already had in interim coach Matt Luke, who was elevated to the full time job. What that says is that this job was one that nobody else wanted due to the lingering black cloud of NCAA violations under former coach Hugh Freeze. That concern was very real indeed. Willie Taggart was offered the job, and said no thanks and moved on. For the Rebels, the only option was sticking with who they have until everything clears over, which could be months, or even years down the line. This was a move of necessity and desperation, not a move that anyone really wanted to make.
Oregon State: Beau Baldwin was supposed to be announced as the next head coach of Oregon State football, but strangely enough, nothing has happened. Baldwin, the former Eastern Washington head coach turned Cal OC, was mentioned all night Saturday as the Bears lost to UCLA as the guy, and suddenly we have radio silence. Jedd Fisch, the OC at UCLA, and Jonathon Smith, current Washington OC and former Beaver QB have both been in the mix as well, but again, all signals have gone dead out of Corvallis. We should have something here in the next 24 to 48 hours, but this is very odd indeed. One thing to note is that the entire staff was let go today with the exception of current interim coach Corey Hall.
Tennessee: The cluster of all clusters, nuclear waste dumps to end all waste dumps, raging inferno to end all raging infernos. That is the state of Tennessee football tonight. Greg Schiano was hired and fired in the same day because, simply enough, his name was not John Gruden. An angry group of fans and boosters brought back to life a ridiculous story tying Schiano to knowing of Jerry Sandusky's child sex abuse during his time at Penn State as a defensive assistant in the 1990's. By the way, this is a story that has been debunked time and time again, and no investigation, FBI or otherwise, has ever found this information to have any merit, all the way to the point that Schiano was never deposed in that case, and was never sued by any victims for having knowledge of the situation. His reputation is clear, and he has since been hired as a head coach at Rutgers, by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and as DC at Ohio State. This was simply an attack on the character of a man not named Gruden, and it will lead to lawsuits for both wrongful termination and defamtion of character.
Now, nobody wants the job, as even David Cutcliffe got preemptive, as the Duke head coach shot them down before they even had a chance to call. The nuts that encompass the Tennessee booster and fan base have gone so far as to calling on former players to come in and clean up the mess, driving Jason Witten's name into this circle of fire, which drew the response of Witten having to say that he wanted nothing to do with it. Names that are flying around now are names of former players who have never coached anything of note, ever.
Nobody who is sane wants to be within 100 miles of Knoxville these days, and the Volunteer brand has been stained beyond recognition. Enjoy being the Cleveland Browns of the SEC, you morons!
Texas A&M: With the Kevin Sumlin dragged out finale being played last Saturday night, attention here has moved on to Jimbo Fisher and nobody else. Of course, on paper, this seems utterly ridiculous, as Florida State is a much better gig these days than A&M simply because the Aggies play in the same division as a man named Saban. That being said, the rumors persist, up and to the point that FSU had to go public and state that they would be willing to do whatever it took to keep Jimbo in Tallahassee. The rumors are still circling, and A&M is going to push hard until they get a definitive no. If we start to hear other names being floated about with this one, it will mean that the Fisher chase is waning, and that the Aggies are moving on. Until then, stay tuned!
UCLA: As I reported all last week, days before it became official, UCLA hired Chip Kelly as their next head football coach, and a presser was held this morning on the picturesque Westwood campus. Kelly was already on the recruiting trail on Sunday, a day before his official presser.
Kelly's hire is a massive shift in hiring philosophy for the Bruins, and no other candidate was considered or interviewed during the process that took under one week to play out. In all of my years around this program, this is a first. It's a brand new day in LA, and everyone is taking notice.
Georgia Southern: The Eagles made a bold move today in promoting interim coach Chad Lunsofrd to the permanent job. Lunsford picked up huge wins against South Alabama and then UL-Lafayette, and that was enough to be picked up for the full time gig. He had the support of players, fans, and boosters, and got the job over Brent Price of Army and Mike Houston of James Madison, who pulled his name out of the hat to concentrate in the FCS playoffs.
Kent State: Paul Haynes was officially fired, but there is zero buzz around this job at this hour. It is largely thought to be one of the worst jobs in college football, a potential graveyard for coaches. More on this as we hear it, but right now, it's the job that few people are even discussing on any level.
Rice: David Bailiff was officially let go today, which was highly expected to happen after a 1-11 finish to the season. Stanford coordinators Lance Anderson and Mike Bloomgren are hot names here right now, as is South Carolina OC Kurt Roper, who is a former player at Rice. More news is expected here in the next 72 hours.
South Alabama: Auburn OC Chip Lindsey is the hot name for the South Alabama opening to replace Joey Jones, who resigned a week ago. Auburn DC Kevin Steele has been rumored here as well, but both Lindsey and Steele are working on getting Auburn prepped for the SEC title game this week. Jeremy Pruitt, the Alabama DC has been rumored here as well, but he is the current front runner at Mississippi State, so I would not consider him a candidate here, unless something goes completely sideways. USC OC Tee Martin has been rumored to be wanting to head back south, and has been mentioned at USA and at Georgia Southern, but with the GSU job closed now, and Tennessee maybe calling, Martin may not be in play for the Jaguars at this point. Georgia LB coach Kevin Sherrer was the DC at USA in 2013, and may be in play, but he is working for Georgia this week getting ready for the SEC title game. One more name that is intriguing here Jacksonville State coach John Grass, who's team is involved in the FCS playoffs.
UTEP: Names here include Sam Houston State coach KC Keeler, Ole Miss OC Phil Longo, Texas A&M Commerce coach Colby Carthel, Utah WR Coach Guy Holliday, and Prairie View Coach Willie Simmons. Carthel is still involved with the D2 playoffs, but could be the young, energetic guy that teams look for these days. Simmons just wrapped up his season at Prairie View with a win over Texas Southern last week, and is looking to move up as well.
Montana: Former head coach Bobby Hauck interviewed today, and looks to be the only real candidate in play right now. I expect a hire in the next 24 to 48 hours.
Northwestern State: Brad Laird was hired as head coach last week, and is building his staff from scratch after some assistants were being considered to be candidates to stay.
More news tomorrow! As always, follow me on Twitter @BiloFootball for the latest, up to the minute information as I receive it!
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