As the Coaching Carousel Turns: Weekend Edition

As the Coaching Carousel Turns: 12/4/15

It’s another day on the Carousel, as more moves are happening throughout the day, including some surprises. Here’s the latest:

Firings

East Carolina
In the shocker of the day, East Carolina dismissed Ruffin McNeil after what was termed a “deliberate” process of evaluation. I am guessing it had to be as many moves were made a week ago or more, and 12 schools have already hired coaches.
McNeil was largely popular amongst the fan bases at both Texas Tech and at East Carolina, but ECU is making a push for bigger and better these days. ECU went 13-12 the last two season overall, and had finished 8-8 in two seasons of AAC play. That was not good enough for the administration, who placed the names of all the schools in the AAC that had better records during that period of time in their release, which is something not previously seen.
If that is truly the case, I find their early candidate list a bit baffling. The first candidate mentioned is Rick Stockstill at Middle Tennessee, a coach who has lived in the middle his entire career. Stockstill’s stock has been slipping at MTSU, but he did manage to get the Blue Raiders back to a bowl this season. Still, his career record at MTSU is right at .500, which is something that I would not see as being advantageous to where ECU is trying to go.
Another name is NC State OC Matt Canada. This name seems to fit more into the mold of what could make ECU better than they are currently. Canada has built a solid offense at NC State, and even found a way to make Jacoby Brissett into a decent QB, something nobody thought possible at one point.
The 3^rd candidate is Northern Illinois coach Rod Carey. I am a huge Carey fan, but not for ECU. For one thing, I view moving from NIU to ECU is nothing more than a lateral move. Both programs are G5 schools, and NIU has a better overall track record in recent years. I see Carey moving up, not laterally.

Jacksonville

This was more a mutual parting of ways than an outright firing, but I am certain that Kerwin Bell would rather have stayed on at JU rather than leave at this point without having lined up another job first. The first thing to be clear about is that Bell is an outstanding coach. Any other program should be lucky to have him running their program, and he should latch on somewhere fairly quickly. Very few coaches have been able to win regularly with so little in the way of overall resources. JU is a very small school, but Bell was starting to feel the restraints of coaching and winning in a non-scholarship environment. JU was on probation this season within only the Pioneer League for having given scholarship type benefits to athletes in the football program. This was not an NCAA violation, but was a PFL policy violation, and so the Dolphins were ineligible for the league title or the auto-bid for the tournament.
The event that led to his departure seems to have come in the midst of differing philosophy between Bell and the administration over continuing as a non-scholarship program, with Bell feeling strongly that the program was stable and strong enough to start offering scholarship benefits. Of course that move would also entail JU moving conferences, but Bell felt that was an acceptable thing at this point in time. The school felt strongly in the other direction, and so Bell felt that he had done all he could to make it work.
There has only been one candidate mentioned for this job, and that is Ian Shields, who resigned at Lenoir-Rhyne after finishing 17-6 over the last two seasons. I would expect this to get done fairly quickly. Shields was mentioned by the website coachingsearch.com as the only candidate at this time.
Update (12/6)...Ian Shields indeed is the new head coach at JU as of today. This deal had been set up for days. It's a solid hire of a coach that can win right away.

 

Hiring

Virginia
The shocker of the season thus far has been Virginia’s sudden and out of nowhere hiring of BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall today to a contract that will pay him $3.25 million in his first season. There is not a ton of news on this hire or where it came from as of yet. Mendenhall will coach BYU in the Las Vegas Bowl.

Missouri

The Tigers made official what I had been pushing for during their search, and they hired DC Barry Odom as their next football search, replacing the retiring Gary Pinkel. Odom’s hiring came as a moment of jubilation amongst the players currently on the football team, and that kind of reaction was exactly why I had pushed so hard for his hiring in the first place.
Odom is an immensely talented DC, and while the offense collapsed in 2015, the Tiger defense was still as fearsome as always. Odom is apparently considering bringing in Josh Heupel, currently of Utah State and formerly of Oklahoma, to run the offense, and that deal could get done over the weekend or early next week. That would bring an increased tempo in offensive pace, which would benefit the Tigers in improving over their bottomed out 2015 season.
In short, this was a solid hire for Missouri.

Memphis

Memphis, I feel, jumped the gun a little bit in hiring Mike Norvell, the current OC at Arizona State, to run their program. Memphis had been in extended negotiations with Barry Odom, but I had felt all along that Odom’s heart was really in waiting out the Missouri situation, and Memphis finally had to move along.
Norvell is a good OC, but Arizona State and Pitt hardly got over the hump during his days working under Todd Graham. The Sun Devils did have a decent offense this season, but for me, it is about the body of work, so I cannot really get behind Norvell just yet.
Memphis had also had preliminary discussions with UAB coach Bill Clark, as he tries to rebuild the program for a 2017 re-launch, but Clark decided to stay put and see the project through.

Rutgers (12/6)
Ohio State co-DC Chris Ash has been offered the head coaching job at Rutgers despite having earlier pulled himself out from consideration. Ah is likely to accept the job.

Montana State
The Bobcats went the unknown path in hiring Washington assistant Jeff Choate as their next head football coach. Choate replaces Rob Ashe.

Searching

South Carolina

Will Muschamp is still keeping up his myopic approach to the South Carolina job, and is rallying up a staff should he get the call to become the next head coach of the Gamecocks. He has apparently offered Marcus Lattimore a spot on his staff, and has reached out to several other candidates as well for various staff positions.
Muschamp is acting prematurely, as South Carolina is still seeking other candidates, including Arizona coach Rich Rodriguez, who interviews today according to multiple sources. Rodriguez seems ready and willing to leave the desert for a return down south, and so has had his name attached at both Virginia and South Carolina now. It seems a matter of time until he moves on somewhere, whether or not that’s South Carolina, however, remains to be seen.
Update: Greg Schiano is now a candidate for the job and is expected to interview fairly shortly along with Rodriguez. Larry Fedora is coming up connected to this search as well, but UNC is trying to lock down a nice extension for him. One more candidate that is definitely in the mix is South Florida coach Willie Taggert, who is in the middle of another successful rebuilding project with the Bulls.
Update 2 (12/6): In a shocking twist of absolute stupidity, South Carolina hired Muschamp after Rich Rodriguez spurned their offer and returned to Arizona. It looks like Rodriguez was playing UA for an extension all along, and used SC to get it done.
The hire itself is a disaster for the Gamecocks. It just stinks of desperation after they were getting shot down time and again. Muschamp was a wreck at Florida, burned all his bridges with the administration and the fan base, and couldn't win at one of the most winnable locales in the nation. Get ready for the days of old, Gamecock fans, where you just felt fortunate to win 6 or 7 games. Remember the Sparky Woods days? You'll be praying for those to come back.

 

Syracuse
When asked about his name being attached to Syracuse, Dino Babers was very vague and stated that he was only concerned with Bowling Green winning the MAC title tonight. I would expect Babers to make a decision as early as Saturday. Right now, he is the odds on favorite for this job.
Update (12/5): Babers was made head coach of the Orange after winning the MAC title, and was officially announced on Saturday.

 

Houston
Tom Herman has signed his contract extension at Houston. He will be payed $2.8 million per season, the highest salary in the G5 coaching ranks. His buyout through 2017 will be $2.5 million. That’s not a bad rate if another school wants him bad enough and can lure him away (potentially UCLA if Mora leaves for the NFL…Bruins could dangle the chance for an offensive mind such as Herman to work with Josh Rosen).

UL-Monroe

A search firm has been contracted to help ULM in their search to replace Todd Berry. Interviews are set to begin next week.

BYU

Add to this list now as Bronco Mendenhall pulled a shocker and accepted the Virginia job this afternoon. This move was purely under the radar mastery on part of Virginia, and so we do not have a candidate list as of yet. I would have to assume that Matt Wells of Utah State will get a call, as should Troy Calhoun of Air Force, however there could be an on staff option at this time.
My assumption right now would be that BYU will want to make as much as a splash as possible for a potential bid to join a conference such as the Big 12 in the near future. This will be a very important hire here.
Update (12/6): Early candidates are Kilane Sitaki of Oregon State, current OC Robert Anae, Seahawks OC Darrell Bevell, and Navy coach Ken Niamataolo. All belong to LDS, which is a requirement for BYU's head coaching job.

North Texas
UNT has scheduled a press conference for tomorrow to discuss their coaching situation. It is largely believed that Seth Litrell is the guy, as I have been saying all week. This should be finalized tomorrow.
Update (12/6): After UNC lost to Clemson in the ACC title game, Litrell was officially announced as the new coach at UNT.

Tulane
New candidates for the job are Baylor OC Kendal Briles (already turned down the North Texas job), LSU assistant Frank Wilson, and Oklahoma State OC Mike Yurcich, according to NOLA.com. Wilson would appear to be the early favorite.

Eastern Kentucky
Southern Miss OC Chip Lindsey was offered the job, but has declined. EKU is now back in the hunt once again.

Austin Peay
APSU has a brand new candidates list per coachingsearch.com. including Eastern Kentucky assistant Walt Wells (likely not to be retained at EKU), Delta State coach Todd Cooley, Georgia Tech LB coach Andy McCollum, and Chattanooga WR coach Will Healy. According to the post, they want this done by Christmas.

More news as it becomes available…

As the Coaching Carousel Turns: 12/4/15 Edition

As the Coaching Carousel Turns: 12/4/15

Here’s the latest from the carousel this week…

Newly Hired

UCF

UCF made a surprising move after their deal with Dino Babers fell apart when the administration made an announcement prior to the MAC title game, which was against Babers’ wishes. UCF then turned to Oregon OC Scott Frost, who also had a deal on the table from Syracuse. Frost turned down the Orangemen to take a gig in a better climate, and overall, UCF is a much more stable situation long term. Frost should bring an entirely different energy to Orlando than the program had under George O’Leary, and the recruiting intensity ought to increase immediately.

 

Miami

With Mark Richt having been let go at Georgia, the door immediately opened for his return to his Alma Mater in Miami. Richt flirted with the opening at Virginia, South Carolina, and Maryland this week before settling in on a deal that will pay him $4 million per season with a salary pool of $2.5 million for assistants. Miami has always had a reputation of not wanting to pay, and it has cost them in the past, so this time they made sure to open the wallets and pay up, and it turned out wonderfully for them. Richt will likely win right away at Miami, and will likely be under less pressure while ridding himself of the meat grinder of the SEC. The ACC is much more winnable, and Richt ought to be able to run the program his way without the kind of overbearing pressure felt at Georgia.

Virginia Tech

As stated earlier in the week, Virginia tech moved quickly and hired Justin Fuente from Memphis. This was a great hire that moves the Hokie program into the future, and Fuente got to keep Bud Foster at DC in the process.

Iowa State

Iowa State hired Matt Campbell from Toledo this week in a major coup event. Campbell’s name had been surfacing with what I consider to be better jobs at Missouri, Virginia, and South Carolina, but he jumped early to head to Ames.

Toledo

Campbell has already lost his OC at Iowa State, however, as Jason Candle went back to Toledo after following Campbell to Ames, and Candle is now the new head football coach with the Rockets. I stated earlier in the week that I felt that it was likely that Toledo would try to retain someone from the former staff to take over, and that is exactly what they did. This was a solid move for continuity.

Maryland

Maryland made a big move by hiring DJ Durkin away from Jim Harbaugh’s staff at Michigan. While a solid hire, Durkin is not exactly the high powered offense guy that the Terps were longing over when the process began to find a new coach. Durkin, a defensive specialist, is sort of on the other end of the spectrum, but he still has not identified a new OC as of yet, so we shall see what they can get.

Illinois

Illinois decided to stay out of the job search for the time being by retaining interim coach Bill Cubit, even after the Illini closed out at 5-7. Cubit, the former OC and Head Coach at Western Michigan, got a 2 year deal to stick around, but I am guessing that once the job search scene has a chance to cool down somewhat next year, they could be in the market once again if Cubit collapses.

Hawaii

Hawaii made a smart, move forward kind of hire when they gave their job to Nevada OC and former Rainbow QB Nick Rolovich. There was a strong push to bring back June Jones, who did apply, however this move signals a move towards the future, which is exactly where Hawaii needs to focus.

Georgia

Georgia moved quickly in replacing Mark Richt when they unofficially announced the hiring of Kirby Smart from Alabama. Smart, a Georgia guy who played for the Bulldogs, should be an interesting hire, but the offense needs to be fixed immediately, and Smart is a defensive guy. We shall see how this plays out as UGA is expected to make an official announcement next week.

Texas Southern

Texas Southern is the first of now 10 schools that were looking for coaches on the FCS level, as they announced the hiring of former Pittsburgh head coach Mike Haywood today. Haywood, who had off field issues that kept him from ever coaching a game for the Panthers, has gotten himself together and is looking to work his way back up the ladder once again. This is a strong hire for TSU, which had underperformed in 2015, leading to the firing of Darrell Asberry.

Still Looking

Tulane

With no coach hired, at least we will now know who that coach will be working for. Northern Iowa AD Troy Dannen will be the new Athletic Director at Tulane. Now that this issue has been handled, he can get to work to find a new coach. The only candidates mentioned were in my post earlier this week, Terry Bowden of Akron, and Houston Nutt. Apparently, Tulane is not overly excited about either option, so expect a fresh batch of candidates in the coming days.

Syracuse

The odds on favorite for this job is Bowling Green coach Dino Babers, who already turned down UCF. Babers will coach Bowling Green in the MAC title game Friday night,  but could take the job as early as Saturday or Sunday. Chris Ash of Ohio State has already walked away from this job, and was considered as the other favorite. Other names associated that could come into play if Babers falls through are Ed Orgeron, Ed Warriner, Al Golden, and Coastal Carolina coach Joe Moglia.

Virginia

UVA has to be let down to see Mark Richt get away to Miami, as they had focused in on him after an interview in the last 48 hours. It would seem that Richt was never as interested in this job as they were in him. Now Virginia turns to Sonny Dykes of Cal, Al Golden, Western Kentucky’s Jeff Brohm, and Greg Schiano. Brohm could be a dark horse who is moving up the list rapidly, and may fall in right behind Dykes as a favorite.

Michigan Defensive Coordinator

With DJ Durkin having moved on to Maryland (he will not coach in Michigan’s bowl appearance), Jim Harbaugh is concentrating on a replacement. Early names are Stanford DC Lance Anderson, current assistant and former DC Greg Mattison, and current DB coach Greg Jackson.

Rutgers

With Kyle Flood finally gone, Rutgers can move forward from the mess that was the Kyle Flood era. Al Golden, Ohio State assistant Chris Ash, and another Ohio State assistant in Ed Warriner are all hot candidates as of now. Former head coach Greg Schiano is highly unlikely, as he seems loathe to return to Rutgers at this point.

UTSA Offensive Coordinator

It would seem that many fans got their wish this week when it was announced that Kevin Brown would not be returning as OC in 2016. No word yet on potential candidates, however I will report any names that I can find in the coming days.

North Texas

This search is a bit of a mess, as Dusty Meacham was expected to be named head coach only to pull out of consideration leaving North Carolina OC Seth Litrell as the lone remaining mentioned candidate. That being the case, no official announcement has been made, as UNC is playing Clemson in the ACC title game this weekend. Here’s hoping that this gets settled either on Sunday or Monday.

Missouri

There has been a ton of action on the Missouri front, with as many as five candidates having been interviewed in the last few days. Current DC Barry Odom is still in the mix, and apparently is no longer a candidate at Memphis, but more on that later. Sonny Dykes of Cal has interviewed, and Troy Calhoun of Air Force, Mike Bobo of Colorado State, and Matt Wells of Utah State have all interviewed in the Denver area this week. There is no telling as of now who the favorite is, but Barry Odom feels that he has a strong chance. In my opinion, he is the right hire for this job.
Update: (10:09 PM PST) Barry Odom is now the official head coach at Missouri and has agreed to a five year deal.

South Carolina

There is a lot of smoke and buzz around this job. Will Muschamp is so confident that he is reaching out to potential assistants should he get the job, but South Carolina is still adding to the candidate list, so Muschamp may be a bit myopic here. Sonny Dykes of Cal has had contact with officials regarding this job, and the latest interview that will be granted is Arizona’s Rich Rodriguez, who will interview Friday. Shawn Elliott, the current interim head coach,  has interviewed as well.

UL-Monroe

There are a ton of initial candidates on this list, but there is no telling if the administration and the search committee have narrowed much, if anything, down to a manageable level. SE Louisiana coach Ron Roberts is still the favorite, but add former Tulane coach Chris Scelfo, LSU assistant Frank Wilson, Kentucky OC Shannon Dawson, Mississippi State assistant John Hevesy, Southern miss OC Chip Lindsey, TCU RB coach Curtis Luper, UL-Lafayette assistant Reed Stringer, former ULM coach Mike Collins, and current interim coach John Mumford to the list of coaches that have been attached to the search.

Memphis

Memphis has apparently moved on from Barry Odom, as both sides agreed to move in different directions this week. Odom is pursuing the Missouri job, where he is currently DC, so Memphis got tired of waiting. Look for more names to spring up in the next day or two, and I will post them here.
Update: (10:12 PM PST) Memphis has named Arizona State OC Mike Norvell head coach tonight. More as it becomes available.

Auburn DC

Will Muschamp is unlikely to return to Auburn according to AL.com. Muschamp is interviewing for South Carolina’s HC job, but is unlikely to be a main target. According to the piece, he could end up as an assistant at Georgia or Alabama. Stay tuned.

Fluid Situations

North Carolina

The administration is currently trying to work out a contract extension for Larry Fedora, and hopes to have that accomplished within the next week. Fedora’s name has been associated with the search at South Carolina briefly, but that seems unlikely at this point.

Houston

Tom Herman apparently has signed his new offer paying him $3 million per season, the highest contract for any G5 coach in the nation. He may still be in play, however, as other situations could develop that could eclipse that number elsewhere.

California

The Golden Bears have a contract extension worked out for Sonny Dykes, but he has not signed it yet, and continues to interview for jobs at Missouri, Virginia, and South Carolina. He seems unwilling to stick around much longer, and I am guessing he could be gone by next week.

UCLA

Jim Mora is now one of three early candidates for the Miami Dolphins soon to be open job. He could also be once again considered by the Chargers if they indeed decide to move on from Mike McCoy after the Chargers have started 3-8 this season with a possibly impending move to the Los Angles market on the horizon. Expect the Bruins to draw from a pool of Mike Leach, Tom Herman, and Matt Ruhle of Temple if Mora decides the time is right to move on.

FCS Openings

With Texas Southern having hired Mike Haywood, there are now 9 openings in FCS football.

Maine

There have been between 25 to 30 applicants for the job since Jack Cosgrove retired, and the administration is looking to narrow that list to 4 to 6 by the weekend or early next week. Current interim coach Joe Harasymiak is a strong candidate at this point and will likely be a finalist.

Montana State

There has been little movement this week, but OC Tim Cramsey has interviewed and has a strong shot at the job. Former Montana and UNLV coach Bobby Hauck and Dan Hawkins are still on the list as well.
Update: (10:09 PM PST) Bozeman sources are now reporting that Missouri QB coach Andy Hill is the front runner. More as news becomes available.
Update: (10:13PM PST) Others that officially interviewed were FAU OC Brian Wright, Arizona State Co-DC Chris Ball, Jeff Choate of Wazzu, and Hill. Cramsey interviewed as well.

South Dakota

The administration is not naming names, but they have a search firm hired to move forward. Joe Glenn, who retired, is lobbying hard for current OC Wesley Beschorner to get the job.

Austin Peay

Two new names have surfaced in the last 48 hours. Former Alabama State coach Reggie Barlow has become the main target, and would be an excellent choice. Former Tarleton State coach Cary Fowler has also been attached to this job.

Jacksonville

Kerwin Bell has shockingly parted company with JU today after having a falling out with the future direction of the program as a non-scholarship program with the administration. More news as I get it, but this one is a surprise.

No New News

There is no new news on the Eastern Kentucky, Jackson State, Southern Illinois, or Tennessee Tech jobs today. I will continue hunting for info and ill update when it is available.

Quality Win/Loss Index: 12/1/15

Alabama	192
Oklahoma	186
Clemson	182
Iowa	181
North Carolina	165
Ohio State	165
Michigan State	164
Stanford	143
Notre Dame	135
Northwestern	135
Baylor	134
Oklahoma State	131
Houston	125
TCU	123
Temple	117
Florida State	116
Florida	111
Michigan	111
Georgia	103
Ole Miss	100
LSU	97
Western Kentucky	96
Wisconsin	95
Toledo	90
Oregon	88
Utah	84
Pittsburgh	77
Bowling Green	77
West Virginia	77
UCLA	74
BYU	71
Mississippi State	68
Memphis	68
Navy	66
Appalachian State	65
USC	64
USF	62
Duke	62
Washington State	61
Texas A&M	60
Tennessee	58
Southern Mississippi	46
Texas Tech	45
Miami	43
Marshall	42
San Diego State	41
California	38
NC State	36
Arkansas State	34
Georgia Southern	33
Northern Illinois	30
Colorado State	29
Arkansas	22
Arizona State	19
Louisville	17
Boise State	16
Penn State	15
Arizona	15
Auburn	12
Air Force	10
Akron	8
Louisiana Tech	6
Ohio	2
Indiana	0
Middle Tennessee	-5
Washington	-10
Minnesota	-11
Nebraska	-11
Western Michigan	-11
Illinois	-12
Texas	-14
Virginia Tech	-16
Kentucky	-18
Kansas State	-21
Cincinnati	-23
Central Michigan	-30
New Mexico	-38
Missouri	-39
Utah State	-46
Rutgers	-51
Nevada	-55
Tulsa	-61
East Carolina	-62
Vanderbilt	-64
Georgia State	-64
Buffalo	-65
Rice	-68
U Conn	-69
South Alabama	-75
FIU	-75
UTEP	-78
Georgia Tech	-79
Old Dominion	-80
Virginia	-81
Boston College	-86
San Jose State	-89
Wake Forest	-89
Colorado	-90
South Carolina	-93
Syracuse	-94
Maryland	-99
Idaho	-103
Iowa State	-107
Troy	-117
UL-Lafayette	-120
Texas State	-125
Tulane	-133
Oregon State	-133
U Mass	-133
UNLV	-135
UTSA	-141
Miami (Ohio)	-145
Purdue	-146
New Mexico State	-152
Hawaii	-155
Ball State	-158
Fresno State	-166
Kent State	-168
Kansas	-175
Army	-176
SMU	-184
Charlotte	-184
Wyoming	-189
Eastern Michigan	-204
FAU	-207
UL-Monroe	-212
North Texas	-241
UCF	-258

As the Coaching Carousel Turns: 12/1/15

As the Coaching Carousel Turns: 12/1/15

Thanksgiving 2015 has come and gone, and several coaches across the nation aren’t feeling very grateful or thankful right now, while others are getting amazing opportunities to further their careers. Last weekend was full of change, some good, while others were questionable. I am back from the road, so here is what is going on with all of the available jobs across the nation in FBS and FCS Football.

Georgia

Mark Richt has officially been let go, and while this was probably coming for some time, expectations for the program were too high in 2015 to begin with. Richt never had a decent QB to run with this season, and once Nick Chubb went down for the season about midway through, the Bulldogs had little chance to compensate for what was becoming a bad offense at that point. Of course, hiring Brian Schottenheimer to run the offense was never a good fit, and Jeremy Pruitt was a divisive force on the staff at DC, so there were several recipes for a big mess, which is exactly what was apparent by the end. Richt is a winner, and even though he never produced an SEC title during his tenure, he will likely get another job lined up before too long. His family wants him to take a year off, but the reality is that Richt has a really good shot at a few different jobs now, so that time off think is not going to happen.
As far as who is in line to take the job, Georgia has few options that are as stable as Richt was with the Bulldogs, even now. Even Vince Dooley stated when asked about what kind of coach would succeed at Georgia, that they should just hire Mark Richt, the man they just fired.
Prospect number one is Alabama DC Kirby Smart, but Smart has never been a head coach before, and even though he has a sterling reputation, he may not be the best fit for a program that demands conference titles and wins over the likes of Florida, Auburn, and Alabama. A search committee is being put together, but other than Smart, no other names are buzzing about this job just yet.

UL-Monroe

The ULM job is probably one of the worst available as of this moment, with the worst pay for both a head coach and assistants available, and the facilities aren’t up to par as well. ULM is going to have to dig deep to find a candidate that would work in Monroe, because the logistics are not attractive. Even hiring a Power 5 assistant would be a stretch at this point, as most of those candidates would be taking a pay cut to get to this job.
ULM should look at a pool that consists of Southern Utah’s Ed Lamb, Charleston Southern’s Jamey Chadwell, Coastal Carolina’s Joe Moglia, James Madison’s Everett Withers, Brock Spack of Illinois State, John Grass of Jacksonville State, Kerwin Bell of Jacksonville, Mike Houston of Citadel, and Matt Viator of McNeese State. Another interesting fit would be former 49ers coach Mike Singletary, who is desperately seeking another job, even one in the college ranks.

Maryland

This job has not been as popular as the administration hoped it would be, as the Under Armor money buzz has not seemed to factor in here whatsoever early on. The three top candidates at this point appear to be Mark Richt, who is expected to meet with Maryland shortly, San Diego Chargers assistant Frank Reich, and Toronto Argonauts coach Scott Milanovich.
If Richt does not end up going to Miami, he could be the top choice here.

Miami

Miami lowballed Mississippi State’s Dan Mullen last time they talked about the job, but the two sides are negotiating again. Mullen is looking to get out of Mississippi State before the roof caves in with the departure of Dak Prescott, as the program is likely to take a nice sized step back without him at QB. Mullen makes $4 million per year at Miami, so that is the ball park of what this will cost them. I am not sure they have that kind of money to spend here, so the fall back options appear to be Greg Schiano, who has seemingly shown no interest in returning to Rutgers, and Butch Davis.
Mullen is clearly the top target as I type this article, unless Mark Richt comes into play late, and all indications are that both sides have an interest in the other.

Memphis

It appears that with the departure of Justin Fuente to Virginia Tech, all eyes are on former Tigers assistant and current Missouri DC Barry Odom as the replacement. The Tigers administration has not seriously entered into talks with any other candidates, and it seems like a matter of getting the details right to lure Odom away from Missouri.
The only hitch appears to be whether or not Missouri intends to give serious consideration to offering Odom the job to remain as head coach in Columbia in 2016. He has had talks with the administration about staying, and so we are at the point where a decision must be made.

Missouri
Speaking of Missouri, Odom has had talks, and has interviewed, but the Tigers are looking at other parties as well. That may cost them Odom, who could leave at any moment for Memphis. Matt Ruhle of Temple interviewed with Missouri in the last 48 hours, and has since announced that he has no interest in the job. Matt Wells of Utah State, who is coming off of a very disappointing season in Logan, is also interviewing very soon. With Ruhle bowing out, it seems that Missouri is running out of top tier options.
Update: Add the names of Air Force coach Troy Calhoun and Colorado State’s Mike Bobo as options. Both interviewed in the Denver area this week, while Sonny Dykes is expected to interview later this week.

North Texas
All signs are that North Carolina assistant Seth Litrell is getting this job after Dusty Meacham bowed out today. Meacham, co-OC at TCU, was reported as having accepted the job, but that news was clearly premature, and left Meacham with no recourse but to publicly deny his interest, and subsequently pull his name out of the hat altogether. Litrell seems to be the only candidate remaining after Kendal Briles also pulled his name last week.

Rutgers

Rutgers finally made their change over the weekend after a loss to Maryland ended the 2015 season for the Scarlet Knights, which was followed by the firings of both Kyle Flood and AD Julie Hermann. Neither of those moves were a shock, and so the Scarlet Knights find themselves in a rather bad situation all the way around.
It appears that nobody, and I mean nobody, really wants this job openly. Rutgers is said to have severe financial restrictions, and the department isn’t doing very well at all. Money is tight for a hire, and so the program has to look hard at whom they can bring in. The AD situation has been ironed out, as former Seton Hall associate AD Pat Hobbs was immediately hired to fill the void. Now that there is a boss on campus, the pause may ease, but I do not see Rutgers being the kind of job that will generate huge interest.
One name Rutgers may want to consider is Harvard coach Tim Murphy, a man who has had his name attached to multiple jobs for years now. Murphy knows how to navigate a difficult situation academically, while producing on the field, and could be a very nice fit. Stay tuned here.

South Carolina

Like Georgia, the Gamecocks are aiming for Kirby Smart of Alabama, and just today, Georgia DC Jeremy Pruitt, who’s reign with the Bulldogs ended in chaos this week, is also a name in the mix, as is Auburn DC Will Muschamp. None of those names will excite the fan base other than Smart. The AD wants a new coach within the next two weeks, but there seems to be a drain in top tier candidates for the gig right now.

Syracuse

With Scott Shafer having been shown the door, the Orange job is open. The primary name attached to the job is still Ed Orgeron, who has publically stumped for the gig. Other than Orgeron, there have been few other candidates of note. I fully expect Syracuse to go after some of the big names in the MAC after the title game is played this Friday. I expect to see PJ Fleck of Western Michigan, Rod Carey of Northern Illinois, and Dino Babers of Bowling Green in the mix here. Babers recently was thought to have accepted the UCF job, and then promptly denied it.

Toledo

Matt Campbell jumped for a job that I found to be far below him in Iowa State this week, leaving the premier job in the MAC wide open. It would not be shocking to see a current staffer move up, much like Campbell did after Tim Beckman jumped to Illinois. This is a solid job, and several staffers have moved on to Iowa State with Campbell. If not someone from within that remains, Look for this job to end up in the hands of a high profile FBS assistant or a rising FCS head coach.

Tulane

Curtis Johnson, as predicted, was let go by Tulane this week. Johnson was a miserable failure at Tulane, and the change was an absolute must. Thus far, Houston Nutt has made himself into a candidate for the job, and will interview. Terry Bowden of Akron has made his interest known as well. Neither of these coaches appear to be the current target however, and with a new AD being hired any day now, we should see a much clearer picture of who Tulane is interested in by the weekend.

Virginia

Mike London was allowed to linger for weeks at Virginia before finally being dismissed last Sunday. With London gone, the Cavaliers will have to figure out how they want to be identified moving forward. Apparently, UVA is one of five schools who have contacted former Georgia coach Mark Richt, and he will interview there by the end of the week. No other current candidates have been named, but one other to watch is James Madison coach Everett Withers, as he coaches in state, and has a record of success as an assistant at Ohio State. UVA has shown a liking of FCS coaches in the past, including with London, as he came from Richmond.

HIRED

Hawaii

Again, as predicted by this site weeks ago, Hawaii hired former QB Nick Rolovich, who had most recently been OC at Nevada. Rolovich is a hire made with eyes forward rather than backward, which is what it would have been if they had indeed gone back to June Jones. Rolovich has a history with UH, and he should be a breath of fresh air within the administration and in recruiting. This was a solid hire for a desperate program.

Illinois

The current administration stated this week that there was never any intent not to give the full time job to Bill Cubit, and they did just that over the weekend, even before the Illini fell to Northwestern. Cubit was given a two year deal. I am not sure that this was the perfect move by Illinois, but they did not sell themselves out with a long term contract, and made a move that will not handcuff themselves if it doesn’t work out. With all of the competition in the open market right now, the Illini just simply chose to stay out of this race.

Iowa State
I think that the hiring of Matt Campbell was a better grab for Iowa State than it was for Matt Campbell, but the former Toledo coach is now all theirs. Campbell could have had much better jobs in the open market, as ISU has been a coaching graveyard for years. The best that Campbell can hope to do is get the Cyclones into the middle of the Big 12 pool, and then jump for better waters. Iowa State is ecstatic about this hire, as they should be, but the rest of us appear to be confused.

Minnesota
Tracy Klaeys is the official head coach of the Gophers, but that has been known. What is not known is how the rest of the staff will look in 2016. Klaeys states that he will examine the staff in the coming days and weeks.

UCF
The Knights whiffed at their first attempt to lock down a coach when Dino Babers apparently accepted, and then declined the offer made when it was announced immediately rather than waiting until after the MAC title game to make the announcement. UCF was forced into a take 2 situation, and this time they struck by hiring Oregon OC Scott Frost as their new head coach to replace the retired George O’Leary.
Frost is an innovative young coach who will likely bring a whole new energy to Orlando, and will bring his up tempo Oregon offense to UCF immediately. Once he recruits, this could be dangerous. Overall, UCF did a solid job with this hire, even if it was bungled initially.

USC

Clay Helton got the job officially after beating UCLA, but not because USC didn’t try to get anyone else, anyone at all, to take the job instead. USC reached out to Chip Kelly and Jack Del Rio of the NFL in recent days, and both coaches refused them. According to AD Pat Haden, he reached out to a total of 17 different coaches, until finally settling on Helton. I am not certain I’d feel too secure if I were Helton, as being the 18^th choice is never an easy place to be in.

Virginia Tech

Whit Babcock spent very little time in finding his man, and he jumped quickly to nab Justin Fuente of Memphis, as Fuente was one of the hottest names on the carousel. This is a strong move for Tech, and Bud Foster comes as part of the package. I am not sure why Foster was never given the job himself, and he may feel strange about this, but it could work well. Parts of Fuente’s Memphis staff have already signed on, so this could be a fun ride after recruiting gets going.

FCS Coaching News

Austin Peay

Kirby Cannon was officially let go last week, and now APSU is seeking a new coach after Cannon went 1-34 during his tenure. The administration is looking to make a move fairly quickly, as they announced they would have a new coach by the 15^th of this month.

Eastern Kentucky

Dean Hood was let go after EKU fell short in the Ohio Valley race and finished at 6-5. The Colonels are trying to make a move into FBS football, and felt a new direction was needed to make that move successful in the near future. No word on candidates as of yet.

Jackson State

Harold Jackson was let go during the season, and there is still no new news about this job. Rod Broadway of North Carolina A&T, Jerry Mack of North Carolina Central, and Terry Sims of Bethune-Cookman could all be targets at this point, but I am not sure any of them would want to leave their current situations.

Maine

Jack Cosgrove retired after 23 seasons as head coach at Maine last week. The search has been quiet, but I will be researching a list of candidates later this week, and likely over the weekend.

Montana State

Rob Ash was fired last week after having been given a three year extension just weeks ago. This comes on the heels of a defensive collapse in a loss to Montana, which is a theme that has been recurrent during Ash’s time at MSU. Two big names are currently considered candidates in former UNLV and Montana head coach Bobby Hauck and former Boise State and Colorado head coach Dan Hawkins. The current OC Tim Cramsey has been interviewed, and Washington State assistant Jeff Choate will also garner consideration.

South Dakota

Joe Glenn has retired after basically having his best year at USD since he returned. No replacement or timetable to find one has been announced.

Southern Illinois

Dale Lennon has been let go within the last couple of days. I will be researching this position later this week.

Texas Southern
Darrell Asberry is out with the Tigers, and again, I will update as I have more info on this one.