I’ll start with Mike Leach, who very clearly articulated to me Wednesday his desire to return to coaching. Interestingly, I was asked to be a guest on a radio show in Albuquerque, N.M., yesterday. The station asked about Houston Nutt as a viable candidate for the New Mexico job. We talked about what went right/what went wrong at Ole Miss, and I said I thought Nutt made sense with the Lobos for a number of reasons. However, the hosts were much more interested in Leach, asking about Ole Miss’ level of interest in the former Texas Tech head coach. The hosts said the Lobos’ fans covet Leach and implied the UNM administration does as well.
I believe Leach is indeed a candidate at Ole Miss. I’m not sure where he is on the pecking order because, in the spirit of full disclosure, there’s very little being leaked out right now and Archie Manning and Mike Glenn have yet to meet in Oxford to discuss their strategy (they did have a call earlier this week).
Here’s the question Leach may have to answer soon, and it has nothing to do with Adam James or pirates or ESPN. Instead, if a school such as New Mexico or Tulane were to offer its head coaching post to Leach, does he roll the dice and wait for Ole Miss, knowing the Rebels could go in another direction or does he take the gig? I don’t know that answer.
As for other candidates, I’m hearing Texas defensive coordinator Manny Diaz’s candidacy at Arizona may be gaining some traction. A college football insider said Diaz will be a major player in that search before it’s all said and done. Arizona AD Greg Byrne isn’t talking at all, and former Oregon coach Mike Belotti shot down a report earlier this week that he is interested in the Wildcats’ opening. Rich Rodriguez is believed to be a candidate, and Leach has some support in Tucson as well. Keep an eye on Diaz there, though. He’s going to be a major-college head coach sooner rather than later.
Auburn offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn wouldn’t comment on the Ole Miss job earlier this week, saying instead that he’s focused on the Tigers’ date with Georgia Saturday. College football insiders continue to maintain Malzahn could land the North Carolina job fairly quickly after the Iron Bowl in 16 days.
I continue to hear from various sources that there will be real pressure applied to Ole Miss to hire Arkansas State coach Hugh Freeze. Are those rumors valid? I don’t know, honestly, but there sure seems to be a lot of smoke. Freeze is close to prominent alumni such as Sean Touhy and Glenn. As I said earlier in the week, his name is one that shouldn’t be ignored if you’re trying to handicap the search.
Richard Cross of Head to Head Radio talked about the Tony Dungy-to-Ole Miss rumors yesterday. Cross is skeptical. So am I, but that rumor keeps flying around. Personally, I think it’s nothing more than someone trying to fill the news vacuum with a rumor that has a personal connection. Dungy coached Peyton Manning in Indianapolis, and there is certainly familiarity between he and Archie Manning.
Finally, one name to possibly keep an ear open for is Miami coach Al Golden. There are industry insiders who insist Golden’s contract with the Hurricanes isn’t signed. He’ll be at the top of Penn State’s list to replace Joe Paterno, but as the horrific story in State College unfolds, that job looks worse and worse. Will the NCAA look into the program? It should. If it does, will it find a lack of institutional control? That seems obvious. Golden, who inherited a Miami program prior to an NCAA scandal that he wasn’t remotely involved in, probably wouldn’t want to jump into the Penn State mess, but one has to believe he’d like to get out of Coral Gables. Would Ole Miss be attractive enough to lure him away? I have no idea, but his name has popped up in some conversations with informed Ole Miss people, so I wouldn’t be surprised if Manning, Glenn and Co. at least took a barometric reading in regards to Golden.
I believe Leach is indeed a candidate at Ole Miss. I’m not sure where he is on the pecking order because, in the spirit of full disclosure, there’s very little being leaked out right now and Archie Manning and Mike Glenn have yet to meet in Oxford to discuss their strategy (they did have a call earlier this week).
Here’s the question Leach may have to answer soon, and it has nothing to do with Adam James or pirates or ESPN. Instead, if a school such as New Mexico or Tulane were to offer its head coaching post to Leach, does he roll the dice and wait for Ole Miss, knowing the Rebels could go in another direction or does he take the gig? I don’t know that answer.
As for other candidates, I’m hearing Texas defensive coordinator Manny Diaz’s candidacy at Arizona may be gaining some traction. A college football insider said Diaz will be a major player in that search before it’s all said and done. Arizona AD Greg Byrne isn’t talking at all, and former Oregon coach Mike Belotti shot down a report earlier this week that he is interested in the Wildcats’ opening. Rich Rodriguez is believed to be a candidate, and Leach has some support in Tucson as well. Keep an eye on Diaz there, though. He’s going to be a major-college head coach sooner rather than later.
Auburn offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn wouldn’t comment on the Ole Miss job earlier this week, saying instead that he’s focused on the Tigers’ date with Georgia Saturday. College football insiders continue to maintain Malzahn could land the North Carolina job fairly quickly after the Iron Bowl in 16 days.
I continue to hear from various sources that there will be real pressure applied to Ole Miss to hire Arkansas State coach Hugh Freeze. Are those rumors valid? I don’t know, honestly, but there sure seems to be a lot of smoke. Freeze is close to prominent alumni such as Sean Touhy and Glenn. As I said earlier in the week, his name is one that shouldn’t be ignored if you’re trying to handicap the search.
Richard Cross of Head to Head Radio talked about the Tony Dungy-to-Ole Miss rumors yesterday. Cross is skeptical. So am I, but that rumor keeps flying around. Personally, I think it’s nothing more than someone trying to fill the news vacuum with a rumor that has a personal connection. Dungy coached Peyton Manning in Indianapolis, and there is certainly familiarity between he and Archie Manning.
Finally, one name to possibly keep an ear open for is Miami coach Al Golden. There are industry insiders who insist Golden’s contract with the Hurricanes isn’t signed. He’ll be at the top of Penn State’s list to replace Joe Paterno, but as the horrific story in State College unfolds, that job looks worse and worse. Will the NCAA look into the program? It should. If it does, will it find a lack of institutional control? That seems obvious. Golden, who inherited a Miami program prior to an NCAA scandal that he wasn’t remotely involved in, probably wouldn’t want to jump into the Penn State mess, but one has to believe he’d like to get out of Coral Gables. Would Ole Miss be attractive enough to lure him away? I have no idea, but his name has popped up in some conversations with informed Ole Miss people, so I wouldn’t be surprised if Manning, Glenn and Co. at least took a barometric reading in regards to Golden.
