College Football Teams Overview

As is usually the case in late November, the college football “rumor mill” is whirring, mostly with chatter about who’s coming and who’s going on the coaching front. There’s a little more speculation in this season’s “mill” than a year ago when only a handful of coaching jobs opened. That was understandable, given that the carnage of the preceding few seasons inadvertently rendered 2005 as a quiet year on that front.

But there appears to be more instability in the coaching ranks as the 2006 season concludes. Already, five schools (North Carolina, Michigan State, Iowa State, Florida International, and North Texas) have announced forthcoming changes, and we wouldn’t be surprised to see a few more even before regular-season play officially concludes. It’s interesting that such in-season announcements were once almost unheard of in the college ranks, and much more likely to take place in the NFL. Ironically, that dynamic has reversed in recent years.

And already, we know of the successor to one of the departing coaches, even before that school’s regular season has concluded. North Carolina has named Butch Davis (left) as its new coach even before John Bunting is finished leading this season’s Tar Heels (who conclude their season Saturday vs. local rival Duke). But the speculation continues about the other already-announced openings, with perhaps others on the horizon.

Now that Michigan State’s season officially concluded, the Spartans are proceeding with their search for John L. Smith’s successor. Some interesting dynamics are taking place behind the scenes in East Lansing, where a couple of candidates from the NFL assistant ranks with strong ties to the school (Browns defensive coordinator Todd Grantham, a former Spartan player and member of Nick Saban’s MSU staffs from 1996-98, and Eagle QB Patrick Shurmur, another ex-Spartan player) are being mentioned prominently. As is Central Michigan HC Brian Kelly, who has done a splendid job resurrecting the Chippewas (who are headed for the MAC title game) after a stellar run at Division II Grand Valley State. Regional insiders don’t expect the upwardly-mobile Kelly (who has reportedly already interviewed for the MSU job) to stay at Dick Enberg’s alma mater much longer. Cincinnati HC Mark Dantonio, with strong regional ties (on Jim Tressel’s Ohio State staff before moving to the Bearcats), has also been mentioned. For what it’s worth, Big Ten scouts say it’s unlikely the school will seriously consider ex-NFL HC Steve Mariucci, a native of the region and best friends with Spartan hoop coach Tom Izzo. Although that “fit” seems to work on several levels, Mariucci (who was Cal’s HC for one year in 1996 before moving to the 49ers, and, subsequently to the Lions in 2003) is reportedly more interested in resurrecting his career in the NFL, preferably somewhere on the west coast.

Meanwhile, Iowa State has also completed its season and is progressing in its search to replace Dan McCarney, who announced his resignation two weeks ago. Big XII sources say keep an eye on University of San Diego HC Jim Harbaugh, the ex-Michigan and longtime NFL QB who has done a remarkable job molding the I-AA Toreros into a force on their own level. Sources say Harbaugh (who reportedly interviewed for the job in Dallas late last week) is eager for a “big-time” job and wouldn’t hesitate to return to his midwest roots. Harbaugh has also been mentioned in scuttlebutt regarding the Michigan State job, although sources say it’s unlikely the Spartans would turn to such a prominent ex-Wolverine with so many available candidates boasting of MSU ties. Central Michigan’s aforementioned Kelly could also figure somewhere in the ISU mix. Tulsa HC Steve Kragthorpe (left) is generally considered as a candidate for a BCS-school opening (he was mentioned for the North Carolina post before Davis took the job) and figures to have his name thrown in the hat in Ames, although a late-season fade by Kragthorpe’s Golden Hurricane might be removing some of the varnish from his candidacy. From the college assistant ranks, LSU d.c. Bo Pelini, who recently held the same posts at Nebraska (where he succeeeded Frank Solich as interim Husker HC for the 2003 Alamo Bowl) and Oklahoma, is reportedly on ISU’s radar as well, as might Solich, currently Ohio's HC. Michigan d.c. Ron English could also be in the Ames mix, although some Big Ten sourcess suggest the Wolverines might be grooming English to be Lloyd Carr’s eventual successor. Another NFL assistant who is reportedly seeking a college top spot is Titans’ o.c. Norm Chow, who gained notoriety for his years as LaVell Edwards’ right-hand man at BYU before waving his magic wand for a year at N.C. State (with a young Philip Rivers) and more recently molding a pair of Heisman winners (Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart) on Pete Carroll’s USC staff.

Although no other openings are “official” as of press time, there are serious rumblings at several other locales. Few expect Larry Coker to survive the turbulent season at Miami-Florida. Already, there’s rampant “successor speculation” regarding Rutgers HC Greg Schiano (a former Cane assistant on Butch Davis’ staff) and perhaps Wisconsin AD Barry Alvarez (left), a close friend of Miami school president Donna Shalala (who was also the chancellor at Wisconsin during Alvarez’ early days as Badger HC). There are also rumors that Miami could make a run at South Carolina HC Steve Spurrier. Meanwhile, Chuck Amato’s days at N.C. State appear to be numbered, too. Mid-Atlantic sources are intrigued by Saturday’s season-ending matchup between Amato’s Wolfpack and East Carolina, coached by Skip Holtz, who has done a superb job resurrecting the Pirate program after putting UConn on the map and preparing the Huskies for a move to the I-A ranks several years ago. By the way, Skip’s papa Lou coached at NCS from 1971-75. Regional insiders also expect Navy’s creative HC Paul Johnson to get a call should the Wolfpack job open.

And there are several developments out west, where there’s increasing chatter in the bay area that Walt Harris could be on thin ice after just two years at Stanford. Insiders say AD Bob Bowlsby, who arrived on the Farm from Iowa after Harris was hired two years, is not particularly happy with his football coach, especially with the Cardinal suffering through a wretched 1-10 campaign, amid rumors of internal discord on the team. Pac-10 sources have alerted us to keep an eye on developments in Palo Alto, as well as possible situation brewing at Arizona State, where sources say HC Dirk Koetter, under heavy fire in the Valley of the Sun, could be in trouble if the Sun Devils can't win their finale against rival Arizona. Meanwhile, Mountain West insiders believe there's a chance both Colorado State's Sonny Lubick and Air Force's Fisher DeBerry could announce their retirements before their final regular-season games. Stay tuned.

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