Coaching carousel continues to spin

As another season of NCAA football is winding
down, the beginning of another season is beginning:
the hunt for new coaches. Many schools are
looking for upgrades, and this is your guide to this
year’s hunt.

Nebraska

Former coach: Bill Callahan.

Why he’s gone: Let’s face it, Callahan wasn’t a
very good hire to begin with. The most successful
Nebraska teams ran an option attack. Callahan’s
West Coast attack was nothing like it. The players he
inherited didn’t pick up the system very quickly, and
the players he recruited weren’t great at it either.

The hire: Interim Athletic Director Tom Osborne
has named himself acting head coach for recruiting
purposes, but all signs point to LSU defensive
coordinator Bo Pelini getting the job. University
of Buffalo head coach and former Cornhuskers
quarterback Turner Gill are also candidates.

The outlook: Gill has the upper hand in that he
has the head coaching experience that Pelini lacks,
but it appears that Osborne favors Pelini. Pelini
would certainly shore up Nebraska’s defense, but
it will be interesting to see if he has the skills to be
the head man in charge.

Michigan

Former coach: Lloyd Carr.

Why he’s gone: Carr announced his retirement,
effective at the end of the season, a few weeks ago.
However, there aren’t a lot of wet eyes in Ann
Arbor over his departure. Carr’s teams consistently
underachieved in the eyes of many.

The hire: It appeared that LSU head coach and
Michigan graduate Les Miles was all set to head
home to the Big 10, but Miles killed the rumors
of his departure during a press conference before
the Tigers defeated Tennessee 21-14 in the SEC
championship game.

The outlook: This situation mirrors North
Carolina’s search for a basketball search after Bill
Guthridge retired. The Tar Heels thought Roy
Williams was coming and didn’t have much of a
back-up plan for when he said no. The same thing
appears to be true here. Michigan will look for a
coach that will give it instant credibility and can
beat Ohio State. Look for defensive coordinator Ron
English to get a look – he’s long overdue.

Arkansas
Former coach: Houston Nutt.

Why he’s gone: While Nutt had much success
at Arkansas, the fans and administration both
seemed to want more. A controversy surrounding
recruits from Springdale, Ark., and a strange
relationship with a reporter didn’t seem to help
matters. Nonetheless, Nutt resigned and was
quickly hired by Mississppi.

The hire: Early rumors pointed toward
North Carolina’s Butch Davis, a friend of a big
Arkansas donor and an Arkansas native. However,
Davis recently signed an extension with
UNC. Auburn’s Tommy Tuberville remains a hot
name in the search because of contract issues.
Auburn recently offered Tuberville an extension,
but he has yet to agree to it, and many believe
it is because of an interest in the Razorbacks.
If that falls through, Oakland Raiders head
coach Lane Kiffin may be interested in dropping
down to the collegiate ranks, but will
have big issues with getting out of his current
contract.

The outlook: Tuberville would be an ideal hire.
He is a big-name coach who has been around the
SEC for a long time. Kiffin coached at Southern
California for six years, including time as the
offensive coordinator. He has the pedigree to do
great things, and at only 32 years old, he has a
long career ahead of him.

Georgia Tech

Former coach: Chan Gailey.

Why he’s gone: The former Dallas Cowboys
coach couldn’t get Georgia Tech into the upper
echelon of the ACC. He led the Yellow Jackets to
the ACC title game in 2006 but otherwise greatly
underachieved in the eyes of the administration.

The hire: Former University of Washington
head coach Rick Neuheisel is a name that has been
thrown around a lot in this search, as is Georgia
Southern coach Chris Hatcher and Connecticut’s
Randy Edsall.

The outlook: Neuheisel is a veteran coach that
built Washington into a good program before
his controversial dismissal. With the high school
talent in the state of Georgia, he could easily do
even more at Georgia Tech. Thatcher doesn’t carry
the name, but ran a very successful program at
Valdosta State before moving to GSU. Another
big plus: He tutored former first-round picks
Daunte Culpepper and Tim Couch. Edsall is the
only current BCS head coach of the three and
has turned UConn into a legitimate threat in a
very short time.

Duke

Former coach: Ted Roof.

Why he’s gone: Roof, like Carl Franks before
him, just couldn’t get it done. In his five years in
charge, the Blue Devils won only three conference
games, all in the first two years.

The hire: A dark-horse candidate could be
Tommy Knotts – the head coach at Independence
High School in Charlotte, N.C. Knotts served as
an offensive coordinator under Roof for a year
before going back to the high school game, but is
a big enough name locally to perhaps draw some
interest. As far as college coaches, Chan Gailey
could be interested as well as Tennessee offensive
coordinator Dave Cutcliffe. If Duke chooses to
look at the FCS level, expect Richmond’s Dave
Clawson to get a look.

The outlook: Duke isn’t exactly an attractive
job as far as support and talent. However, there
aren’t a lot of expectations at this point. Whoever
can get the Blue Devils 5-6 wins a year will be
successful.