Tag: head coach search

Bold Predictions: LSU in the postseason, head coach, and quarterback talk

We’re getting bold with these predictions. Bowl games, head coaches, and quarterbacks oh my.

Two games left on the schedule and both come at home. The LSU Tigers need to win out to have a chance at the postseason, but will they get there? The LSU Tigers Wire staff will answer that question momentarily.

There is also the hottest topic around the nation, it seems like everyone wants to know where the Bayou Bengals and athletic director Scott Woodward go with the next head coach. Current head coaches around the nation are having to answer questions that tie them to the purple and gold.

But what about the quarterbacks? We have seen a lot of Max Johnson and a little of Garrett Nussmeier this season. Who gets the nod heading into the 2022 season?

The staff gets bold with these predictions as the offseason approaches.

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Texas co-defensive coordinator Jeff Choate linked to Washington coaching search

Bruce Feldman’s likely candidates for the Washington head coach job include Texas’ Jeff Choate.

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The Washington Huskies chose to part ways with head coach Jimmy Lake in just his second season with the program. Continue reading “Texas co-defensive coordinator Jeff Choate linked to Washington coaching search”

Could LSU still go after Texas A&M’s Jimbo Fisher?

“Scott Woodward is not giving up”

As soon as the rumblings started with the job security of Ed Orgeron, eyes immediately looked to the west. More specifically to College Station and former LSU assistant Jimbo Fisher.

Of course, there is history with Fisher and LSU, he was the offensive coordinator for the national championship team under Nick Saban. He also has ties with current athletic director Scott Woodward, who brought him to Texas A&M from Florida State.

It is quite simple to connect the dots here. Given the huge extension that Fisher just received, is it still possible for it to transpire? There is no buyout clause with the Aggies, but Texas A&M certainly has the backing to money whip any deal that LSU and Woodward bring to the table. Fox Sports analyst and The Athletic insider Bruce Feldman still believes that Fisher is in play.

“From what I’m hearing from people around LSU is that Scott Woodward is not giving up easily. And he feels like he may be able to pull Jimbo Fisher again even though the A&M people are like ‘no, that’s not happening.’ So we’ll see how that plays out.” via On3 Sports

Fisher has already refuted any rumors. “I love it here,” Fisher said. “I plan on being here and fulfilling my contract. I love everything about this place. I love being at A&M.” Put that down as a nondenial denial.

Feldman also mentions Michigan State head coach Mel Tucker, a name we have hit on repeatedly. Seems pretty clear that Woodward and the administration are looking at coaches with ties to Alabama’s Nick Saban. That could eliminate several candidates if that is indeed the case. Or it could just be a case of coincidence.

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If the decision-makers at LSU are looking for a tie-in with Saban, don’t forget to look to the Pacific Northwest with Mario Cristobal from Orgeron. He knows the SEC, has ties to Saban, and he is an elite recruiter.  As the month of November moves on, we should get a clearer picture of who is actually in play.

My gut tells me it won’t be Fisher, but it is a wait-and-see scenario at this point.

Coaching carousel: Agent changes and the non-denial denials

The fun is only just getting started.

There are two major job openings in the world of college football. First, we had the USC job after the Trojans fired Clay Helton. Not long after that move, we had LSU announcing that the Tigers would move on from Ed Orgeron following the season. Another Power Five job recently came open when Texas Tech relieved Matt Wells of his duties.

In the hierarchy of college football, the Red Raiders job is way down the list. At the very top, we have LSU and USC. The interesting part of the coaching carousel is agent movement. A head coach candidate that is tied to both the Tigers and Trojans openings switched agents to industry titan Jimmy Sexton. That’s no coincidence.

James Franklin changed his representation to Sexton, an agent that represents the very top head coaches in college football. Sexton represented Jimbo Fisher, so there is already a working relationship with the athletic director, Scott Woodward.

When asked about the move, Franklin stated that he changed agents over the offseason and the news is just coming out now.

“I’m not going to get into the details, but what I will tell you is this is being reported now,” Franklin said. “this is something that happened over the summer. “Obviously, I didn’t make an announcement. I don’t know anybody that ever does when that happens, but this is something that happened over the summer that’s just being reported now.”

This brings me to rule No. 1 when it comes to head coaches and job speculation, never believe the head coach. Nick Saban stated he wouldn’t become head coach of Alabama, days later he was. Mel Tucker stated he wouldn’t leave Colorado for Michigan State, and then he did.

As far as other candidates go, we have the non-denial denials. Coaches will discuss their current spot instead of directly answering the question more times than not.

Former Texas assistant Jeff Traylor among candidates to replace Matt Wells at Texas Tech

Former Texas assistant Jeff Traylor will be a hot commodity.

The head coach landscape has yet another opening following the firings of Clay Helton at USC and Ed Orgeron at LSU. The Texas Tech Red Raiders announced on Monday that they relieved Matt Wells. Athletic director Kirby Hocutt stated that the next hire would be one that will unify the fanbase.

One of the names that has been passed around is former Texas Longhorns assistant coach Jeff Traylor. Currently, Traylor has his UTSA Roadrunners in the top 25 of the AFCA Coaches Poll with an 8-0 record. During his time as the head coach, Traylor has compiled a record of 15-5 with the Roadrunners in two years.

At a late afternoon news conference, Hocutt called Wells “a very good man” and one “who always operates with integrity and character.”

“Matt Wells did a lot of things right,” Hocutt said. “The performance on the field did not match our expectations.”

Tech (5-3, 2-3 in the Big 12) has finished each of the past five seasons and six of the past seven with losing records. The Red Raiders have not finished above .500 in conference play since 2009, Mike Leach’s last season.

“We’ve got to get this right,” Hocutt said with an emphatic tone. “Bottom line, we have got to get this right for Texas Tech athletics and Texas Tech University.”

Hocutt emphasized that getting a coach with Texas ties will be important for high school connections and recruiting reasons. – Don Williams, Lubbock Avalanche-Journal

A head coach candidate with high school connections seems to point straight to Traylor. He spent time as an assistant coach at Big Sandy and Jacksonville in East Texas before becoming the head coach at Gilmer High School. He joined the Longhorns staff in 2015 after 14 years with Gilmer.

Multiple coaching lists all have Traylor among the top names, as well as Sonny Dykes. Dykes is the current head coach at Southern Methodist and the son of Tech coaching legend Spike Dykes.

According to The Athletic, don’t forget about Dabo Swinney as a candidate

A new name to add to the mix?

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Hold on to your seats, it is going to get bumpy over the next couple of months.

Plenty of speculation swirling around Baton Rouge after the announcement that Ed Orgeron and LSU have agreed to part ways. We even compiled a list of head coach candidates based on the buzz around the program. One name that wasn’t on the list was Clemson’s Dabo Swinney.

According to Bruce Feldman of The Athletic (subscription required), LSU’s athletic director Scott Woodward might take a swing at him. The AD is known for going for the big fish and Swinney certainly qualifies as he led Clemson to multiple national championships with the Tigers. Both times that he won, Swinney knocked off Alabama.

Ed Orgeron and the LSU Tigers knocked off Clemson 42-25 in the 2019 CFP title game to secure the championship. Could Swinney now jump to LSU following the season?

Another huge swing that Woodward could take and may take, according to a source, is Swinney: “That’s totally his (Woodward’s) M.O.— he’s gonna make him say no.” Swinney’s buyout is currently $3 million, which is obviously very manageable.

The 51-year-old Alabama native has beaten the Tide and won two national titles. Would he actually be tempted by a job in Saban’s own division when the ACC is set up for him and Clemson to dominate, though?

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We will continue to monitor the ongoing coaching search in the coming weeks.

Contact/Follow us @LSUTigersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Louisiana State news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Patrick on Twitter: @PatrickConnCFB

LSU and head coach Ed Orgeron reach separation agreement

Ed Orgeron will leave LSU following the season.

After so much discussion revolving around head coach Ed Orgeron and his job status, he won’t return to the school in 2022. SI’s Ross Dellenger reported the move on Sunday morning.

According to the report, negotiations began before the huge win over the Florida Gators. He will finish out the year as the head coach of the LSU Tigers and will step away after the season. It appears to be a mutual agreement with Orgeron understanding the expectation level with the Tigers.

With the news now public, athletic director Scott Woodward will begin the head coaching search for LSU. Many have speculated that the top target for the school will be Penn State head coach James Franklin. He is no stranger to the SEC having led Vanderbilt to two consecutive nine-win seasons before leaving for Happy Valley.

Another name brought up on Saturday morning by Bruce Feldman was Mel Tucker of Michigan State. He served under Nick Saban and is no stranger to LSU. Tucker served as the defensive backs coach for the Tigers in 2000.

We will continue to monitor the situation and provide updates as they are made available.

Eagles go different direction at HC: Moore, Fassel to stay with Cowboys

The Cowboys had to sweat it out a bit, but they will still have their OC and ST coordinator in tow for the 2021 season.

There was a possibility, albeit remote, that the Dallas Cowboys were going to be replacing three of the four major decision makers under head coach Mike McCarthy. With Dan Quinn taking over for Mike Nolan after one year of ineptitude, the defense assuredly was going to be led differently. The unfortunate passing of Markus Paul during the season led to the interim title of strength and conditioning coach to be lifted and Harold Nash, Jr. was given the job outright on Wednesday.

However both offensive coordinator Kellen Moore, he of a new three-year contract, and special teams coach John Fassel were under consideration to be poached by division rival Philadelphia. Moore interviewed earlier in the week and Fassel was said to be of interest. However the Eagles have settled on their replacement for the fired Doug Pederson and their choice is Indianapolis Colts offensive coordinator Nick Sirianni.

Sirianni’s primary job will be to resurrect the career of quarterback Carson Wentz, who went from a huge contract extension in 2019 to being one of the league’s worst signal callers in 2020. That’s likely one of the reasons why Moore was of interest to Philly brass, for his work with Wentz’ draft-class mate Dak Prescott.

Prescott now gets to continue to work within Moore’s offense. The two have been together in some capacity since Prescott’s rookie season. Moore was a backup quarterback whose injury opened the door for Prescott to fill in for Tony Romo when the franchise QB suffered a broken back in the preseason. Prescott started every regular season game since until he incurred a compound fracture in his leg in Week 5.

Following being a backup to Prescott in 2017, Moore ascended to be his QB coach in 2018 and has been the offensive coordinator and play caller the last two seasons; one final year under Jason Garrett and this most recent season under McCarthy.

McCarthy brought Fassel over to coach the downtrodden special teams’ unit after being let go from the Los Angeles Rams and improved Dallas’ crew from the bottom of the league to No. 11 this past season.

With only Houston remaining as a head coaching vacancy, outside of one of their position coaches being tapped for a coordinator role with the Texans, it is now likely that additional disruptions to the coaching staff for the Cowboys is off the table.

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Cowboys OC Kellen Moore interviewed with Eagles, what’s next?

The Dallas Cowboys ended the Philadelphia Eagles’ 2020 season in Week 16, 37-17. It was a combined effort of all three phases, but the offense’s efforts under backup quarterback Andy Dalton was on full display. Dallas managed to have two 100-yard …

The Dallas Cowboys ended the Philadelphia Eagles’ 2020 season in Week 16, 37-17. It was a combined effort of all three phases, but the offense’s efforts under backup quarterback Andy Dalton was on full display. Dallas managed to have two 100-yard receivers and a 100-yard rusher behind a makeshift line that no longer had any of their three elite-level protectors.

It was the second time in two seasons the Cowboys had put 37 points up against Philadelphia, and hardly the only time that offensive coordinator Kellen Moore’s ability to command an arsenal was on full display. So it should be surprising that the Eagles, floundering in trying to find a head coach replacement for the fired Doug Pederson, were interested in speaking to Moore about their opening. On Tuesday, that meeting happened.

Moore, 32, has been an OC for just two seasons and a coach for just three, spending a year as QB coach before moving up. When his initial three-year contract was over this spring, he flirted with taking the head coach job at his alma mater Boise State. He decided against it, to maintain a direct line to a head coaching gig in the NFL. Dallas signed him for another three years, in what looks like establishing a possible line of succession to head coach Mike McCarthy.

But Moore’s opportunity may come before that. The Eagles have interviewed countless candidates as other vacancies across the league have been filled. Their ownership is hell bent on saving the career of Carson Wentz, drafted in 2016 and given a fat contract in 2019 but who has fallen on hard times and was one of the league’s worst QBs in 2020. Seeing the work Moore has done with Dak Prescott and his development, it makes perfect sense why they’d want to listen to Moore’s ideas.

And it makes perfect sense why Moore would take the interview. There are only 32 head coaching jobs in the league, and only a handful open up every year. It would behoove Moore to get as much experience in the interview process as possible, and if there’s a marriage to be made it’s not on him to worry about fan rivalries.

But it would leave Dallas in a position to try and replace him as the play caller.

McCarthy, of course, has called plays in his past as head coach of the Green Bay Packers. He did it for years and could easily resume that role with Dallas. A betting man would probably lean to that being the case if Moore left, but that is not a guarantee.

The team has several candidates from within the staff to move up to OC if Moore departed. That includes current OL coach Joe Philbin, who was McCarthy’s OC in Green Bay in two different stints. It also could be Doug Nussmeier, who has been on the Cowboys staff for three years across two regimes and went from tight ends coach to QB coach this past season.

Nussmeier was the offensive coordinator across four different college stops before coming to the NFL in 2018.

All of these, as well as outside hires would be on the table were Moore to leave the fold, but the Eagles may have just been doing due diligence, and picking the brain of a rival coach. They continue their search into Day 9.

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2021 head coach tracker: Who will the Jags interview, have interested in?

The Jags have been associated with many coaching candidates including Urban Meyer, Arthur Smith, and more.

The Jacksonville Jaguars’ head coaching search has been underway since Monday morning when Doug Marrone was fired. After the decision was made, Owner Shad Khan said he’d conduct a wide search to find the right people to get the Jags on track and has begun to set up interviews since.

So far, many candidates have been associated with the Jags’ opening. Over time we’ll be keeping track of those names and their expected times to meet with the Jags below:

Candidate Current team Interview date Source
Eric Bienemy Chiefs/ offensive coordinator Jan. 6 (Josina Anderson)
Raheem Morris Falcons/ interim head coach Jan. 7 (Josina Anderson)
Robert Saleh 49ers/ defensive coordinator Jan. 9 (49ers GM John Lynch)
Urban Meyer Former Ohio State coach Unknown (Ian Rapoport)
Arthur Smith Titans coordinator Unknown (Adam Schefter)

Candidates who the Jags are reportedly interested in or linked to their vacany

Candidate Current team Interview date Source
Arthur Smith Titans coordinator Unknown (Adam Schefter)
Brian Daboll Bills coordinator Unknown (Albert Breer)