Rank That Coach! » Rumors

WVU’s Rodriguez Meets with Michigan

Sean — Sat, 15 Dec 2007 05:49:37 +0000

West Virginia coach Rich Rodriguez apparently traveled to Toledo to meet with Michigan athletic director Bill Martin on Friday. This would make Rodriguez the latest coach attached to the Michigan job, following Les Miles, Greg Schiano, and Jim Grobe.

I’ve gotta say, Rodriguez might actually be a good fit for Michigan. Here are a few reasons why:

He replaced the legendary Don Nehlan at West Virginia, so he knows how to take over a program with great expectations. Plus Nehlan was a Schembechler guy, so that makes Rodriguez some kind of Wolverine cousin.
He’s run up a 60-26 record at WVU since 2000
He’s used to blue and yellow…
Most importantly, he’s the #2 coach in the nation according to our rankings

Right now it’s hard to say how serious this is (though Brian at MGoBlog has reports that it’s pretty serious), but we’ll keep you posted.

Bobby Petrino Coming to Arkansas

Sean — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 00:58:05 +0000

There are reports out of Atlanta tonight that Bobby Petrino has resigned as head coach of the Atlanta Falcons and will take over the same position with the University of Arkansas. ESPN is reporting that Petrino phoned in his resignation and will not coach the Falcons last three games.

The deal with Arkansas is reportedly not quite done yet, but is believed to be in the neighborhood of $3 million per year.

With Arkansas’ recent luck trying to woo coaches, maybe we shouldn’t believe this quite yet. If it turns out to be true though it will be a major coup for the Razorbacks. Petrino went 41-9 as head coach at Louisville, and turned the Cardinals into a force in the Big East. He has had a difficult season with the Falcons, though you can’t blame his best player’s incarceration on him.

If this works out the SEC just got a little tougher.

Wake Forest’s Grobe to Arkansas?

Sean — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 06:03:14 +0000

Curious reports out of Arkansas tonight. Apparently The Razorback Foundation, the athletic department’s private fundraising arm, has approved a supplemental salary request for Wake Forest’s Jim Grobe. This doesn’t officially mean the university is hiring Grobe, but it’s a strong indication.

A news conference could be held as early as Thursday to announce Grobe as the next Razorbacks coach. Or the whole thing could fall apart. Check back to find out what happens.

Grobe only places 51st in our updated rankings, but he’s known for consistently making the most of the talent he’s got, so this could be a good hire for Arkansas.

More info at ESPN and The Morning News of Northwest Arkansas

Wannstedt Getting Extension at Pitt?

Sean — Sat, 01 Dec 2007 02:51:08 +0000

Dave Wannstedt seems like a decent enough guy. And his mustache is perfect for Pittsburgh. But he’s 15-19 in his 3 years at Pitt. They’re not showing any signs of improvement. And according to our calculations he’s the 107th best coach in the country. So why are the Panthers getting ready to extend his contract through 2012? Anyone? Anyone? Beuller?

That being said, let’s all pull for Dave this weekend as his team takes on #2 WVU in the 100th edition of The Backyard Brawl.

Tuberville to Arkansas?

Sean — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 14:56:57 +0000

There are conflicting reports out there, but it looks like there’s a chance Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville will be the next coach at Arkansas.

Proving once again that SEC country loves it’s football unlike anyone else, an Arkansas tv station broke into it’s regular programming with this Razorback Nation Special Report:

If Tuberville does go to Arkansas there would be a bit of interesting symmetry. When the Hogs were looking for a coach in 1997, Tommy was the coach at Ole Miss. He interviewed for the job, but ultimately Arkansas hired Houston Nutt. This week Nutt resigned from Arkansas to go to Ole Miss. So if Tuberville goes to Arkansas we’ll be heading to an alternate version of 1997, where Tommy got the job and Houston replaced him. Hopefully in this alternate 1997 Skynet, having already become self-aware, fails to launch it’s nuclear attack on mankind…

It Begins: Michigan Gets Permission to Talk to Miles

Sean — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 07:01:24 +0000

Michigan AD Billy Martin has officially requested permission from LSU to talk to Les Miles. LSU AD Skip Bertman requested that the meeting not happen until after the SEC Championship game, so it looks like Miles will meet with Michigan next week.

It looks like the pieces are being setup for a potential domino effect. If Les goes to Michigan the logical successor is defensive coordinator Bo Pelini. Unless Pelini gets the job at Nebraska. If that happens then who knows what’s going to happen. There’s been speculation of Steve Spurrier to Baton Rouge, but I just don’t see that happening for some reason. Guess we’ll just have to wait and see.

Oh, for what it’s worth, Miles is the perfect candidate for Michigan. He was a Wolverine player and coach under Bo Schembechler. And he’s #3 in our rankings (behind Rich Rodriguez and Jim Tressel: two coaches who could very well play for the national title). Hard to beat that.

Update: Ferentz Won’t Coach Michigan

Sean — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 06:01:41 +0000

Fanblogs has an update on the Kirk Ferentz to Michigan story: it ain’t happening. Apparently the rumors about Michigan talking to him were true, and the suspicion that he wouldn’t take it were also true. Yeah rumors!

So now the folks in Iowa City can rest easy. Or maybe not, given Ferentz’s poor ranking…

LSU’s Pelini Interviews for Nebraska Job

Sean — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 04:34:38 +0000

Tom Osbourne isn’t wasting any time trying to replace Bill Callahan at Nebraska. Osbourne fired Callahan on Saturday and hopped on a plane and flew to Baton Rouge, LA Sunday to interview LSU defensive coordinator Bo Pelini.

Pelini is a natural candidate for the job, having served as the Huskers’ defensive coordinator in 2003. At LSU he has been responsible for some truly nasty defenses, and could bring some much-needed toughness back to a Nebraska defense that has been downright putrid and a team that has been incredibly soft overall.

Osbourne is also expected to interview former Nebraska quarterback and current Buffalo head coach Turner Gill. Gill led the Bison to a 5-7 record this year. That may not sound impressive, but remember, it’s Buffalo. Not exactly a football powerhouse. Gill managed a respectable 146.49 in our rankings to place 53rd.

Nutt Cracks at Arkansas

Sean — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 03:41:09 +0000

Houston Nutt has turned down a $2.4 million offer to remain head football coach at Arkansas and resigned today. University Chancellor John A. White made sure to point out that “Houston’s decision to resign was neither forced, or encouraged, or requested.”

Speculation is that Nutt is a leading candidate for the newly open Georgia Tech job and the job at Ole Miss.

Either program would do well to pick him up, since at #37 in our rankings he’d be a significant improvement over either Chan Gailey or Ed Orgeron.

Forgotten Miles: Ferentz to Michigan?

Sean — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 03:13:02 +0000

Even though there’s rampant speculation that Les Miles will be the coach to replace Lloyd Carr at Michigan, Brian at MGoBlue is reporting that the Wolverines have offered the job to Iowa’s Kirk Ferentz. You may remember Brian as the guy that broke the Lloyd Carr retirement story.

If this turns out to be true I’d have to say it’s a mistake, since Ferentz is ranked #113 out of #120 in our latest rankings. Brian has a few more reasons it’s a bad idea…

Brian’s sources inside Iowa say that Ferentz has been offered the job, but is likely to turn it down out of loyalty to the Hawkeyes. If that happens, and Michigan doesn’t go after Miles, Cincinnati’s Brian Kelly may be their next choice. Michigan has already contacted Grand Valley State, where he coached from 1991-2003, for a background check. Interestingly enough Grand Valley has also been contacted by Notre Dame about Kelly. Kelly may be a better choice, since he’s ranked #31 in our latest rankings.