So I wanted to give you guys the latest on what I'm hearing on Maryland's coaching search.
I know last time I had mention that there are 5 people making the decision, four of them being Loh, Anderson, Evans and Plank. The fifth is new UMD system chancellor Robert Caret who basically represents the BOR from what I'm told.
Tom Herman, who even after a loss on Saturday is still probably the hottest name out there, could be staying put at Houston. The latest I'm hearing is that not only will Herman get a substantial raise to 3 mil a year, but the school is really pushing a TCU-type ascension and that the school is really trying to market itself to P5 conferences. And while I'm hearing Charlie Strong will likely be at Texas for one more year, a big investment from Houston and a chance at the Texas job down the road could very likely to be enough to keep Herman for at least another year or two.
I continue to hear there could be some mutual interest between Maryland and Bill O'Brien, but the fact that he is still coaching, based on what I'm hearing about Maryland's timeline, just makes him seem unlikely at this time. There is definitely some major head butting going on in Houston that isn't going to be solved by a playoff run this year. Someone is likely going to get the axe and I still hear O'Brien could jump for the right job with the right financial package. But is Maryland willing to wait it out until the end of the NFL season? From what I am hearing they are not which would seem to make him unlikely.
The one name that I continue to come up empty with new real info on is Dan Mullen. The rumors are definitely out there that Mullen is a prime target for Maryland with a long-term pay raise possibly on the table. And the chatter on Mullen isn't just being heard up this way, a couple of sources down south said they also heard some Maryland-Mullen chatter over the weekend. Reason he would be interested being that he wants to move his family back east. Mississippi St. is a tough job in the one division in college football that might be tougher than the B1G East. Mullen will also lose his star QB Dak Prescott to graduation after this season and the Bulldogs will likely take a major step back next year. If ever there was a time Mullen was going to make a move, now is it. But just to let you guys know, I've reached out to a number of folks who are plugged in to see what they are hearing on Mullen and if I get any new info I'll be sure to pass it along.
As far as what I'm hearing this way, the latest I've gathered is that those involved in the process believe they have found their guy out of the likely dozens of candidates they have vetted. The timeline also remains shortly after the season, probably no later than two weeks from now. But one thing I've heard now a couple of times in the past couple of days is that the hire could be seen as someone 'outside the box.' The $64,000 question becomes: What would be considered 'outside the box?'
Could someone like Pep Hamilton be seen as an 'outside the box' candidate, seeing that he is currently unemployed and has no head coaching experience?
What about someone like Dan Mullen? He would seem like anything but outside the box. I'd categorize him as pretty close to a home run. Some other names that have come up and would almost certainly be outside the box are Jim Tressel and Mack Brown. Neither seem like viable candidates, but they would almost certainly fit the bill.
I know there's not much here, but this is the latest on what I've got at the moment. This has been a pretty stealth operation. I actually just found out that one coach I have some personal ties to and was told had no interest in the job was in fact vetted. So they are doing a pretty good job of keeping things under wraps. But as we get closer and closer now to the end of the season, something has got to give soon.
Previous coaching search update HERE.
I know last time I had mention that there are 5 people making the decision, four of them being Loh, Anderson, Evans and Plank. The fifth is new UMD system chancellor Robert Caret who basically represents the BOR from what I'm told.
Tom Herman, who even after a loss on Saturday is still probably the hottest name out there, could be staying put at Houston. The latest I'm hearing is that not only will Herman get a substantial raise to 3 mil a year, but the school is really pushing a TCU-type ascension and that the school is really trying to market itself to P5 conferences. And while I'm hearing Charlie Strong will likely be at Texas for one more year, a big investment from Houston and a chance at the Texas job down the road could very likely to be enough to keep Herman for at least another year or two.
I continue to hear there could be some mutual interest between Maryland and Bill O'Brien, but the fact that he is still coaching, based on what I'm hearing about Maryland's timeline, just makes him seem unlikely at this time. There is definitely some major head butting going on in Houston that isn't going to be solved by a playoff run this year. Someone is likely going to get the axe and I still hear O'Brien could jump for the right job with the right financial package. But is Maryland willing to wait it out until the end of the NFL season? From what I am hearing they are not which would seem to make him unlikely.
The one name that I continue to come up empty with new real info on is Dan Mullen. The rumors are definitely out there that Mullen is a prime target for Maryland with a long-term pay raise possibly on the table. And the chatter on Mullen isn't just being heard up this way, a couple of sources down south said they also heard some Maryland-Mullen chatter over the weekend. Reason he would be interested being that he wants to move his family back east. Mississippi St. is a tough job in the one division in college football that might be tougher than the B1G East. Mullen will also lose his star QB Dak Prescott to graduation after this season and the Bulldogs will likely take a major step back next year. If ever there was a time Mullen was going to make a move, now is it. But just to let you guys know, I've reached out to a number of folks who are plugged in to see what they are hearing on Mullen and if I get any new info I'll be sure to pass it along.
As far as what I'm hearing this way, the latest I've gathered is that those involved in the process believe they have found their guy out of the likely dozens of candidates they have vetted. The timeline also remains shortly after the season, probably no later than two weeks from now. But one thing I've heard now a couple of times in the past couple of days is that the hire could be seen as someone 'outside the box.' The $64,000 question becomes: What would be considered 'outside the box?'
Could someone like Pep Hamilton be seen as an 'outside the box' candidate, seeing that he is currently unemployed and has no head coaching experience?
What about someone like Dan Mullen? He would seem like anything but outside the box. I'd categorize him as pretty close to a home run. Some other names that have come up and would almost certainly be outside the box are Jim Tressel and Mack Brown. Neither seem like viable candidates, but they would almost certainly fit the bill.
I know there's not much here, but this is the latest on what I've got at the moment. This has been a pretty stealth operation. I actually just found out that one coach I have some personal ties to and was told had no interest in the job was in fact vetted. So they are doing a pretty good job of keeping things under wraps. But as we get closer and closer now to the end of the season, something has got to give soon.
Previous coaching search update HERE.
