Scuttlebutt

Texas A&M. Wow, that was fast. While high profile names where being tossed around for the A&M job, it appeared that the Aggies could be in for getting dragged through the mud like Alabama, Notre Dame, and Nebraska have been in recent years. Instead they opted for a slightly off the radar guy who would be getting little looks from the other openings in college football in Mike Sherman. A&M clearly began the search process mid-season. Sherman is currently the offensive coordinator for the Houston Texas (he took over for Troy Calhoun, the current Air Force head coach). Prior to being in Houston he had a successful run as the Green Bay head coach before fizzling out (59-43 over six seasons). Gary Darnell has already been named the interim coach for A&M's bowl game so the chances of Sherman coming in early like Brian Kelley did at Cincinnati are remote, despite the quick hire. Interesting that A&M would go the NFL route in light of the struggles with Charlie Weis and Notre Dame, Chan Gailey at Georgia Tech, and Dave Wannstedt at Pittsburgh.

Nebraska. According to the Lincoln Journal Star, LSU defensive coordinator Bo Pelini interviewed with Tom Osborne in Baton Rouge on Sunday. The Buffalo athletic director has given Nebraska permission to interview Turner Gill. The two guys with Nebraska ties get first crack. If Osborne deems either to be up to snuff, expect a quick hire, otherwise things could drag out. The one oddity on Pelini is that while he has Nebraska ties, his time in Lincoln was when Osborne was not there. I'm sure Osborne and Husker fans would love a scenario where Pelini was able to run the defense and Gill the offense.

Georgia Tech. Chan Gaily has been canned in Atlanta. Gaily has much to blame on the play of his quarterbacks. Reggie Ball never showed improvement over four years and Taylor Bennett was mediocre at best this season. It will be interesting to see if Tech gives Glen Mason a look. Many would argue that Gaily was fired for doing no better than 7-5 on a regular basis, so why bring in a guy who was fired for the same reason. If Mason could regulary win 7 at Minnesota he could win many more at Tech. The fact is that Mason won 10 games at both Kansas and Minnesota. He regularly had the Golden Gophers in bowl games, but was dismissed largely for his unwillingness to ass kiss boosters in pursuit of a new stadium. Tech is a program that doesn't need a guy to build support around the program, they just need a guy who can out coach the man across from him and Mason will do that. If defensive coordinator Jon Tenuta were to stay, the Ramblin' Wreck would be setup nicely. Navy head coach Paul Johnson should be very much in the mix for this opening. Johnson won two national titles in the state of Georgia while at Georgia Southern.

Duke. After managing only one win over the last two season Ted Roof was let go at Duke. Mason could be a candidate for this job as well. However, administrators may feel that it is necessary to bring in a guy who will be able to rally enthusiasm around the football program, similar to what Terry Hoeppner did at Indiana. If that's the case, Mason likely won't be their guy.

Arkansas. Houston Nutt may have saved his job with his three overtime winner over LSU. Rivals.com quoted Nutt, "We had a little prelim discussions and we've got some more coming this week. We'll wait until that time and see what comes out of it. Right now, I'm excited, Chancellor (John) White and Coach (Frank) Broyles want me here, they want me to stay. It's a good feeling, and I'm excited about that." Whether or not Nutt's preliminary discussions bear out, expect news soon. Nutt told Rivals.com about the timing of a decision, "Quickley, very quickly. Hopefully, no longer than Tuesday."

Indiana. The Hoosiers took the interim tag off of Bill Lynch and inked him to a four year contract. There seemed to be a ground swell of support for Lynch from the national media after he won the Old Oaken Bucket and locked up Indiana's first bowl appearance. It is interesting that Indiana waited so long to tie down Lynch. For a guy who seemed to be destined for a career as a coordinator or position coach, Lynch certainly cashed in on his opportunity.

Ole Miss. Currently Rivals.com is listing the following candidates to fill the vacancy made by the firing of Ed Orgeron: Rick Neuheisel (current Baltimore Ravens offensive coordinator, former head coach at Washington and Colorado), Dennis Franchione (former head coach at Texas A&M, Alabama, TCU, and New Mexico), Gary Patterson (current head coach at TCU), Houston Nutt (current head coach at Arkansas), Art Briles (current head coach at Houston), Will Muschamp (current defensive coordinator at Auburn), Dan Mullen (current offensive coordinator at Florida), Skip Holtz (current head coach at East Carolina), Charlie Strong (current co-defensive coordinator at Florida), and Mike MacIntyre (current secondary coach of New York Jets).

Southern Miss. It isn't every day that you see a coach with 14 consecutive winning seasons get fired. It is even rarer when a Conference USA school makes such a move, but that is exactly what Southern Miss has done by firing Jeff Bower. Seeing your competition rise with new coaching hires probably impacted this move. Houston (Art Briles), East Carolina (Skip Holtz), UCF (Troy O'Leary), and Tulsa (Steve Kragthorpe/Todd Graham) have all made the competitive landscape tougher in Hattiesburg, MS.

Colorado State. Contrary to prior reports, Sonny Lubick may indeed retire. While the decision isn't surprising, the alums reaction to the news is. Many alums have expressed their concern that Lubick was forced, preferring he left totally on his own terms. A surprising reaction considering that Lubick followed up a 4-8 season with a 3-9 season this year. Lubick won seven conference titles in 15 years at CSU, but it appears the sun is setting on a great career. The supportive response by alums may make the job more attractive to candidates.