The coaching carousel is anchored in Stillwater
By Scott Wright
Following the departures of Curtis Luper and Trooper Taylor to Auburn in the last seven days, there’s been lots of talk about other OSU assistants in connection with other coaching jobs. So here’s some of what I’ve learned in talking to people around the coaching industry the last few days.
Auburn, at least for a short time, had some interest in OSU offensive line coach Joe Wickline. Whether it was Auburn that changed its mind, or Wickline that said he wasn’t interested, that talk has died down.
OSU offensive coordinator Gunter Brewer was mentioned by a Miami Hurricanes Web site as a potential target by Randy Shannon for his offensive coordinator job. I spoke Tuesday evening with someone who had spoken earlier in the day with Shannon and Brewer’s name was not mentioned among the people he had contacted. Interestingly, neither was Trooper Taylor’s, although Internet reports had said he had been contacted, and possibly even interviewed, for the job before getting the job at Auburn. The source said Shannon denied having ever reached out to Taylor.
It doesn’t appear that any of OSU’s current remaining offensive coaches are looking for jobs, but as a coach once told me when I asked if a program called, would he talk to them, “If the phone rings, you answer it.”
As for an OSU staff member who might actually leave, strength coach Rob Glass has been in Jacksonville this week to interview for the strength and conditioning job with the NFL’s Jaguars. The Jags’ director of football development is Devin Bonik, who played at OSU under Jimmy Johnson and was a graduate assistant coach under Pat Jones in the mid-’80s. That was the same time that Glass was at OSU as a grad assistant.
There’s been some concern about why OSU assistants were jumping ship so quickly. It doesn’t seem that there’s any major infighting, but it’s easy to see that there’s a logjam of coaches in similar career situations who want to be play-calling coordinators and eventually head coaches. That logjam decreases the opportunity for advancement and might have led guys like Luper and Taylor to look elsewhere sooner than they would have liked.
As for the coaches that might be coming to Stillwater, rather than leaving, here are a few names that have surfaced in Mike Gundy’s search for a defensive coordinator. My sources do not indicate any direct contact between OSU and Pitt’s Phil Bennett or Miami’s Bill Young. But grapevine talk suggests both have some interest in the position.
East Carolina’s Greg Hudson has emerged as a possibility, along with Mississippi’s Tyrone Nix. Reggie Herring is another interesting name. Currently the linebackers coach for the Dallas Cowboys, Herring has been a defensive coordinator at several schools while bouncing back and forth between college and the NFL. Most recently, he was DC and then interim head coach at Arkansas during Houston Nutt’s time there.
And TCU’s Dick Bumpas has been mentioned as well. He hasn’t been a coordinator anywhere much bigger than TCU, but he puts together strong defenses, particularly the Horned Frogs the last few years.
There’s a coaches’ convention in Nashville this weekend and there could be some significant movement in OSU’s searches after that.
If you enjoyed this post, please consider to leave a comment or subscribe to the feed and get future articles delivered to your feed reader.
Comments
Things to consider: (1) If you are in the business you know there is no reason to lose as many coaches as OSU has at one time without something negative going on behind the scenes, especailly on the eve of what was supposed to be a breakout year. (2) I understand moving up the coaching ladder and all, but OSU pays their assistants almost, if not more than any other university in the nation in addition to multiyear contracts.
I will be interested in seeing how this thing plays itself out over the coming months. Something desperately needs to be done with the defensive side of the ball. If the talent level is increasing over there as much as we are being told, and I believe it is, then there is no reason to put such a poor product out on the field.
As usual Scott, the title isn’t fitting. Believe you better look at South Carolina or investigate just what is happening around the NCAA. Looks like Gundy knew about the coaches leaving and already had a game plan to replace them. Can’t blame Coaches for trying to improve their financial situation.
SwaggOfficials.com is Your #1 source for the most professional and most affordable graphic design,web design and marketing services
Bring in the starter. Bring in thurman to coach running backs couldn’t hurt to have a hall of famer on staff. If we can convice him to work could be good for recruiting.