Minnesota Golden Gopher Football Coach Search And Possible Candidates

As I write this a little after midnight on January 2^nd and around 31 hours since the official announcement by Athletic Director Joel Maturi of the firing, I think the politically correct term may be dismissal, there have already been a number of names tossed out as potential candidates to replace former head coach Glen Mason.

   

As this process moves along I will continue to update the list. Some of these names are in my opinion not at all possible for the university and/or the coach but here goes and in no particular order:

   

-Tony Dungy. A former Gopher player. Why on earth would he leave the Colts?

-Lou Holtz. Coached here for two years between Arkansas and Notre Dame. Has sworn he has retired.

-Mike Grant. Some of Bud Grant. A local high school coach with a top program in the state.

-Marc Trestman. I lost track of where he is now. A MN native. 17+ years in the NFL.

-Dan McCarney. Recent Iowa State head coach.

-Craig Bohl. North Dakota State Head Coach. Division I-AA. Great coach. Good recruiter.

-Frank Solich. Ohio University Head Coach. Former Nebraska coach.

-Skip Holtz. East Carolina Head Coach. Lou's son.

-Joe Glynn. Wyoming Head Coach.

-Mitch Browning. Was the recent Gopher Offensive Coordinator.

-DeWayne Walker. UCLA Defensive Coordinator. A former Gopher Cornerback in the early 80's.

-Paul Chryst. Wisconsin Offensive Coordinator. Would have connections to A.D. Joel Maturi.

-Mike Tice. Former Vikings Head Coach and current Assistant Coach with the Jacksonville Jaguars.

-Mike Price. UTEP Head Coach.

Updated January 2^nd, 5:30 pm:

Take Tony Dungy off the list, Dungy passes on college job, assistant talking to Ariz..

   

Updated January 2^nd, 4:00 pm:

I am not a listener of talk radio but this afternoon I tuned in to KFAN, a popular Minnesota sports talk radio station, and caught the last part of an interview with Minnesota Athletic Director Joel Maturi.

   

From what I heard:

-Search firms have been spoken with but no group has been retained yet.

-This could be a quick search and plans to have a coach hired in 3-4 weeks. (That does not seem quick to me.)

-He has not met with Glen Mason, their conversation was over the phone.