I posted a few names yesterday that have been mentioned among those in the coaching community. How UCF feels about said candidates is another story. There's a name I heard last week, but hadn't posted, for one reason to see if I picked it up from other sources. It was in the preface of "Keep your eye on this guy," sort of thing. It's unknown whether this rumor has regurgitated itself (my word for the same rumor being cycled around by different people) but I heard his name again today. Nevada head coach Brian Polian. For those who haven't purged the 2004 season from their memory banks, Polian was part of GOL's inaugural UCF staff as running backs coach and recruiting coordinator. He left after one season to join the staff at Notre Dame where he was for five seasons (2005-09) prior to a two-year stint at Stanford (2010-11) and then one season at Texas A&M (2012) before landing the head coaching job at Nevada in 2013. While he was on the rise as an assistant, Polian's niche was special teams coordinator while coaching a multitude of offensive and defensive positions, such as linebackers, defensive backs and tight ends. In 2013, Polian replaced legendary Nevada coach Chris Ault, who coached 28 seasons in Reno during his career. Ault is the mastermind of the "Pistol Offense." Nevada's eight-year bowl streak was snapped in Polian's first season in 2013 as they struggled to a 4-8 record. They did return to a bowl in 2014, finishing with a 7-6 record after a loss to Louisiana-Lafayette in the New Orleans Bowl. The Wolf Pack are currently 6-5 with one game remaining at San Diego State. I'm not entirely sure where the connection started, but I'm told there is a friendship among the White and Polian families. Brian's father is Bill Polian, the former longtime NFL executive. Brian's time as Notre Dame assistant coach overlapped Kevin White's time in South Bend. I've been told Danny and Brian are friends. While Polian does fit the head coach category, there is no real recruiting tie to Florida or the Southeast outside of the one season as a UCF assistant coach. Of course, I do feel that everything is negotiable if they feel a certain candidate is the "right guy." My memories of Polian at UCF were that he seemed like a nice guy that was incredibly accessible. He invited me into his office a few times that year to explain their vision of what they were trying to build. My observations of Polian now at Nevada come from the occasional viewing of a late TV game. I had noticed he does seem exuberant on the sideline. I guess that's been a hot topic in Reno. From a Reno newspaper column: "Polian’s sideline behavior has been a topic since his first game at Nevada. He’s not the kind of guy who bottles up his emotions. He lets them out. Sometimes he erupts like a volcano with no end. Between raving lunatic and passionate coach, I'd vote for passionate coach who pops his top a little too often." I'm not sure where Polian lands on an overall list, but his name is being repeated enough that I do believe there is a smoke that he's at least a consideration.
I think the people who are expecting Shiano or Chizik are going to be really disappointed. Danny White win over Hitt in his interview by having out of the box names who they hadn't thought of yet. He also seems very confident in his ability to put the right coach in place. I fully expect him to say fuck the media hype and get us an FCS hc or a weird under the radar pick. I'm cool with that as long as we get someone who can recruit Florida and gives me fun football to watch.
so heres the thing on Les....isnt he in a position where he cant really make any more money for maybe a couple of years? His buyout is $15 million. However, i believe its stipulated that amount decreases according to any new contract he signs. So no matter what, he gets that $15 million. So UCF signs him for a $1...he gets 14,999,999 from LSU = $15 million So UCF signs him for $2M for 3 years....he gets 9M from LSU = $15 million So unless he signs a mega check at a mega program (Texas once they dump Strong or some shit)... hes kinda locked into the same money, isnt he? Unless i have this wrong.
Yeah Shannon Babers Collins Chizik and Pollian are pretty much confirmed. Schiano has been thrown around but I haven't seen anyone report it.
I honestly don't care who we hire, but as someone else said, I just want to see some fun football. Watching a losing team is a lot more palatable if we are competitive and playing a style that is at least exciting. There is no worse combo that what we put out there this year, dreadfully predictable and boring football without a hint of competitiveness
Polian sounds like the worst possible hire. He is barely winning at Nevada, a school that used to win a lot more.
I wouldn't worry too much about Polian. I think it's pretty obvious that he's not a good hire, and Danny White wouldn't sabotage himself that quickly with that kind of hire. He might have had some folks put the guys name out there just as a favor. Even having your name associated as a potential hire for a good head coach position can help guys out. As for Shannon, I'm guessing he's being lightly considered, but that he is mainly what the Kentucky AD guy was for UCF in the process (a "Rooney Rule" type of candidate). I'm guessing that's the same reason we included that one girl as part of the final 3 for the AD selection process. We knew we were going to hire White, so UCF leaked out a final 3 that included the guy we were hiring, a black guy, and a woman. Shannon isn't an absolutely abysmal candidate like Polian would have been, but I'm fairly certain there are much better options out there that UCF is going to pursue a little more seriously (e.g., Chizik, Collins, Schiano, Babers, etc.). I'm guessing Shannon is a last resort if all of the other (better) options fall through somehow. With so many schools hiring new head coaches, we have to be prepared with at least 5 or 6 coaches that we would seriously consider. I know it sounds crazy, but I would trust Danny White to make a good call.
What do we know about Danny White that makes us think he is good at selecting coaches? I know it will be a committee type thing but still, who says we won't make a bad hire? I want to be confident too but still.
Yeah if they don't get to sign their top candidate by like next week they may end up much further down the list. This is a tough year to hire in.
Danny seems to be a savvy guy, and I like the way he approached the Buffalo head coach search when he hired Leipold. He knew that Buffalo wasn't going to be a place where you get a crap ton of talented players, so he went down a couple levels and found the best X's and O's coach he could find that could win games. When he got to UCF, he said that we need to find someone that can really recruit well, and that ideally has head coach experience. He's saying all the right things, and the names that are popping up are for the most part good options for us. He hired a lot of coaches when he was at Buffalo (6 or 7?), and damn near all of those choices have paid dividends right away.
Not saying any of us her want lane, I think we are all pretty much against that idea from what I can see
I don't think any has seriously mentioned Lane as a candidate for us. No internal rumors or anything like that.
Danny doesn't look like he's going to be anyone's lap dog. I think White was hired to make the tough decisions that Hitt doesn't like making (e.g. firing a bunch of under performing head coaches).
Hitt still has the final say when it comes down to it though and what Hitt thinks is important to the program isn't really what we the fan or they the media think is important for the program
Rooney yes. Donnie I think has this season to save his own ass (but it's not likely). Danny's a basketball guy, so I'm sure he has a few names already on speed dial to take the head coach job.
Rooney should definitely be fired. He is a year or two past his sell by date. I would imagine Donnie will be too unless he does something really impressive this year.
"UCF is considered to be a highly sought-after job. St. Louis Rams quarterbacks coach Chris Weinke, a former Florida State quarterback; former Florida coach Will Muschamp; and North Carolina defensive coordinator Gene Chizik are said to have expressed high interest." I imagine Weinke's interest is one sided. Haven't Heard anything about Muschamp. Not sure how I feel about him.
It could be worse @FletcherMackel: I was informed by Green Wave booster "if Barbara Burke becomes Tulane AD, Rob Ryan is a candidate to become head coach." @footballscoop