miami's job search

[smazza]

Nutt not interested in Miami

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark.  Arkansas football coach Houston Nutt says he is not seeking the open coaching position at Miami.

Nutt, whose eighth-ranked team is 10-2 and plays No. 4 Florida on Saturday in the Southeastern Conference championship game, says he is focused only on the Gators.

"When you experience the good times and then you've had a couple of rough years and come back like we have this year, it's a great feeling. You want to keep that going," said Nutt, whose team's winning streak ended at 10 with Friday's 31-26 loss to No. 5 Louisiana State at Little Rock.

Miami fired Larry Coker on Friday. His team went 6-6 this season and he has been retained to lead the Hurricanes in a bowl game. Coker was 59-15 in six seasons as head coach and won the 2001 national championship.

Nutt is 67-42 in nine seasons at Arkansas. His name appeared in a list in the Miami Herald of possible candidates for Coker's job.

"I'm not thinking about anything but Florida," Nutt said Saturday. "If anyone mentions my name (in connection with the) Miami job, that's just a rumor. I've got no interest in Miami."

Nutt's contract runs through the 2011 season and he said he intends to stay at Arkansas.

"I've given a lot here and invested a lot and (the Arkansas administration) has invested a lot in me, too," Nutt said. "I'm excited about how we're playing and how recruiting is going right now."

Friday's loss dropped the Razorbacks to 7-1 in the league but Arkansas still won the SEC West outright. Last season, Arkansas finished 5-6 and a year before went 4-7. Nutt led the Razorbacks to bowl games in his first six seasons.

With a victory Saturday, the Razorbacks would be assured a Bowl Championship Series berth, most likely the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans.

Nutt said he wants to stay at Arkansas and enjoy good times that he foresees.

"You see how close we came to playing for a national title this year, and that's with a lot of people getting hurt," Nutt said. "I think a year like this shows what were capable of doing in the future and that we're not that far away."

Arkansas athletic director Frank Broyles said he has not been contacted by anyone at Miami for permission to talk about the vacancy. He said he is "very happy" with Nutt.

[smazza]

With Miami job open, Schiano says he's happy at Rutgers

Posted 11/25/2006 7:39 PM ET E-mail | Save | Print | Subscribe to stories like this  

 FROM THE GRIDIRON

Photo gallery: Check out images from the gridiron during the 13th week of the season

Top 25 roundup

Scores from around the nation

USA TODAY Top 25 poll

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP)  Rutgers coach Greg Schiano has no plans on leaving New Jersey despite reports that he is one of the leading contenders to replace Larry Coker at Miami.

A little more than 24 hours after Coker was fired and three questions into his post-game news conference after a win over Syracuse on Saturday, Schiano addressed the Miami job.

"My philosophy is I focus on the things I have control over and can make a difference in," said Schiano, who transformed Rutgers (10-1, 5-1 Big East) from one the lowliest of programs into a national contender in six seasons. "The whole Miami thing, I've said it for six weeks, I'm very happy here, I have no plans to go anywhere else."

Schiano, though, never said he was staying at Rutgers, the state university of New Jersey.

The 40-year-old Schiano, who was the Hurricanes' defensive coordinator before taking the Rutgers job in December 2000, has faced questions about a potential opening at Miami for more than a month.

Each time, he has said he is happy at Rutgers, where he has posted a 29-40 record.

"I've said what I said about this place," Schiano said. "I'm not going to talk about other jobs. This is a special place to me. This is where I want to be. We're gonna leave it at that.

"I want to take the focus off of me and that job," he added. "This is my job. Rutgers is my job. At this place, the sky's the limit and I plan on being here to see it."

With its 38-7 win over Syracuse on Saturday, Rutgers is on the verge of its first Big East Conference title and a berth in the Bowl Championship Series.

All the Scarlet Knights have to do is beat No. 7 West Virginia on the road next weekend.

Schiano has already talked to his team about the Miami speculation, but he said he would talk to them again if it became a distraction.

The players seemed certain that Schiano was staying.

"He told us the same thing he told you guys: 'I love Rutgers. I plan on being here.' That's enough for me," senior fullback Brian Leonard said. "I don't see him going nowhere. He built this program up and he's a Jersey guy."

Last year, Schiano led Rutgers to its first winning season (7-5) since 1992, and its first bowl berth since 1978.

Miami, though, could offer Schiano a lot more money.

Schiano has a base salary of $250,000 and guarantees that push his package to $875,000. With incentives this year, he could earn $1.3 million. His buyout would only cost his future employer $250,000.

Coker was earning $2 million annually at Miami.

Rutgers players still don't see Schiano leaving.

"Coach Schiano has told us he has built a home here, his family loves it here and he's not going anywhere," defensive tackle Eric Foster said. "We don't worry about it. From that point on, we don't worry about it."

[smazza]

Schiano, Alvarez among top candidates for Miami coaching job

Posted 11/24/2006 11:59 PM ET E-mail | Save | Print | Subscribe to stories like this  

 COACHING CHANGE AT MIAMI

New candidates emerge: Greg Schiano, Barry Alvarez among top contenders to step in for Hurricanes

Larry Coker fired: Five years after national title, coach deposed after 6-6 season

By Craig Handel, The (Fort Myers, Fla.) News-Press

CORAL GABLES, Fla.  University of Miami defensive coordinator Randy Shannon wasn't ready to talk about it.

Former Wisconsin coach Barry Alvarez is in the area. His interest is unclear.

Meanwhile, names like Rutgers' Greg Schiano are bandied about.

Miami coach Larry Coker's long-awaited firing took place Friday. In between reasons for making a change, Miami athletic director Paul Dee also took questions on what the school is looking for in a successor.

"We will begin working on this right away," Dee said. "Our hope would be to have a coach as soon as (possible). But given the circumstances of bowl games and the like it might be a little longer than we otherwise would have taken."

Dee said school officials will consult with Chuck Neinas, 74, former Big Eight Conference commissioner and Executive Director of the College Football Association.

Neinas Sports Services  a one-person consulting company  has conducted about 50 searches, which have included hires at Notre Dame, Texas, Oklahoma, Wisconsin, Texas A&M, Missouri, Georgia, Kansas, Michigan and Nebraska. He commands from $10,000 to $40,000 for his services.

With Neinas known to work secretly on bringing talented applicants to schools, there may be some surprise candidates.

Dee did say that Shannon, whom Coker hired as a defensive coordinator, is a possible candidate. Miami's defenses regularly have ranked in the nation's top 10 each of his six seasons, and this season Miami set a regular-season school record by allowing just 66 yards rushing per game.

"I'm not talking about (the job) right now," Shannon said. "I'm just worried about the recruits. We gotta get that handled, calling the kids."

That is important because Demarcus VanDyke, a 6-foot-1, 163-pound defensive back/wide receiver from a Miami-area high school, withdrew his commitment to Miami once he heard Coker was fired. He now is considering Florida and Ohio State.

Earlier this week, Alvarez was in Miami, according to employees who work at the Ritz-Carlton. Alvarez also has a Naples condo, which he's staying at this weekend. He didn't return a message left at the front desk of his condo.

In his recently released book Don't Flinch, Alvarez said Miami contacted him twice about its coaching openings in 1995 and 2001. When Dee offered him $1.4 million to be coach, Alvarez wrote in his book, "I was thinking a little north of that number."

Dee said he'd get back to him. Alvarez later wrote he couldn't believe he told Dee that.

Schiano appears to be the popular choice but there's a question whether he might want the Penn State job more when Joe Paterno retires. Rutgers (9-1) also is having a season for the ages and has two games left plus a bowl game.

Rutgers officials reportedly are prepared to offer him an extension, which could go as high as $22 million for 10 years.

Other candidates include:

•  LSU offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Jimbo Fisher. Miami is familiar with him after LSU beat the Hurricanes 40-3 last season. Friday, LSU beat Arkansas 31-26.

•  TCU coach Gary Patterson, who's used to working in a bigger TV market in Dallas. While TCU (8-2) won't reach a goal of a BCS game, the Horned Frogs have a chance at a fourth 10-win season under Patterson, who is 51-20 in six seasons.

•  West Virginia's Rich Rodriguez, who has brought the Mountaineers (9-1) back to national prominence. However, there's a question of whether the West Virginia native would want to leave and he's also due a big raise.

•  Tulsa's Steve Kragthorpe also is another candidate.

Georgia coach Mark Richt, a former Miami quarterback, and Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville, a former Miami assistant, told ESPN they are not interested in the job. Steve Spurrier, responding to Internet reports, said last Sunday he will remain at South Carolina.

"It's the best job in the country," Dee said about the Miami position, noting the five national titles won under four different coaches. "This is as fine a job as you can have, because when the success comes, the success is tremendous. It's a hard job. This is not a job for the feeble. This is a job for somebody that likes coaching college football, that is excited by college football. I think this is a wonderful job for whoever wishes to take it and we can attract."

[goodknightfl]

Levitt to ALA

[E.T.]

If not Shannon ...

•  TCU coach Gary Patterson, who's used to working in a bigger TV market in Dallas. While TCU (8-2) won't reach a goal of a BCS game, the Horned Frogs have a chance at a fourth 10-win season under Patterson, who is 51-20 in six seasons.

[Who'sYourData?]

On the Rivals site, there is a premuim headline stating Schiano and Miami are entering the final phase of negotiations.  Does anyone have more details?

[bulls96go]

schiano stays in rutgers

[BiggTipp]

December 05, 2006

Tech's Leach, TCU's Patterson candidate at Miami

Miami AD Paul Dee spoke informally with Texas Tech Head Coach Mike Leach at last night in New York, where both are attending an award ceremony. While Miami has not requested formal permission to interview Leach, it has been suggested that Leach would be a "backup" candidate for the Hurricanes coaching job after Rutgers coach Greg Schiano turned down the U yesterday.

Leach would bring his "offensive guru" status to Miami and likely compliment the existing Hurricane coach staff, possibly retaining current DC Randy Shannon - a priority for the Hurricanes.

Also in the mix at Miami is TCU Head Coach Gary Patterson. While Leach is considered an offensive guru, Patterson has built the Horned Frogs on defense and a pro-set offense. TCU has the nation's #4 defense and #17 offense. Patterson has previously been rumored for several BCS conference gigs, but nothing even remotely on the level of the Miami job.

One knock on Patterson is his utter inability to string together two-three coherent sentences when a camera is in his face. It's not known how his simple style would play under the glare of the of the Miami media. Of the two coaches, it would be more difficult to imagine Patterson making the leap this leap. It's more realistic to think that Patterson could replace Leach at Tech than it is to imagine the TCU coach in Orange.

Posted by Kevin Donahue

http://www.fanblogs.com/miami/006824.php