Senin, 15 Januari 2018

Arizona reportedly set to hire Kevin Sumlin as head coach


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Earlier today it became known that Navy head coach Ken Niumatalolo would not be the new head coach at Arizona. Here’s how that post ended:

With Niumatalolo out of the picture, expect Arizona to move on to its next candidate quickly, perhaps as early as today.

Well, it’s still today, and it appears Arizona has its man. According to a tweet from Gil Brandt, the Wildcats will hire Kevin Sumlin as their next head coach.

Sumlin, of course, went 51-26 as the head coach at Texas A&M from 2012 through this past season. He was 35-17 in the four seasons before that at Houston.

And considering his track record with his former quarterbacks — highlighted by Johnny Manziel — Sumlin should have no problem winning the approval of franchise quarterback Khalil Tate.

The NCAA-approved 10th assistant became official on Tuesday, and so far the highest-profile hire — by far — has been Ohio State’s plucking of Washington State defensive coordinator Alex Grinch. In just three seasons on staff, the 37-year-old Grinch took a defense that was 99th nationally in total defense the year prior to his arrival and transformed them to the 16th-best unit in college football this season.

Grinch’s loss is one that Mike Leach does not believe can be filled by just one replacement.

Wazzu has already hired ex-Minnesota head coach Tracy Claeys to serve as defensive coordinator, but now the Cougars are moving on another up-and-comer to also join the staff.

According to UStateAggies and the Seattle Times, Utah State co-defensive coordinator Kendrick Shaver will join the staff in an as-yet-undefined role.

Officially, Shaver will fill the role left by outside linebackers coach Roy Manning, who left Pullman to become Chip Kelly‘s special teams coordinator in Westwood, but the guess here is Shaver oversees the secondary in a co-defensive coordinator role.

Shaver spent six seasons on staff at Utah State, where he was selected by his peers as a co-recipient of the FootballScoop Defensive Backs Coach of the Year award in 2012. Under Shaver’s guidance, Utah State recorded three seasons in which it ranked among the top 25 nationally in pass efficiency defense, including this season.

You can say he wasn’t offered the job, you can say he passed on it — either way, Ken Niumatalolo isn’t leaving Navy for Arizona.

SI’s Bruce Feldman and ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg tweeted as much on Sunday.

This is the second time in three years Niumatalolo has heavily flirted with leaving the Naval Academy only to ultimately remain in Annapolis. He did the same “I’m passing/We never offered you” dance with BYU, leading the Cougars to hire Kalani Sitake.

It’s hard to believe the Niumatalolo-Arizona courtship wasn’t heavily impacted by a since-deleted tweet Wildcats quarterback Khalil Tate fired off on Friday, saying he didn’t come to Tucson to run the “tripple (sic) option.” There is thought within the coaching community that Niumatalolo run the triple option at Navy because it’s the attack best suited for the Midshipmen’s program and the type of players it can recruit and, thus, he would modify his offense at a new school.

But then again, until Niumatalolo actually leaves Navy, how could anyone possibly know? Since 1995, Niumatalolo has spent all but three seasons in Annapolis.

Regardless of the circumstances, Niumatalolo’s return is a good thing for Navy. At 84-48, he is the most successful coach in the Academy’s modern history. His 2015 season, in which the Middies went 11-2, won the AAC West and finished the year ranked No. 18 in the polls, is the Academy’s best since a No. 2 finish in 1963, when the club was quarterbacked by Heisman winner Roger Staubach.

With Niumatalolo out of the picture, expect Arizona to move on to its next candidate quickly, perhaps as early as today.

For the fourth time this year, USC’s 2018 roster has taken a significant hit.

On his personal Twitter account Saturday night, Rasheem Green announced that “[a]fter a lot of careful thought and discussions with my family, trusted friends, and the USC coaching staff,” he has decided to forego his senior season and make himself available for the April NFL draft.

Green was named first-team All-Pac-12 following the 2017 season.  The 6-5, 280-pound defensive lineman led the Trojans in sacks each of the past two seasons — six in 2016 and 10 this past year.

In addition to Green, wide receiver Deontay Burnett (HERE), quarterback Sam Darnold (HERE) and running back Ronald Jones (HERE) have all announced they were leaving USC early for the NFL.

Pat Narduzzi has turned to an old Big Ten foe to fill in a big hole on his Pitt coaching staff.

Confirming reports that surfaced earlier in the day, Pitt announced Saturday evening that Narduzzi has hired Randy Bates as his new defensive coordinator. Bates will replace Josh Conklin, who left earlier this month to take over as the head coach at FCS Wofford.

This will be Bates’ second coordinator job at the FBS level, with the first coming at Louisiana Tech from 2000-05.

“I’ve known Randy for a long time and have the utmost respect for him as a teacher and recruiter,” Narduzzi said in quotes distributed by the school. “He is a tireless worker, always learning and always striving to improve as a coach. I’ve shared many phone calls with him discussing techniques, schemes and opponents.

“But what is most impressive about Randy is the type of person he is. He values relationships and is really invested in the student-athletes under his watch. Randy will bring great passion and knowledge to Pitt and I know he’ll put a great mark on our very promising defense. I’m really thrilled to welcome to the University of Pittsburgh not only Randy but also his wife, Tracey, and three daughters, Samantha, Alexandra and Olivia.”

The past dozen seasons, Bates, a retired Naval lieutenant, was a member of Pat Fitzgerald‘s coaching staff at Northwestern as the Wildcats’ linebackers coach.  Bates had been with Fitzgerald for each of his 12 seasons as the head coach in Evanston.

“I knew it would always take a special place and outstanding opportunity to draw me away from Northwestern,” Bates said. “After talking with Pat Narduzzi, I knew Pitt was that type of place. It is a tremendous honor to join a program with such a rich tradition and history. But more importantly, it has an even brighter future under Coach Narduzzi. I can’t wait to meet our players and get started.”

Classy as always, Fitzgerald congratulated his longtime assistant on the promotion, adding that Bates’ new boss “got a good one.”

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from Sports - Google News http://collegefootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2018/01/14/arizona-reportedly-set-to-hire-kevin-sumlin-as-head-coach/
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