How is your Friday night?
It's been a roller coaster trying to piece everything together. A brief recap:
A possible finalists list surfaced Wednesday night/Thursday morning. This is what I posted in that update, verbatim:
***
Eddie Nunez - AD, New Mexico
Doug Gillin - AD, Appalachian State
Mark Alnutt - AD, Buffalo
Beth Goetz - AD, Ball State
Zac Selmon - Sr. Associate AD, Oklahoma
There is at least one more "secret candidate," possibly two. The "wow" hire I referred to.
***
The "secret" candidates were said to be sitting Power 5 ADs. Because of the nature of how these searches go, they would be considered the frontrunners if they decided to put their hat into the ring. Much like Dr. Alexander Cartwright was a late entry into the UCF Presidential Search, these candidate(s) would only emerge at the last minute in an attempt to prevent leaks, etc. The presidential search process was a lot different though in that it was public, while this AD search is being done in secret. But the thought process is the same.
As for the secret candidates, I instantly thought of two SEC ADs, one of whom was Missouri AD Jim Sterk. When I posted that list above, I didn't know for sure who it was, whether it was one or two secret candidates, though I was told as many as two could emerge.
Not long afterward, I started getting texts from connected individuals that Jim Sterk was definitely in the mix, being contacted for an interview, etc. These people were under the impression Sterk would be the frontrunner, based on communication they received regarding Cartwright's excitement over the "secret" P5 candidate and how fond he was of Sterk during his time at Missouri.
Missouri media picked up on the rumors too. Gabe DeArmond, who covers Mizzou for Rivals, confirmed on his end there was mutual interest and contact. All day, the Sterk camp was silent until his statement was issued late tonight that he was "not a candidate." At least not anymore.
It turns out, the other secret candidate did emerge and met virtually with the search committee today. Apparently, he blew everybody away.
Whether this prompted UCF to move on from Sterk, or he pulled out, I'm not sure. Doesn't really matter anymore, I guess.
Nothing is finalized. But the other secret candidate would be a "wow" hire for sure and turn a lot of heads.
I am extremely hesitant to name this candidate in this particular update. A source thinks it's best if his candidacy remains a secret, though we may have to last for a couple more days as I'm told UCF will likely wrap up this process early next week and not this weekend.
Again, not finalized. But this candidate is said to be the leader in the clubhouse. They are still talking further with others this weekend. Who and how many, I'm not sure yet. But there is excitement over this individual. Not a done deal, but sounds promising.
It's been a roller coaster trying to piece everything together. A brief recap:
A possible finalists list surfaced Wednesday night/Thursday morning. This is what I posted in that update, verbatim:
***
Eddie Nunez - AD, New Mexico
Doug Gillin - AD, Appalachian State
Mark Alnutt - AD, Buffalo
Beth Goetz - AD, Ball State
Zac Selmon - Sr. Associate AD, Oklahoma
There is at least one more "secret candidate," possibly two. The "wow" hire I referred to.
***
The "secret" candidates were said to be sitting Power 5 ADs. Because of the nature of how these searches go, they would be considered the frontrunners if they decided to put their hat into the ring. Much like Dr. Alexander Cartwright was a late entry into the UCF Presidential Search, these candidate(s) would only emerge at the last minute in an attempt to prevent leaks, etc. The presidential search process was a lot different though in that it was public, while this AD search is being done in secret. But the thought process is the same.
As for the secret candidates, I instantly thought of two SEC ADs, one of whom was Missouri AD Jim Sterk. When I posted that list above, I didn't know for sure who it was, whether it was one or two secret candidates, though I was told as many as two could emerge.
Not long afterward, I started getting texts from connected individuals that Jim Sterk was definitely in the mix, being contacted for an interview, etc. These people were under the impression Sterk would be the frontrunner, based on communication they received regarding Cartwright's excitement over the "secret" P5 candidate and how fond he was of Sterk during his time at Missouri.
Missouri media picked up on the rumors too. Gabe DeArmond, who covers Mizzou for Rivals, confirmed on his end there was mutual interest and contact. All day, the Sterk camp was silent until his statement was issued late tonight that he was "not a candidate." At least not anymore.
It turns out, the other secret candidate did emerge and met virtually with the search committee today. Apparently, he blew everybody away.
Whether this prompted UCF to move on from Sterk, or he pulled out, I'm not sure. Doesn't really matter anymore, I guess.
Nothing is finalized. But the other secret candidate would be a "wow" hire for sure and turn a lot of heads.
I am extremely hesitant to name this candidate in this particular update. A source thinks it's best if his candidacy remains a secret, though we may have to last for a couple more days as I'm told UCF will likely wrap up this process early next week and not this weekend.
Again, not finalized. But this candidate is said to be the leader in the clubhouse. They are still talking further with others this weekend. Who and how many, I'm not sure yet. But there is excitement over this individual. Not a done deal, but sounds promising.
