It's the final countdown.
Later today, the chapter will be closed on UCF's 2015 football season. And a few days from now, UCF could very well have its next coach.
The following is a culmination of information from a variety of sources, both connected to UCF and the candidates themselves. I thought about making a post last night in light of the FootballScoop.com report, but wanted to hold off until I had a little more information. Well, I got a lot more info today.
According to a couple people in the know, it is believed UCF is focused on four candidates: Bowling Green head coach Dino Babers, North Carolina defensive coordinator Gene Chizik, Florida defensive coordinator Geoff Collins and Florida co-defensive coordinator Randy Shannon. Those were the four names mentioned by Football Scoop. Kudos to them because it's been said this is indeed the final four.
I'm told all four are expected to officially interview this weekend. Babers on Saturday and Collins/Shannon Sunday. I don't have concrete information regarding Chizik but I think Saturday would make sense given the schedule.
I'm not entirely sure where interviews will occur as all four coaches are involved in conference championship games. One would think the interview group, which definitely includes AD Danny White and UCF VP Grant Heston, would fly to their locations. Unclear if Dr. Hitt or any others will participate this time around, but it's certainly possible if not likely.
Yesterday, I heard Collins was scheduled to be interviewed after the SEC Championship Game on Dec. 6. That appears to have been pushed up. Due to all the openings in college football with more likely to occur after this weekend, UCF doesn't think they can wait another week to start doing interviews.
I too have heard that UCF prefers either a head coach or one with head coaching experience, but Geoff Collins was impressive enough in an early presentation to be among the finalists.
If all goes well, I'm told UCF will make an offer to their desired pick following the interviews and secure a "silent commitment," confirming he's on board even if it can't be public. It's an incredibly sensitive situation because all four are involved in conference championship games, but especially so for Dino Babers because he's a sitting head coach. For the others, their respective head coaches likely don't want the distraction for their teams either.
The public announcement and press conference would be set for Monday, Dec. 7.
Could other candidates get in the mix? I suppose never say never, but these are the only names I'm hearing involved in what should be the final phase.
I'm hearing there could be a frontrunner among these four names, but I'm going to hold on to that tidbit while I continue to do some more digging.
Could Willie T's bus soon be headed out of Tampa?
Hearing from separate sources that Willie Taggart's name is heating up in coaching searches. This hasn't been reported anywhere, but I'm being told he's a prime consideration at Miami and other places as well. Amazing turnaround - he goes from being on the hot seat to potentially in line for a more high-profile position. Not sure if it will happen, but it does seem legitimate as it's coming from the same sources I'm tapping in the UCF search.
Later today, the chapter will be closed on UCF's 2015 football season. And a few days from now, UCF could very well have its next coach.
The following is a culmination of information from a variety of sources, both connected to UCF and the candidates themselves. I thought about making a post last night in light of the FootballScoop.com report, but wanted to hold off until I had a little more information. Well, I got a lot more info today.
According to a couple people in the know, it is believed UCF is focused on four candidates: Bowling Green head coach Dino Babers, North Carolina defensive coordinator Gene Chizik, Florida defensive coordinator Geoff Collins and Florida co-defensive coordinator Randy Shannon. Those were the four names mentioned by Football Scoop. Kudos to them because it's been said this is indeed the final four.
I'm told all four are expected to officially interview this weekend. Babers on Saturday and Collins/Shannon Sunday. I don't have concrete information regarding Chizik but I think Saturday would make sense given the schedule.
I'm not entirely sure where interviews will occur as all four coaches are involved in conference championship games. One would think the interview group, which definitely includes AD Danny White and UCF VP Grant Heston, would fly to their locations. Unclear if Dr. Hitt or any others will participate this time around, but it's certainly possible if not likely.
Yesterday, I heard Collins was scheduled to be interviewed after the SEC Championship Game on Dec. 6. That appears to have been pushed up. Due to all the openings in college football with more likely to occur after this weekend, UCF doesn't think they can wait another week to start doing interviews.
I too have heard that UCF prefers either a head coach or one with head coaching experience, but Geoff Collins was impressive enough in an early presentation to be among the finalists.
If all goes well, I'm told UCF will make an offer to their desired pick following the interviews and secure a "silent commitment," confirming he's on board even if it can't be public. It's an incredibly sensitive situation because all four are involved in conference championship games, but especially so for Dino Babers because he's a sitting head coach. For the others, their respective head coaches likely don't want the distraction for their teams either.
The public announcement and press conference would be set for Monday, Dec. 7.
Could other candidates get in the mix? I suppose never say never, but these are the only names I'm hearing involved in what should be the final phase.
I'm hearing there could be a frontrunner among these four names, but I'm going to hold on to that tidbit while I continue to do some more digging.
Could Willie T's bus soon be headed out of Tampa?
Hearing from separate sources that Willie Taggart's name is heating up in coaching searches. This hasn't been reported anywhere, but I'm being told he's a prime consideration at Miami and other places as well. Amazing turnaround - he goes from being on the hot seat to potentially in line for a more high-profile position. Not sure if it will happen, but it does seem legitimate as it's coming from the same sources I'm tapping in the UCF search.
