You can consider the coaching search on now, even if there will be no decision on Willingham until the end of the season. UW, for the record, would prefer for it to go down like that. However, I am not sure if he can survive a big loss on the road to Arizona.
The dream on category
I think the signing of Gary Pinkel or Jim Mora would excite the fan base and kick things off in the right direction. The problem is they both have a couple of pretty good jobs. Of the two, I would go with Pinkel first. The program builder always comes first in my opinion.
- Gary Pinkel (Missouri)
- Jim Mora Jr. (Seahawks)
- Jeff Tedford (California)
- Nick Saban (Alabama)
- Mike Holmgren (Seahawks)
- Don James (Retired)
- B/R Ticket Guide
- Gil Dobie (Deceased)
The college head coach category
There is a pretty good chance that all the guys listed here would at least listen. A few of them, such as Hill or Holtz, wouldn't turn it down. Kelly and Patterson are two guys from outside the region that I would take a good look at.
- Chris Petersen (Boise State)
- Brian Kelly (Cincinnati)
- Mike Riley (Oregon State)
- Gary Patterson (Texas Christian)
- Kyle Whittingham (Utah)
- Pat Hill (Fresno State)
- Al Golden (Temple)
- Jim Harbaugh (Stanford)
- Randy Edsall (UConn)
- Todd Graham (Tulsa)
- Skip Holtz (East Carolina)
The unemployed category
Three of these guys are looking for work and have expressed interest in coaching at UW in the past. Mariucci and Bowden are a couple of names to throw out there.
- Lane Kiffin
- Chan Gailey
- Steve Mariucci
- Terry Bowden
- Scott Linehan
- Mike Tice
- John Mackovic
The hot assistant coach category
Christensen is a guy I can see them talking to. Expect them to talk to Walker too. Either of these guys would leap at the job.
- Dave Christensen (Missouri)
- Bud Foster (Virginia Tech)
- Major Applewhite (Alabama)
- DeWayne Walker (UCLA)
- Chip Kelly (Oregon)
- Steve Sarkisian (USC)
- Will Muschamp (Texas)
- Norm Chow (UCLA)
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about 1 month ago
Norm Chow's an interesting coach prospect. A great offensive mind and a ground-breaking hire at head coach. As far as I know he has an impeccible reputation.
from about 1 month ago
Chow doesn't have head coaching experience though. He's one of the best assistants out there, but as the defensive coordinator for Tennessee, he was just all right, which makes me question his head coaching ability.
about 1 month ago
While I think Brian Kelly would be the best choice, recruiting suitable talent is a bigger problem. That defense is beyond awful and doesnt look to get any better anytime soon. They need talent on both sides of the ball. D-Line is marginal and the back 7 is rubbish(even if Locker comes back early for a stint at Safety). Talent is the major issue...coaching is secondary, but player development seems to be lacking as well.
Pat Hill or Chris Petersen would be great. They can recruit the West coast with a little more power behind their name with the U-Dub logo. I think that both of them are ready and established coaches. I dont think that the new AD is going to take a chance on a guy that hasnt been successful as a head coach somewhere else (that rules out the "hot" assistant coaches)
Just my 2 cents
about 1 month ago
If it were up to me, Willingham would be fired today, after an absolutely awful loss, and the first 0-5 start at the U since like the sixties.
26 days ago
Forget Coach Pete, he is not leaving Boise State only to get fired in 3 yrs because his teams are 9-0 and can't win the National Championship.
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