Surprise! Coaching change season had been unfolding as expected, but we got a shocker Friday, as Virginia filled its vacancy with BYU's Bronco Mendenhall. He wasn't linked to the Cavaliers prior, so this was kept tightly under wraps. Virginia fans seem excited, especially with regards to Mendenhall's reputation for integrity.
UVA took Bronco Mendenhall from BYU, and the ACC’s got an impressive coaching lineup now
Good morning! This is the Read Option, your daily wake-up roundup of college football stuff.
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This leaves an interesting opening at BYU. Vanquish The Foe has a nice breakdown of who might fit BYU’s particular parameters, including maaaaaaybe Kyle Whittingham? Mendenhall will stay on for the bowl game, where he could get his 100th win.
With Miami hiring former SEC champion Mark Richt and Virginia Tech landing up-and-coming prospect Justin Fuente, the ACC Coastal’s suddenly got a list of prominent coaches. Duke’s David Cutcliffe, Georgia Tech’s Paul Johnson, North Carolina’s Larry Fedora, and Pitt’s Pat Narduzzi all have quality resumes. Add them to FSU’s Jimbo Fisher, Clemson’s Dabo Swinney, Louisville’s Bobby Petrino and some rising younger guys on the ACC Atlantic side, and the conference is in business.
(Also, this means rivals Virginia and Virginia Tech hired the head coaches from last year’s Miami Beach Bowl brawl.
Settle in. Between the American and Conference USA title games at noon and the Big Ten at night, we have your full viewing schedule for Championship Saturday. It's going to be a big one. Get yourself sorted.
Elsewhere in coaching news:
- We saw perhaps the most unexpected -- and maybe ill-advised -- firing of the year yesterday when East Carolina dismissed Ruffin McNeill. Our Steven Godfrey reports that the move was related to McNeill refusing to make changes to the coaching staff. The Pirates were only 5-7 this year, but McNeill is an ECU alum who’d guided the Pirates to their first 10-win season in over two decades.
- Tom Herman signed a new five-year deal with Houston worth $2.8 million a year. His Cougars will play for the AAC title at home against Temple at noon.
- Will Muschamp’s push for the South Carolina head coaching job has an interesting advocate: Steve Spurrier. USF’s Willie Taggart will reportedly also interview.
- Cal announced it’s negotiating an extension with Sonny Dykes, who’s been connected to lots of other jobs.
- As always, you can find all the head coaching rumors at our handy rumor tracker.
Goodnight, sweet MACtion. Championship Saturday actually started on Friday night, with Bowling Green blasting Northern Illinois 34-14 to win the MAC. This may have been Dino Babers’ last game in charge of the Falcons, and if it was, he went out in style.
Right back where we started. Les Miles survived a coup from boosters and administrators to coach another day, but despite everyone feeling pretty good right now, he’ll be right back on the hot seat in 2016.
They’re exactly the same. The College Football Playoff is a lot like the board game Risk. They’re both strenuous games that involve great physical strength, and hmm, actually, I’ll just let Jason Kirk explain how it.
Bad news. Pitt running back James Conner announced that he’s been diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma. The prognosis is good, and Conner said he will play football again, but this is an incredibly scary situation for a kid who has already been through a lot.
Let’s make you some MONEY. When it comes to conventional wagers, we have four bets that will get you through this Saturday. If you’d rather take an unconventional path to picking a winner, MASCOT FIGHTS is still here, and is technically over .500 for the season!
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