Kiffin, UNLV, Texas Tech, Harbaugh, NMSU Notes

Kiffin
Clemson and Washington are also possibilities for the 33-year-old Kiffin. One of the attractions with Kiffin is that he would likely bring his father, Monte, with him. The elder Kiffin is the defensive coordinator for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and one of the most respected defensive minds in all of football. The rest of Kiffin’s staff could have a distinctive SEC feel to it. He and former Ole Miss coach Ed Orgeron worked together when Kiffin was the offensive coordinator at Southern California, and Kiffin would almost certainly try to bring Orgeron with him as a defensive assistant and recruiting coordinator. Orgeron is now on the New Orleans Saints staff. When Orgeron was at Ole Miss, he hired Kiffin’s younger brother, Chris, to be a graduate assistant on the Rebels’ defensive staff. – ESPN.com

UNLV

The final three games could determine more than whether UNLV (3-6, 0-5 Mountain West) plays in a bowl. They could affect what staff and personnel decisions coach Mike Sanford makes. And they could impact Sanford’s future, although his job might be safe. Given the troubled economy, UNLV probably would be hard-pressed to buy out the fourth-year coach — and changing the entire staff could cost up to $1 million. Also, Sanford can argue victories over Arizona State and Iowa State and close losses to Brigham Young and Air Force indicate overall improvement… “At the end of the season, we’ll sit down and see where the program’s at and see if we’re improving,” athletic director Mike Hamrick said. Sanford said he never thinks about his future. It’s hard to blame him. He’s got enough to worry about over the next three weeks. – Las Vegas Review-Journal

Texas Tech

Texas Tech University, which upset then-top-ranked Texas last weekend, will renegotiate coach Mike Leach’s contract as soon as the college football team’s regular season concludes on Nov. 29, Athletic Director Gerald Myers said in a telephone interview. The No. 2-ranked Red Raiders (9-0, 5-0 in the Big 12 Conference) beat Texas 39-33 on Nov. 1 and are now in position to compete for the school’s first national championship. “We’ll certainly extend Mike’s contract when the season ends, it’s never been a question,” Myers said. “He’s our coach and we want him to remain our coach. We’ll reward him for what he’s done.” – Bloomberg

Harbaugh

Obviously, as I’ve explained to Harbaugh myself, the very act of me typing this scuttlebutt almost certainly makes Al Davis ill and 99% determined to do anything except what I’m about to type… And yet, I don’t think AD can help himself. The pull is too strong. After months of me typing about Harbaugh and the Raiders as a very likely marriage coming up soon, I heard yesterday yet again from a good source that it is generally assumed within NFL/college coaching circles that: * Stanford Coach Jim Harbaugh is guaranteed a very long and warm talk with Al Davis–and probably an offer to become the next Raiders coach–this December or January. My source, who has been very reliable in the past and yesterday repeated the Harbaugh-Raiders talk I’ve heard for almost a year now, only had one caveat: “Everybody knows Al loves Harbaugh, but why would Harbaugh want that job? He could wait at Stanford a little longer and get a real job.” But here’s where I can add: Harbaugh loves Al. That’s what makes this magic. – Mercury News

New Mexico State

After the Aggies’ 49-point loss to Boise State last Saturday fliers around campus have emerged directing students to a Web site aimed at convincing people firing football coach Hal Mumme is best for NMSU. The Web site, titled firehalmuume.com, includes a Hal Mumme rant written by the creator of the page, a list of possible replacement coaches and provides Athletic Director McKinley Boston’s e-mail address. The Web page also provides a link to a message board on which dozens of other Mumme-bashers discuss their feelings about the Aggie football coach… Unfortunately for Jacob and other Aggie fans who tremble at the thought of seeing another game with Mumme at the helm, Boston said he evaluates all coaches at the end of their season, and the evaluation of Mumme and his staff will be no different. Mumme said he is not concerned with job security and his focus is on winning as many games as possible the remainder of the season. “I’m concerned with wins and losses,” Mumme said. “I’ve never really been concerned with job security. That’s why they give me a contract.” Mumme has one year left on a contract that was extended prior to the start of this season and the resignation or termination of Mumme would result in a buyout that would cost an athletic department that is already in substantial debt. – The Round Up