Colorado OC to Interview at Oregon

The Colorado football program could be looking for a new offensive coordinator as early as next week. Mark Helfrich, who has served as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach in Boulder since 2006, will interview for the same position next week at the University of Oregon, according to a release published on the CU athletic department Web site. Helfrich would be the second member of the coaching staff to leave Colorado this offseason and the fourth member to at least entertain the idea. If offered a job at Oregon, he would be the second member of the CU staff to be courted by the Ducks this year. Helfrich was born in Medford, Ore., and played college football at Southern Oregon. He served as a graduate assistant at Oregon in 1997. Meanwhile, there is no support at the top of the University of Colorado for multi-year contracts for assistant coaches. – Daily Camera

Weis Squarely on Hot Seat in 2009

Earlier this month, Jeff Steck, at the excellent Blue-Gray Sky blog, produced a fascinating analysis that put a new spin on the old chicken-egg argument that seems to dominate any discussion about Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis’s recruiting versus his team’s on-field production. Steck took Rivals.com’s recruiting ratings (talent) and compared them to Jeff Sagarin’s Predictor Ratings (performance) to determine which schools overperform or underperform relative to their talent levels. This is a popular topic among Domers. Weis is either an excellent recruiter who has done a poor job developing his players, or a decent coach with below-average talent evaluation skills whose recruiting classes are chronically overrated by the Recruiting Industrial Complex. Steck’s analysis found that Boise State, BYU, TCU, Utah and West Virginia overperformed more than anyone, while Notre Dame fell in with fellow underperformers Miami, Florida State and Syracuse. Despite that bit of gloom, the analysis produced a silver lining. If Notre Dame performs as expected relative to its talent level next season, the Fighting Irish will finish No. 12 in the nation. If Notre Dame continues to underperform, however, Weis will probably lose his job. – SI

Fisher Set to “Clean House” at Florida State

With the NCAA coming down on Florida State in the wake of the cheating scandal, the news has in essence prompted a referendum of sorts on the state of Seminoles football under legendary coach Bobby Bowden. We had this discussion on Monday’s “Outside the Lines” show and my feeling is while FSU hasn’t dropped off the college football map, it definitely has dropped off the mountaintop. I spoke with several people who have been on the inside of the FSU program over the past decade for their thoughts on why the program has backslid so much. So what exactly has caused this? Start with leadership and bad chemistry. A bunch of the guys I’ve talked to have their own theories and there’s actually plenty of overlap. One of the main reasons I heard was that for so long the FSU coaching staff was like a machine, where each part relied on the others. But then when some key guys started to leave (most notably Mark Richt and Chuck Amato), it broke up the chemistry and those other coaches who have slid into their roles couldn’t deliver. “The machine broke down,” one of the guys said. Then, you’ve added in some new personalities as Bowden’s gotten further removed from the day-to-day operation with Jimbo Fisher getting anointed as the new Noles head coach, and word is there’s too much friction between Fisher and some of Bowden’s old guard with Mickey Andrews and Amato now that he’s back. I’m told that as soon as Fisher gets elevated (if that does in fact happen) he cleans house there. – ESPN

USF Targets Disch as DC

South Florida coach Jim Leavitt has offered his defensive coordinator position to Illinois co-defensive coordinator Dan Disch, a source close to the program told The News-Gazette tonight. Disch is expected to make a decision sometime in the next 24 hours. South Florida is looking to replace Wally Burnham, who left for a job at Iowa State. Disch just completed his fourth year on the Illinois staff and second, with secondary coach Curt Mallory, as co-defensive coordinator. Though the team allowed more points in 2008 than in 2007, the defense gave up fewer yards against a schedule that included BCS teams Ohio State and Penn State. – News-Gazette

Report: Texas Tech Could Dump Leach, Pursue Briles

With coach Mike Leach and Texas Tech in a stalemate over a contract extension, there is a chance for this affair to take a turn toward the absurd: Texas Tech could fire Leach. You read that correctly. A coach who just led his program to one of its greatest seasons ever could get fired because of an inability to reach some type of peace on a contract extension that is on the table. The thinking goes that if Tech can’t come to some accord with Leach – who has two years remaining on his deal – school officials could just turn the page now rather than having him return to coach the final two years of his contract. But would Tech really fire Leach? Such a move would be ridiculed across the nation. Leach’s agents have no issue with financial terms of Tech’s offer, which is a five-year, $12.7 million contract that computes to around $2.5 million per season. But the deal includes several provisions that Leach’s camp find unacceptable. He has until Tuesday to accept or decline a contract he was presented in early January. Texas Tech athletic director Gerald Myers could not immediately be reached for comment. If the unthinkable happens – Leach gets fired – don’t be shocked if Tech makes a run at Baylor coach Art Briles, who was running backs coach at Tech under Leach from 2000-02. Another possibility is that defensive coordinator Ruffin McNeill could be promoted to the top spot. Still, the likelihood of a firing seems remote. Texas Tech has to make this work. Losing Leach would have a crippling effect on the program and the school. – Rivals.com

Gailey Remains in Limbo

At 57 years old and in his fourth job as an offensive coordinator, Chan Gailey is the very definition of a veteran NFL coach. Those facts alone make Gailey an odd mix with the Chiefs’ new head coach, Todd Haley, who at 41 made his reputation as offensive coordinator and play-caller the last two seasons for the high scoring Arizona Cardinals. Throw in Haley’s possible desire to call the offensive plays, as some in the Chiefs’ organization believe he plans to do, and Gailey appears even more the spare part. So far, at least, Gailey survives. The Chiefs last week dumped five of the remaining members of Herm Edwards’ coaching staff. Gailey is one of four others still employed, joining offensive-line coaches Bob Bicknell and Joe D’Alessandris and defensive-line coach Tim Krumrie. While one source indicated that doesn’t mean any or all of the four will be retained once Haley’s staff is set, another said Bicknell has been told be will be invited to stay, perhaps as the tight ends coach. Gailey’s situation may yet to have played itself out. – Kansas City Star

Prince May Return to Virginia

According to sources, newly appointed Virginia defensive coordinator Bob Diaco is leaving the program to take a similar post at the University of Cincinnati. However, at the same time, it is believed that former Cavalier offensive coordinator Ron Prince may be returning as assistant head coach. Prince, who served as UVa’s offensive coordinator and offensive line coach, left the Cavaliers to become head coach at Kansas State, where he served for three seasons before being released in 2008. – Daily Progress

Leach, Texas Tech Dispute Drags On

Monthslong communication between Texas Tech and agents for football coach Mike Leach show a growing frustration on both sides — including a rebuke to the agents from the chairman of Tech’s Board of Regents. The university has given Leach a Feb. 17 deadline to sign a contract-extension of $12.7 million over five years, but Leach’s agents say he won’t sign because of four added elements they say make the proposal unacceptable. Leach referred to the four terms to which he objected on Wednesday during his national signing day news conference. He later declined to discuss them specifically, but said he won’t agree to them. Tech officials say the reason for some of the changes was concern about Leach’s interest in other jobs. The Avalanche-Journal obtained dozens of pages of letters and e-mails between the two sides through the Texas Public Information Act on Friday. Leach, who just finished his ninth season in Lubbock, has two years remaining on his current contract, which pays $10 million over five years… The four issues: Tech reduces the guaranteed income due Leach should it dismiss him. Leach’s current deal ensured he’d be paid $3.6 million of a guaranteed income of $9 million. In the new proposal, he would receive $1.5 million from guaranteed income of $11.1 million. Tech increases Leach’s buyout clause from the current flat $500,000 if he leaves Tech to $300,000 per year for each year remaining on his deal. O’Hagan, noting that could add up to as much as $1.5 million on a five-year deal, called the clause “among the highest in the Big 12 Conference.” He said four Big 12 coaches — Oklahoma’s Bob Stoops, Texas’ Mack Brown, Kansas’ Mark Mangino and Kansas State’s Bill Snyder — have no buyout. Leach’s agents propose the buyout remain at $500,000 if Leach initiates a departure and 50 percent of his remaining base salary and outside income if Tech fires him. Tech inserted a requirement Leach ask permission before interviewing for other jobs. If he interviews for another job without informing Tech, he can be fired for cause and subject to a penalty clause of $300,000 per year for the remaining contract term. There are no such stipulations in Leach’s current contract. Finally, according to O’Hagan, Leach must “assign over to the university and its agent, Learfield Sports, all rights to his name and identity, so that the university can sell Mike’s time and the use of his name and identity to third parties.” – Avalanche-Journal

Chiefs Get Permission to Interview Haley

Three weeks after hiring Scott Pioli as general manager, and almost two after firing Herm Edwards, the Chiefs are still looking for a head coach. That fact indicates Pioli was waiting to speak with a particular candidate — and, evidently, he is Arizona Cardinals offensive coordinator Todd Haley. With Arizona’s season concluding with last weekend’s Super Bowl, the Chiefs received permission from the Cardinals to interview Haley for their head coaching vacancy, sources said. The interview could happen as soon as today. – Kansas City Star

Crennel to Notre Dame?

From the outside looking in, it appears Weis has bungled his defensive line assistant coaching hire. Ohio State’s Luke Fickell did take himself out of the running a couple of weeks ago, and it’s been eerily quiet ever since. Yet the one thing you know about Weis is he always has a plan — and a Plan B, C, D, probably Q too. You may not agree or like his plan, but he always has one, if not 27. You could speculate that Weis is waiting to contact a pro assistant coach that is involved in this weekend’s Super Bowl or a college coach who needs to get past Wednesday’s signing day to receive permission to talk. Or maybe, just maybe, Weis is talking to longtime friend Romeo Crennel, the recently deposed head coach of the Cleveland Browns. The 61-year-old Crennel’s 24-40 bottom line with Cleveland is hardly flattering, but the rest of his résumé fits well as a short-term solution. And Crennel, who is slated to undergo hip-replacement surgery in February, has expressed an interest in remaining in the coaching business, even perhaps in some capacity with new Browns coach Eric Mangini. Weis and Crennel coached together in New England, where Crennel served as defensive coordinator and Weis as offensive coordinator. Crennel has five Super Bowl rings and has coached the defensive line with the Patriots, Jets and Giants in the NFL and in the collegiate ranks at Western Kentucky, Texas Tech, Georgia Tech and Ole Miss. – South Bend Tribune

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