Butch Jones a candidate at Louisville, Marshall and Virginia

Central Michigan’s Butch Jones has recently been mentioned as a potential candidate for openings at Louisville, Marshall and Virginia, to name a few. The third-year coach of the Chippewas addressed the rumors during Monday’s MAC Championship teleconference. “It is absolutely no distraction at all,” Jones said of the coaching rumors. “I think it is a compliment to our football program, to our players, and to our coaches. It’s been absolutely no distraction. I don’t read the internet. I don’t read the papers so (the reporter) probably know more than I do, and no, I have not spoken to any other schools. My focus has been Central Michigan University, these players, and our football program.” – Morning News

Could Louisville’s Next Coach be Mike Leach?

Well placed sources tell Football Rumor Mill that Texas Tech Head Coach Mike Leach and Louisville have a mutual interest in each other.

It is well-known in college football circles that Leach tried to bolt Lubbock after last year’s breakout season, but he’s still stuck at Tech.

Louisville will be looking for a big-name, splash hire when the Cardinals finally dump Steve Kragthorpe.

Could this be a marriage made in heaven? Stay with Football Rumor Mill for all the latest from the coaching carousel…

Steve Kragthope Under Pressure at Louisville

Kragthorpe is just 13-17 in three years at Louisville, having failed to make a bowl game his first two seasons. The Cardinals have lost seven straight Big East games and eight in a row against BCS conference opponents. All Louisville fans want to talk about these days is who will succeed Kragthorpe at season’s end… Kragthorpe came to Louisville with the reputation as an offensive guru, and he took over sole responsibility of playcalling duties this year. But the formerly high-scoring Cardinals have reached 30 points only once all season, and that was a thoroughly unimpressive 30-10 win against FCS punching bag Indiana State. They are last in the Big East in scoring at 21.5 points per game.  “I need to be a better playcaller,” Kragthorpe said Monday. “I think everybody has to critically look at themselves when not they’re playing as well as you want to.” – ESPN

Louisville’s Steve Kragthorpe on hot seat

I don’t see how Steve Kragthorpe wiggles forward into Year Four now. Not after his University of Louisville football team lost a game that Connecticut worked to give the Cardinals on Saturday. Not after another serving of four crushing turnovers, six stinging penalties and the persistent inability to make the plays that winning teams make. Not after being unable to outmaneuver, outwork or outwit a team destined to finish in the bottom half of the Big East Conference. Not after a loss that probably guaranteed another losing season. – Courier-Journal

Steve Kragthorpe in Trouble at Louisville

That means including the Connecticut loss, Louisville’s lost 10 of its last 12 league games. That’s incongruous with athletic director Tom Jurich’s challenge that all of Louisville’s programs be challenging for Big East titles. Jurich, who has said that he will be monitoring the program this season for signs of progress, has been supportive of Kragthorpe in statements to ESPN and the Louisville SportsReport this season. But Jurich also understands better than anyone what a successful football program can mean to an athletic department. He also understands how crucial going to a bowl game is to the development of a program long-term. Those extra 20 practices for a bowl game have been missing from Louisville the last two seasons as the Cards went 6-6 in Kragthorpe’s first season and 5-7 last year. And this year? After the loss to UConn, it appears highly unlikely that Louisville can make a bowl. Just 2-4 currently, the Cardinals would be bowl eligible by winning four of the last six games, but UofL would likely need to win five of the last six to ensure a bowl. That’s almost impossible to imagine when you see trips to No. 6 Cincinnati, West Virginia and South Florida remaining on the schedule. And if Louisville misses a bowl for the third straight season, what will that mean for the Cardinals’ head coach? Only time and Tom Jurich will tell. – CardinalSports.com

Report: Louisville Wants Jon Gruden to Replace Steve Kragthorpe

Jon Gruden will be the (Louisville’s) No. 1 choice to replace Steve Kragthorpe as head coach if (Steve) Kragthorpe is fired, as expected. The Cardinals are 2-3 heading into this week’s game at UConn. Kragthrope is 13-16 in his three years at Louisville after taking over for Bobby Petrino. Louisville athletic director Tom Jurich believes his school can compete for a national championship, and luring a coach with Gruden’s resume and experience would be a giant step in that direction. Gruden’s brother Jay is a former Louisville quarterback and led the team to an 8-3 record in his senior season… He is also rumored to be a candidate for the Washington Redskins’ head job if owner Daniel Snyder opts to fire Jim Zorn, whose team is off to a 2-3 start. – National Football Post