Gruden, Muschamp to replace Les Miles At LSU?

LSU will start 5-0 and there will still be people calling for the head of Les Miles. Now you would think that a coach who has won 51 games and a national championship in five seasons would be in pretty decent shape with his alumni. But down on the Bayou there is still this nagging sense that the program has begun to slip since Nick Saban’s players all finished in 2007, the national championship season. (LSU is 8-8 in SEC play the past two seasons.) If LSU can beat North Carolina in Atlanta on Saturday, the Tigers should be 5-0 when they go to Florida on Oct. 9. They won’t win in the Swamp and then the complaints will start. You will hear the name of Jon Gruden. You will also hear the name of Will Muschamp. – CBS Sports

Report: Longhorns might commit to new Big 12 (10)

In a bombshell development that could bring a halt to seismic changes in college realignment, sources tell Orangebloods.com Texas is willing to come to the table with the 10 remaining Big 12 schools to see if there’s consensus for a plan put forth by commissioner Dan Beebe to hold the conference together. UT officials were expected to reach out to the other schools around the league on Monday to see if the Big 12 can be saved with 10 teams. Such a move would appear to at least put on hold a courtship between Texas and the Pac-10, which all but seemed solidified as of Friday when Nebraska announced it was heading to the Big Ten and Colorado had a press conference with its new commissioner - Larry Scott of the Pac-10. But as it became clear over the weekend that Texas, Texas Tech, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State appeared ready join the Pac-10 and Texas A&M appeared ready to join the SEC, Beebe was able to obtain assurances that a TV deal could be reached paying each of the 10 remaining members of the Big 12 between $14 million and $17 million. Under Beebe’s plan, schools would also be able to explore their own distribution platforms, including networks. Texas would not be able to pursue those options in the Pac-10, which is planning to launch a conference network in 2012 and would require schools to turn over all of their inventory. The big question now is if Texas A&M, which, according to Orangebloods.com, has the votes on its nine-member Board of Regents to join the Southeastern Conference, would reconsider a possible move to the SEC and remain in the Big 12 with its long-time, in-state rival. – Orangebloods.com

Texas’ departure for Pac-10 “imminent”

The departure of Texas, Texas Tech, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State to the Pac-10 is imminent, four sources within the Big 12 said Monday. One source said commissioner Dan Beebe’s last-minute plan to save the conference has “zero” chance to succeed. Another source said it is “very unlikely” to succeed. Texas’ interests in being aligned with the research opportunities and academic missions of Pac-10 schools is driving the decision, along with money. Beebe’s last-ditch plan included an emotional plea about preserving rivalries and maintaining the best welfare of the student-athlete, one source said. Texas A&M is now most likely to join the SEC, a source within the Big 12 said. This move, in the wake of Colorado and Nebraska’s departure, would further diminish the chance of Beebe’s plan succeeding, one source said. Texas’ decision is expected to come no later than Tuesday. – WABC-TV

Aggies likely headed to SEC; OU next?

Multiple sources tell Orangebloods.com that Texas A&M has enough votes on its nine-member Board of Regents to join the Southeastern Conference and could announce that move as early as next week.A source close to the situation said A&M has an invitation from the SEC if it wants it. SEC commissioner Mike Slive was in College Station on Saturday meeting with A&M officials, according to sources, although A&M athletic director Bill Byrne was in Idaho. The sources said the A&M regents who favor the move to the SEC outnumber those who favor staying with longtime rival Texas in a move to the Pac-10… According to sources, SEC commissioner Mike Slive and A&M are working feverishly to convince Oklahoma to join the SEC with the Aggies rather than follow Texas to the Pac-10. There is speculation among a few schools in the Big 12 that if OU had to choose between the Pac-10 and SEC, it would choose the SEC. But sources close to OU say, up to this point, the Sooners have made a decision to go with Texas and not break up one of college football’s most unique rivalries. – Orangebloods.com

Hold Everything: Big 12 may not be dead just yet

Three different sources at Big 12 South schools being targeted by the Pac-10 told Orangebloods.com Sunday morning that Dan Beebe’s attempts to secure a new TV deal on par with the SEC’s $17 million/school payout for the 10 remaining schools in the Big 12 is in play. The sources said they are proceeding cautiously with the new information provided by Beebe. But the information might slow down the rocket-like pace of Big 12 schools seeking a new home and possibly draw all the divided parties back to the table… Texas A&M has been in deep discussions with the SEC and as of Saturday night had enough votes on its Board of Regents to join the SEC (believed to be 6-3). But the dissenting votes on A&M’s regents board are apparently passionate about keeping Texas and A&M together and not breaking up a 100-year rivalry by having the schools head to different leagues. SEC commissioner Mike Slive was in College Station Saturday. Sources close to the situation say A&M has an invitation to the SEC if it wants it. The SEC has also been doggedly pursuing Oklahoma. But thus far, OU, Texas Tech and Oklahoma State have indicated they would stay with Texas. Up to this point, that appeared to be an announcement to join the Pac-10, starting as early as Tuesday of this week. But with news that Texas is now seriously considering the Beebe Plan, there is a growing chance the Big 12, which is now at 10 schools (the Big Ten, by the way, is now at 12 schools) just might survive after all. – Orangebloods.com

Strong Ramifications for Aggies if move made to SEC

Two sources told me late Thursday afternoon that it has been expressed to the Aggies that a move to the SEC would be viewed as an athletics act of war because it is important to the other schools involved to keep the SEC out of this state as a major presence - both in recruiting and in terms of market reach. Although there haven’t been any hard line threats, there’s a feeling from all of the schools from the Big 12 South that A&M would become dead to them as an athletics partner and it’s very likely that they wouldn’t be scheduled by Texas, Texas Tech, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State in any sport… for a very, very long time. When we talk about the loss of tradition in this move for A&M, we’re not talking about the school song or the bonfire. We’re talking about the ability to pursue any existing competition in any sport - not in football, basketball, baseball, poker, lawn darts… nothing. No more Lone Star State Showdown. Also, my sources indicate that this is not a UT-led initiative and that all of the schools are in firm agreement that an A&M move to the SEC would need to be met with pretty stiff repercussions. The bottom line is that there will be a lot of political jostling over the course of the next few days and into early next week. Look for the other four schools to sit back, watch and wait for Texas A&M to figure out who they are. Texas wants A&M sitting shotgun on the ride to the Pac-10. If A&M wants out of the car, they won’t be let back in. – Orangebloods.com

Aggies, Longhorns may be split

Are Texas and Texas A&M breaking up? The latest difference of opinion could define a changing college landscape for decades. Texas and three other schools in the Big 12 Conference’s South Division are looking west to the Pacific-10 Conference as the best hope for their future with the expected demise of their home for the last 14 years. But Texas A&M would like to at least survey the options in a different part of the country, in the Southeastern Conference, sources familiar with the process outlined. – The Dallas Morning News

Longhorns, Aggies eyeing SEC?

As the roulette wheel of bigtime college athletics continues to spin, a pair of Texas teams will assess its options. Athletic Directors DeLoss Dodds of Texas and Bill Byrne of Texas A&M will gather to discuss their departments’ futures in light of Nebraska’s all-but-announced move to the Big Ten, according to a source from UT with direct knowledge of the event. Administrators and coaches at Texas and A&M recently have said that the Big 12 would dissolve without Nebraska as at least five Big 12 South schools and either Baylor or Colorado would seek a new home. The Pacific 10 has offered to take six teams, though administrators at two Big 12 schools have said the Longhorns and Aggies might talk with the Southeastern Conference. – Omaha World-Herald

Big Ten expansion eyes are upon Texas?

A decision about expanding the Big Ten might be months away, but e-mail conversations indicate that the University of Texas is an object of the conference’s attention. And the school’s athletic director isn’t making a commitment to stay in the Big 12. Ohio State University President E. Gordon Gee sent an e-mail to Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany on April 20 saying that he had spoken with Texas President William Powers. “I did speak with Bill Powers at Texas, who would welcome a call to say they have a ‘Tech’ problem,” Gee wrote in an e-mail that was among several obtained by The Dispatch through a public-records request for documents and correspondence related to Big Ten expansion proposals. Texas Tech is one of Texas’ rivals in the Big 12 conference. Ohio State officials declined a Dispatch request to explain the “Tech” problem. “Public record laws do not require us to provide further clarification on meaning,” OSU spokeswoman Amy Murray said in an e-mail. “While a few of the e-mails are cryptic, we aren’t obliged to provide additional explanation.” – Columbus Dispatch

Assistant coaches’ salaries spiking in football

Trickle down economics are alive and well in college football. With many contracts being negotiated or finalized, nearly a dozen schools in the NCAA’s 120-school Football Bowl Subdivision have made deals under which they will be spending at least 38% more on their offensive or defensive coordinator in 2010 than they did in 2009. These increases come a year after four assistants — Tennessee’s Monte Kiffin and Ed Orgeron, Texas’ Will Muschamp and Washington’s Nick Holt — joined Florida State’s Jimbo Fisher in having deals worth at least $600,000 a year. (Kiffin and Orgeron have moved to Southern California, and Fisher has become Florida State’s head coach.) They also come amid continuing financial distress within higher education. – USA Today

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