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Wouldn't be surprised if Showers is interested in transferring with Kingsbury to Tech.
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Skip Holtz takes the job at Louisiana Tech.
Skip Holtz will be the next head coach at Louisiana Tech, a source told CBSSports.com Thursday afternoon. The school is expected to have a press conference Friday to introduce Holtz.
The 48-year-old Holtz was fired from USF earlier this month after three seasons with the Bulls, where they went 16-21 and just 2-12 the past two years in Big East play. The Bulls finished 2012 by losing nine of their last 10 games.
Holtz, the son of former Notre Dame head coach Lou Holtz, did lead East Carolina to bowl games in four of his five seasons with the Pirates before he was hired at USF.
Among those also considered for the Tech job were Oklahoma assistant Cale Gundy and Texas A&M special teams coordinator Brian Polian.
Holtz replaces Sonny Dykes, who left to become the head coach at Cal. The Bulldogs were 9-3 this season and led the country in offense, averaging 52 points per game. USF, meanwhile, ranked No. 104 in scoring in 2012.Comment
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Seems like a huge downgrade for himComment
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Temple hires Giants assistant OL coach Matt Rhule to be their HCComment
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San Jose State hires University of San Diego HC Ron Caragher to be their next HC. Caragher took over after Jim Harbaugh left to go to Stanford. Sounds like a pretty good hire to me.Comment
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Western Michigan hires Bucs assistant P.J. Fleck.
A former Northern Illinois wide receiver, then-Rutgers assistant P.J. Fleck nearly returned to the MAC in 2012 when he accepted -- and then shortly afterward un-accepted -- the Huskies' offensive coordinating job. This time, expect the return to stick: Western Michigan is expected to name Fleck its new head coach.
A source confirmed the hire to CBSSports.com's Bruce Feldman. The news was first reported by the Kalamazoo Gazette.
At just 32 years of age, Fleck becomes the youngest head coach in the FBS, some 11 months younger than Matt Campbell of fellow MAC school Toledo. Texas A&M's Kliff Kingsbury is third-youngest at 33. Fleck is the first FBS head coach born in the 1980s.
Fleck is currently the wide receivers coach for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, a position that he accepted after his Rutgers head coach, Greg Schiano, took the same job with the Bucs last spring. Fleck had served under Schiano for two seasons at Rutgers before accompanying him to Tampa Bay; Fleck also spent one day as the new NIU play-caller under now-N.C. State head coach Dave Doeren before opting for the Buccaneers' wide receivers position instead.
In addition to his successful career at NIU, one that culminated in a 1,000-yard season and All-MAC honors in 2003, Fleck coached wide receivers at NIU 2007-09.
Fleck replaces Bill Cubit, dismissed after eight seasons in Kalamazoo and a 4-8 record in 2012. Cubit went 51-47 and took the Broncos to three bowl games but never won a MAC title.
In fact, the Broncos have not won a MAC championship since 1988 and haven't won so much as a divisional title since 2000; it's fair to say Fleck has his work cut out for him.Comment
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Fleck was one of my favorite college WRs of all-time. Very surprised he got a head coaching job, though.Comment
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Kent State hires former Arkansas DC Paul Haynes to be their new HC. He's a former player and assistant at Kent StateComment
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SALT LAKE CITY -- Utah State promoted offensive coordinator Matt Wells to head coach Thursday, replacing Wisconsin-bound Gary Anderson.
Anderson took the Wisconsin job Thursday, taking over for Bret Bielema. Bielema left to take the Arkansas job.
Utah State President Stan Albrecht and athletic director Scott Barnes said hiring the 39-year-old Wells allows the football program to continue to build on the tremendous progress made by Anderson over the last four years.
"We're not starting over," Albrecht said. "This is not a step back. This is an amazingly wonderful step forward."
The 48-year-old Andersen just completed his fourth and best season at Utah State. The Aggies went 11-2, won the Western Athletic Conference and defeated Toledo in the on Saturday in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl. They are expected to finish in the Top 25 in the final AP rankings.
It has been a remarkable rise for a program that had been near the bottom of major college football for years, and stuck in distant third in its own state behind BYU and Utah. The Aggies won nine games in the previous four seasons before Andersen took over. The last football coach to finish his tenure in Logan with a winning record was Phil Krueger, who went 21-12 from 1973-75.
Andersen drew interest from California, Colorado and Kentucky last month, but decided to pass on those opportunities and received a contract extension from Utah State. He said recently that he would stay, but changed course to take the Wisconsin job.
Wells said Thursday that he owes a lot to Anderson, who hired him two years ago. Anderson lobbied for him to get the job, he said.
"He's the guy that showed me the blueprint," Wells said about Anderson. "He's built this place with the help and support of the athletic department and administration."
He thanked Aggies players for making plays and winning games, giving him his first head coaching opportunity.
"If we would have stunk, Gary would still be here and I would have never gotten this chance," said Wells, laughing.
Barnes said Wells was his first choice even though he had a list of other candidates. The athletic director said they have no doubt they have a coach who can maintain the success the school had with Anderson.
"This program is bigger than any one person," Barnes said.
Wells said he'll build off the foundation established by Anderson. He said the Aggies will continue to play up tempo, spread offense and that he will stay with the same general defensive philosophy. He said his teams will compete for conference championships yearly.
He said he'll focus on hiring a staff and recruiting immediately. He said the Aggies' recent success has generated a lot of interest from coaches around the country. But he said anyone he hires will have to believe in his philosophy of how to treat players.
"We are going to coach them hard, and we are going love them hard," Well said.
Wells played quarterback for the Aggies in the mid-1990s and graduated with a bachelor's in business marketing.
Prior to coming to Utah State, Wells coached at New Mexico, Louisville and Tulsa. He's from Sallisaw, Okla.
Wells becomes the 11th youngest head coach in the NCAA's Football Bowl Subdivision, according to the Utah State sports information department. He's only the second Utah State graduate to come back and become head football coach.
With 16 of 22 starters returning next year, Wells said the Aggies should be very good again next year.
"I am extremely excited to get these guys on the field in the spring," Wells said.Comment
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The Godfather of the Pistol Offense, Hall of Famer Chris Ault, is retiring as the head football coach at Nevada, a source told CBSSports.com Friday.
The 66-year-old coach steps down after 28 seasons as a head coach with a career record of 233-109-1 and has led the Pack to five consecutive winning seasons, including a 7-6 mark this year. Nevada lost four games by six points or fewer in 2012, including a 49-48 game against Arizona in the New Mexico Bowl on Dec. 15.
In 2010, Nevada went 13-1 and finished No. 11 in the nation. That was his sixth season with at least 10 wins. Under Ault, the Pack had one losing season in conference play since 1982.
Even more impressive is the legacy Ault leaves behind in football. A former quarterback at Nevada in the mid-60s, Ault is best known as the creator of the unique Pistol offense that has spread all over college football in recent years and this fall has even made a huge impact in the NFL.
Despite the fact that more and more teams are utilizing the Pistol, opponents still have had fits trying to slow down the Nevada offense. In the past four seasons, the Pack has ranked in the top 10 national in total offense each year.
In addition, the current overtime format in college football was introduced by Ault via the Big Sky Conference in 1980 (although the original rule gave each team the ball at the 15-yard line instead of the 25-yard line.) Many also credit Ault with devising the middle screen or "jailbreak screen" which he unveiled at Nevada back in 1981.Comment
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Sucks for Nevada because it's so late in the hiring process that all the good candidates have been hired.Comment
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MIAMI -- Florida International has hired former Illinois coach Ron Turner to take over its football program.
FIU director of sports and entertainment Pete Garcia says Turner signed a five-year contract Thursday night, with a base salary of $500,000 annually. A news conference with Turner was being scheduled for Friday afternoon.
Turner replaces Mario Cristobal, who was fired last month.
Turner most recently was the quarterbacks coach for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, is a past offensive coordinator for the Chicago Bears and was Peyton Manning's position coach with the Indianapolis Colts.
Garcia says Turner is "the best quarterbacks coach in America, college or pro. So I'm very excited to get this guy."
Stewart Mandel @slmandel
FIU is paying money to an AD who hired Isiah Thomas and is replacing Mario Cristobal with Ron Turner. Can't make that upComment
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Texas A&M special teams coordinator Brian Polian is expected to be next Nevada head coach but a source told CBSSports.com Saturday night that the deal is not done yet.
The 38-year-old Polian was a key part of the Aggies' big season this fall. Polian also played a huge role in the rise of the Stanford and Notre Dame programs. He is widely considered one of the nation's top recruiters and he landed Fighting Irish star Manti Te'o, among others.
Polian's father, Bill, was a longtime NFL executive with the Indianapolis Colts, Carolina Panthers and Buffalo Bills, and his older brother Chris, served as the Colts GM from 2009-11. His younger brother Dennis also works in player personnel with the NFL.
Brian Polian would replace Hall of Famer Chris Ault, who stepped down as the Nevada head coach in late December. The 66-year-old coach, best known for developing the Pistol Offense, had a career record of 233-109-1 and has led the Pack to five consecutive winning seasons, including a 7-6 mark this year. Nevada lost four games by six points or fewer in 2012, including a 49-48 game against Arizona in the New Mexico Bowl on Dec. 15.
In 2010, Nevada went 13-1 and finished No. 11 in the nation. That was his sixth season with at least 10 wins. Under Ault, the Pack had one losing season in conference play since 1982.Comment
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Scott Shafer will be the next head coach at Syracuse, a source told CBSSports.com Monday night.
The 46-year-old Shafer was named Syracuse's defensive coordinator in 2009, and his 2010 unit ranked among the best in the Big East, allowing just 19.3 points and 300.3 yards per game. Under Shafer, the Orange defense ranked sixth nationally and led the BIG EAST in tackles for loss in 2012.
Shafer replaces Doug Marrone who was hired over the weekend as the new coach of the Buffalo Bills.Comment
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Brian Kelly apparently interviewed with the Eagles.
I expect his raise from ND to be announced soon.
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