3 great names to consider

Disclaimer: I want us to keep Dan Mullen. 5 years ago we were thrilled to be 8-4. Today we're pissed. That's a testament to how good of a job he's done. I'd rather keep Mullen than hire any of these 3, because you just never know when hiring a new coach. But I think all 3 of these would be home run hires, and I think they're all realistic.

Philip Montgomery - head coach, Tulsa

• Former OC at Baylor from 2006-2014, developing QBs like Robert Griffin III (Heisman winner) and Bryce Petty.
• Was able to modify his offense for an elite mobile QB and a stationary one.
• Baylor built up to over 600 yards/game under him.
• Tulsa went 2-10 last year without him, now they're 6-6 and averaging over 500 yards/game.
• 43 years old

Willie Fritz - head coach, Georgia Southern

• Mainly a defense guy, but has always run a "pistol triple option," which is similar to Navy/Georgia Tech but also has a lot of shotgun and pistol snaps. May be the perfect system for Fitz.
• 40-15 at Sam Houston State, with two championship game appearances
• Now 17-6 at Georgia Southern. Georgia Southern transitioned from FCS to Sun Belt and immediately has dominated, only losing 1 conference game

Tom Herman - head coach, Houston

• Former OC for Urban Meyer at Ohio State, so already runs a similar offense.
• Has Houston 11-1 after the previous coach was 20-17 over the last 3 years
• Supposedly turned down South Carolina to hold out for a better job, but it may turn out that no better jobs come open and he'll look at a school like us
• 40 years old

I agree that all are great choices. Great list.

Please no triple option. Add sonny dykes and mat wells to your list

You guys would like Willie Fritz. Lots of energy. Has his guys prepared. Now that GSU is FBS, his recruiting will kill GT, and possibly start impacting UGA on depth.

Eta - I had to edit Fitz to Fritz, I've typed Fitz so much over the past3 years my phone autocorrected it.

Good list. If Dan does actually leave Herman would be my choice to go after.

Yes to all 3. It will be hard to **** this hire up but I won't put it past Strick

coming. If he turned down USCe, he won't come here.

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Originally Posted by Saltydog

coming. If he turned down USCe, he won't come here.

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If USCe offered 2.1 million and we offered 2.8 million he would.

Herman turned down SC- can't see him taking ours. Waiting on a bigger gig

I don't want Dan to be let go but I think he may want to leave. So...I'll add Larry Fedora to the list. Makes 1.9M at UNC.

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Originally Posted by Coach34

Herman turned down SC- can't see him taking ours. Waiting on a bigger gig

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Herman is the only name mentioned that would be considered a home run hire.

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Originally Posted by Coach34

Herman turned down SC- can't see him taking ours. Waiting on a bigger gig

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Doesn't Herman have a relationship with the AD at MIZZOU? Not saying that is a better job and is probably not attractive with all that has gone on there.

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Originally Posted by Coach34

Herman turned down SC- can't see him taking ours. Waiting on a bigger gig

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Or mo $$$$$$$

I would consider Kyle Whittingham a pretty damn good hire. He would be my first choice. Not sure if there is any mutual interest, but I would go there first. Surround him with the right people and this is a successful program. We need to be committed to shelling out some damn money though. Malzahn makes less than Mullen and he does that on purpose. He wants his assistants to make a lot of money so he can get the best ones. We need to commit to the same. Pay the next coach 3-3.5, then spread some around to assistants. We need our assistants to make really good money for this to work. The head coach is a huge factor, but the quality of assistants is extremely important.

We have had one elite assistant staff member and he got promptly snatched up by Florida state.

Larry Fedora? Is that a joke? And no to Hud. He has too much going on with the NCAA at ULL. Whittingham is my first choice. Fuente would've been a good pick, but he's gone.

Mullen is a greedy know it all troll which is why we have new DC's every year with the same scheme.

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Originally Posted by HancockCountyDog

Herman is the only name mentioned that would be considered a home run hire.

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Exactly why we should start with him. Throw an obscene amount at him. Make him a offer he can't refuse.

We'll have to offer 4 mill or over to get Herman. Hell Houston is offering him 3 mill right now as a starting point.

Rich Rod

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Originally Posted by Sacrifice

We'll have to offer 4 mill or over to get Herman. Hell Houston is offering him 3 mill right now as a starting point.

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So upgrade the coach and keep the pay the same as we have been paying?

Yes all day

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Originally Posted by UMCDawg16

Rich Rod

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6-6 this year.

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Originally Posted by Behrdawg

Larry Fedora? Is that a joke? And no to Hud. He has too much going on with the NCAA at ULL. Whittingham is my first choice. Fuente would've been a good pick, but he's gone.

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Whitingham is Morman. That's a huge issue when we're talking recruiting in MS and the south. Especially with Hugh Swaggert in Oxford.

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Originally Posted by Blackout

So upgrade the coach and keep the pay the same as we have been paying?

Yes all day

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Hell yeah, to me he'd be worth every penny.

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Originally Posted by UMCDawg16

Rich Rod

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17 no. He beat up a bunch of nobodies in the Big East and has been .500 since. Would be a terrible hire.

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Originally Posted by MetEdDawg

I would consider Kyle Whittingham a pretty damn good hire. He would be my first choice. Not sure if there is any mutual interest, but I would go there first. Surround him with the right people and this is a successful program. We need to be committed to shelling out some damn money though. Malzahn makes less than Mullen and he does that on purpose. He wants his assistants to make a lot of money so he can get the best ones. We need to commit to the same. Pay the next coach 3-3.5, then spread some around to assistants. We need our assistants to make really good money for this to work. The head coach is a huge factor, but the quality of assistants is extremely important.

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Yes.

Should we call rhule?

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Originally Posted by Political Hack

Yes.

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Why do y'all want Whittingham so badly? I think he is a good coach but I'm not sure he is a good fit.

Herman is on this list because I suspect LSU, Texas, Georgia, etc., aren't coming open. Supposedly he turned down South Carolina to hold out for something better, but if that doesn't happen, he may look at us.

However, we could hire Montgomery or Fritz today -- not a lot of buzz on those two for whatever reason. We'd probably have to wait a few weeks on Herman if he's looking for a top job.

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Originally Posted by Todd4State

Why do y'all want Whittingham so badly? I think he is a good coach but I'm not sure he is a good fit.

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I echo this question. He'd be fine, but he hasn't had a lot of success since Utah joined the Big Boys table. I'd much rather have Herman, Fritz, or Montgomery.

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Originally Posted by Todd4State

Why do y'all want Whittingham so badly? I think he is a good coach but I'm not sure he is a good fit.

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We say we want a recruiter... Kyle has consistently had Utah at the bottom of the pac12 in recruiting

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Originally Posted by msstate7

We say we want a recruiter... Kyle has consistently had Utah at the bottom of the pac12 in recruiting

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He's also 20-25 in Pac-12 games. That's not a splash or home run at all.

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Originally Posted by msstate7

We say we want a recruiter... Kyle has consistently had Utah at the bottom of the pac12 in recruiting

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I think he would be Dan 2.0 but actually Morman. I don't know if some of our more vocal posters

Year	Team	Overall	Conference	Standing	Bowl/playoffs	Coaches#	AP-
Utah Utes (Mountain West Conference) (2005-2010)
2004	Utah*	1-0	0-0		W Fiesta-	5	4
2005	Utah	7-5	4-4	T-4th	W Emerald
2006	Utah	8-5	5-3	T-3rd	W Armed Forces
2007	Utah	9-4	5-3	T-3rd	W Poinsettia
2008	Utah	13-0	8-0	1st	W Sugar-	4	2
2009	Utah	10-3	6-2	3rd	W Poinsettia	18	18
2010	Utah	10-3	7-1	2nd	L Las Vegas	23
Utah Utes (Pac-12 Conference) (2011-Present)
2011	Utah	8-5	4-5	T-3rd (South)	W Sun
2012	Utah	5-7	3-6	5th (South)
2013	Utah	5-7	2-7	5th (South)
2014	Utah	9-4	5-4	5th (South)	W Las Vegas	20	21
2015	Utah	9-3	6-3	T-1st (South)
Utah:		94-46	55-38	* Was Co-head coach with Urban Meyer of the Fiesta Bowl[5]
Total:		94-46

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Originally Posted by Quaoarsking

I echo this question. He'd be fine, but he hasn't had a lot of success since Utah joined the Big Boys table. I'd much rather have Herman, Fritz, or Montgomery.

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Absolutely

Todd, sadly you're right about KW. I'm not sure who we should get but you have to take that aspect into account. Especially recruiting kids in MS. Freeze will take advantage of that.

Philip Montgomery is a Freeze-style super Christian: http://www.tulsaworld.com/sportsextr...da8dd8b88.html

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Originally Posted by cheewgumm

Todd, sadly you're right about KW. I'm not sure who we should get but you have to take that aspect into account. Especially recruiting kids in MS. Freeze will take advantage of that.

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It's Southern culture. It is what it is. Momma's like it when they see the entire Ole Miss team pray in the end zone before kickoff.

So after an adjustment period into a major conference for the 1st time- he has won 9 games the last 2 seasons? And this is bad why??

He is a proven HC in a P5 conference. 9-3 this year with recruiting limitations and very little talent in his home state.

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Originally Posted by Todd4State

I think he would be Dan 2.0 but actually Morman. I don't know if some of our more vocal posters

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I'll say what I've always said: We're hiring a football coach, not a Sunday School teacher.