(Coaching search for November 22nd)
We spit out some late Saturday information for you. Ray Tanner has wrapped up his first week of the search and we’re told he was able to talk by phone with some of the top candidates he’s considering. He has not yet had any in person meetings with candidates but those are expected to start next week. According to sources, Tanner has had the chance to talk with Oklahoma assistant head coach Shane Beamer, Louisiana head coach Bill Napier, Coastal Carolina coach Jamey Caldwell, Louisville coach Scott Satterfield, Army coach Jeff Monken, and Liberty coach Hugh Freeze. We’re not expecting Monken and Freeze to be major players moving forward. Monken was hired at Army by current USC president Rob Caslen, so it’s reasonable that Tanner would want to satisfy his boss by talking with him. And as we’ve said before about Freeze, some board members want to see him more involved but his past NCAA and off the field issues at Ole Miss remain a non-starter. The other four look like pretty solid candidates at this point. I would imagine the calls this week were get-to-know-you conversations and gave Tanner a chance to get a read on each candidate’s interest. Our sources continue to indicate that Beamer, who is seeking his first head coaching position, is as interested in the Gamecock job as a candidate can be. Having been born in Charleston and having coached for the Gamecocks, Beamer has told people close to him that the USC position is his dream job. From what sources have told us, Beamer remains in strong position for the job, maybe the frontrunner at this point. We’re hearing Napier, who has been mentioned prominently from the start of the search, may not be as strong a candidate as he once was. Earlier this week Vegas listed him as the 3/1 betting favorite. Satterfield, of course, is highly regarded for what he did at Appalachian State and in 2019 at Louisville. His team has struggled this season though it did have a big win over Syracuse Friday night. Caldwell is the wildcard. His team is 8-0 after beating Appalachian State Saturday and likely to climb higher in the polls Sunday. He has been a winner at every stop of his coaching career but his lack of high level FBS coaching experience might work against him. Until Coastal moved up to FBS two years ago, Chadwell had never coached above the FCS level.
We spit out some late Saturday information for you. Ray Tanner has wrapped up his first week of the search and we’re told he was able to talk by phone with some of the top candidates he’s considering. He has not yet had any in person meetings with candidates but those are expected to start next week. According to sources, Tanner has had the chance to talk with Oklahoma assistant head coach Shane Beamer, Louisiana head coach Bill Napier, Coastal Carolina coach Jamey Caldwell, Louisville coach Scott Satterfield, Army coach Jeff Monken, and Liberty coach Hugh Freeze. We’re not expecting Monken and Freeze to be major players moving forward. Monken was hired at Army by current USC president Rob Caslen, so it’s reasonable that Tanner would want to satisfy his boss by talking with him. And as we’ve said before about Freeze, some board members want to see him more involved but his past NCAA and off the field issues at Ole Miss remain a non-starter. The other four look like pretty solid candidates at this point. I would imagine the calls this week were get-to-know-you conversations and gave Tanner a chance to get a read on each candidate’s interest. Our sources continue to indicate that Beamer, who is seeking his first head coaching position, is as interested in the Gamecock job as a candidate can be. Having been born in Charleston and having coached for the Gamecocks, Beamer has told people close to him that the USC position is his dream job. From what sources have told us, Beamer remains in strong position for the job, maybe the frontrunner at this point. We’re hearing Napier, who has been mentioned prominently from the start of the search, may not be as strong a candidate as he once was. Earlier this week Vegas listed him as the 3/1 betting favorite. Satterfield, of course, is highly regarded for what he did at Appalachian State and in 2019 at Louisville. His team has struggled this season though it did have a big win over Syracuse Friday night. Caldwell is the wildcard. His team is 8-0 after beating Appalachian State Saturday and likely to climb higher in the polls Sunday. He has been a winner at every stop of his coaching career but his lack of high level FBS coaching experience might work against him. Until Coastal moved up to FBS two years ago, Chadwell had never coached above the FCS level.
