Follow-ups on offensive coordinator search
Saturday, 10:30 a.m. - A short update to start your weekend. Received additional confirmation that things still look very good for FSU hiring Kendal Briles as its next offensive coordinator. And that one of the reasons for the delay is that Briles would like to finish out at Houston and coach the bowl game - the Cougars play Army in the Armed Forces Bowl a week from today (12/22). So an announcement during Christmas' time might be in the works.
Again, to follow-up on the OC situation and QB commitment Sam Howell. First, please go to the Recruiting Message Board and read what Michael Langston has to say about Howell's recruitment. He is in frequent contact with the family and has the best information on what's happening recruiting wise. A lot has changed in the past 48 hours and now it's looking more like Howell and his family may be willing to wait and not sign during the early signing period, which starts this upcoming Wednesday (12/19). So that's another factor that makes it much less urgent to have an OC in place before Houston's bowl game.
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To Clarify the post re. Sam Howell (3:45 p.m.): It now sounds like Sam Howell may wait to sign his Letter of Intent regardless of whether or not FSU hires its offensive coordinator anytime soon. Michael Langston got some updated info. I wasn't aware of. So to clarify, FSU isn't out of it. Still think UNC might hold a slight edge. But either way, there may not a a huge rush to push the hire through when it comes to Howell.
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Friday, 2:15 p.m. - Sorry for not posting something sooner but frankly there hasn't been anything of note to post. Still really nothing going on. It's been incredibly quiet for the last couple days.
Said it before, but to emphasize the point -- there are a lot of moving parts that need to come together before the Kendal Briles' hire can become official. Florida State has never had to deal with the number of contractual complexities involved with hiring Briles, OL coach Randy Clements, moving current assistants around, buyouts, new NCAA rules and so on.
Unless the hire comes though in the next few hours, it may be a while before it happens. Things do not look great for QB commitment Sam Howell so it's possible Willie Taggart has moved on. If that's the case, there's less of a need to push through the OC hire. And if the staff doesn't feel it's essential to have the OC on staff for this weekend's official visits (no QBs or offensive skill players are scheduled to visit) then FSU simply doesn't have a sense of urgency to push the hire through. Fans, and some of us in the media, may have a very different view of how urgent it is to find and hire a new OC.
The dead period in recruiting is about to kick in prior to next Wednesday's early signing period. It runs all the way through the first weekend in January. As such, if Briles isn't hired in the next 24 hours it could be weeks before it becomes official. At the very earliest, it would probably be after Houston's 12/22 bowl game.
I can add that I've heard nothing in the past 48 hours to change my opinion that Kendal Briles' will likely be hired as FSU's new OC. All signs are still very positive.
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Wednesday, at noon - Not really and update an clarification of an earlier nugget. Some people have taken yesterday's note about a booster meeting with president Thrasher way too far. This was not an official meeting and did not involve a Seminole Booster rep. This was a casual conversation at a social event. In fact, the Seminole Boosters had no idea of who even met with Thrasher.
It sounds like this casual conversation probably had nothing to do with the today's more positive reports on Briles. It was just a coincidence.
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Wednesday, 9:30 a.m. - The sun is finally out this morning in Tallahassee. That means the news should be better for Florida State today, and so far it is. Got a call this morning that leads me to believe that the deal to hire Kendal Briles as the new offensive coordinator is much closer to being finalized. Whatever holdups were mucking up the works the past couple days have apparently been resolved, or some workable solutions have been found. Assuming it gets done, Briles will be a package deal with current Houston offensive line coach Randy Clements. There has been talk that Briles would also like to bring current UCF QB coach Jeff Lebby with him as well. I believe he does want to bring him but not certain that's going to happen. More shuffling would be needed before that could happen.
Not saying this is a "done deal" but the odds are now very good that the hire will be announced in the next day or two (look for more Twitter reports announcing the hire before its finalized). As I noted in yesterday's update, there's a strong motivation to get the contract signed soon since time is running out for the new OC to meet with QB commitment Sam Howell before the quiet period kicks in this weekend. Also, this is the final recruiting visit weekend before next Wednesday's early signing day.
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Tuesday, 3:30 p.m. - One thing I can add from this morning's update is that a couple highly placed boosters will be speaking to FSU president John Thrasher tonight about the offensive coordinator hire. Sounds like they are going to make a push for Briles' to be hired ASAP. Whether these conversations will have any impact on the current situation remains to be seen. This could all be moot if he holdups are worked out and a deal is finalized in next few hours.
The urgency to hire Briles, or another OC, quickly became more important with North Carolina hiring Phil Longo this afternoon.
In case you missed the report earlier today on FSU QB commitment Sam Howell, he won't sign with FSU, or any school, until he knows who the offensive coordinator is. Considering that the Tar Heels are probably the 'Noles' chief competition, it would be a major blow to FSU's chances for Howell if an OC hire isn't made this week. Keep in mind that the "quiet period" starts this weekend, meaning there are no in-home visits with recruits -- and the early signing period starts next Wednesday (12/19).
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Tuesday, 11:30 a.m. - Despite some "reports" to the contrary, Kendal Briles being hired as FSU's offensive coordinator is not official yet. In fact, was told there could be some things holding up the deal. Not going to speculate on what those holdups could be but it does signal that there's a chance that this may not go through.
Now, I still won't be surprised if we get word any minute that a contract has been signed but for the first time since the weekend there's a real concern that Briles to FSU may not happen. So if the deal falls through, what's next?
If Briles isn't the guy, we've been told it's more than likely FSU won't hire an offensive coordinator anytime soon. In fact, it may not happen until after the bowl games are wrapped up. If what we are hearing about the potential delay in a hire is accurate, it doesn't seem like Larry Fedora is very high up on Willie Taggart's wish list for OC.
Sorry to rain on the parade of people that thought this was completely wrapped up and that Briles would be a great hire. Still think there's a decent chance it gets worked out, and that Briles is hired, but just warning our readers that this isn't as open and shut as some are saying.
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Monday, 9:15 p.m. - We confirmed that Willie Taggart was in Houston, Texas today. He was officially there on a recruiting trip to visit Marcus Banks. However, its seems very coincidental that he was there the day after Houston's Kendal Briles interviewed for the FSU OC job in Jacksonville. I strongly suspect Taggart had some kind of meeting with Briles and Cougars' OL coach Randy Clements.
Still nothing new on the Briles' hire being finalized. It never seems like these things move smoothly or quickly. But if it's going to happen, it should be soon.
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Monday, 9:30 a.m. - Sorry for not having more updates since Saturday. Figured it might be quiet yesterday with the meeting taking place. It was on complete lockdown so information has been hard to come by. Yes, the meeting did take in Jacksonville and BOT chair Ed Burr was very involved in the negotiations. Remember, Burr helped close the deal with Willie Taggart last December. Anyway, the little we've heard sounds good for FSU potentially hiring Kendal Briles.
The fact that everything is hush-hush is probably a good sign for a deal going forward. If the two sides were able to come to an agreement, the next step would be for Briles to get his house in order, discuss it with his family, coaches and players, before it becomes public. Not saying this is 100%, because hand-shake deals fall apart all the time, but this sure seems to be on the path of being a done deal.
I really expect that we'll hear something today, or tomorrow at the the latest. With the early signing period just nine days away, there's a lot of motivation on both sides to get Briles on the road recruiting as soon as possible.
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Saturday, 3:15 p.m. - Things are definitely fading with Kendal Briles and Tennessee. The combination of bringing along his offensive line coach, and philosophical differences between Briles and Pruitt, have really soured the potential for him ended up in Knoxville. Sounds like UT is already focusing on other candidates.
That could really clear the field for Florida State hiring Briles. I don't think there is other major competition for his services, other than staying at Houston. And I do not believe he's a Jimmy Sexton client so the usual games of pitting schools against each other to drive up the price may not happen here. So that could make for an easier negotiation between Briles and FSU. Guessing the annual salary will probably come in between $1-$1.5 million.
Here are some interesting stats for Kendal Briles' coached offenses:
* in 52 games as OC his offenses have been held under 30 points just 8 times.
* Briles' offenses have been held under 20 points just three times and two of those were the first two games at FAU.
* Houston was not held under 30 points all season in 2018.
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Saturday, 9:45 a.m. - Good Morning! I was able to get further clarification on Florida State's search for an offensive coordinator. First, it's pretty clear that Kendal Briles is the front-runner. As we noted recently, the two sides will be meeting and it will be soon. From what we are being told, FSU holds a slight edge over Tennessee for his services. If things go well, we could have an announcement as soon as Monday.
I posted it in another thread recently, but I'll state it here - Briles insists on bringing offensive line coach Randy Clements with him. Again, that will not be an issue for Willie Taggart. If that happens, not sure if Greg Frey moves into a co-OL role as he had at Michigan, or whether he will be asked to move on. Also heard Briles wants to bring a second staff member along as well - special teams coach?
Clearly, Larry Fedora is next in line but still a viable candidate. He obviously want to be a head coach again so there's a concern that he might not last long at FSU.
Stay tuned....
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Friday, 10:30 p.m. - First, was told that the Willie Taggart circle was unhappy that so much leaked out regarding the negotiations with Hugh Freeze. This explains why the information flow on FSU's OC search has really tapered off the last 48 hours. So getting good intel has been a bit more difficult and it takes a little longer for us to confirm/deny rumors that are coming out.
That being said, have to give credit to the report that came out earlier today regarding former UNC head coach Larry Fedora. We have been able confirm that he is a legitimate candidate and discussions will or currently are taking place. He definitely has a similar offensive mindset to Willie Taggart -- up-tempo spread with a lot of RPO.
We are also getting more solid information that Kendal Briles is also major candidate, and that FSU either has, or will be, speaking to him about the OC position.
I wish we had more details to offer but it's safe to say both Fedora and Briles are in the thick of things for FSU's opening.
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Friday, 2:30 p.m. - As you may know, Tennessee is interviewing Kendal Briles today. Was told by our Tennessee contact the Pruitt and Fulmer are putting on the full court press. They really want Briles to become UT's OC. Sounds like they are talking about an annual salary of around $1.2 million.
Got a little more clarification on his buyout at Houston. It's actually 50% of his "base" pay. That works about to about $800K. So not nearly as bad as the total value of his $2.1 million contract. Whether or not he is still in play for the FSU job is uncertain. He definitely was a target (probably No. 2 behind Freeze) but we haven't been able get confirmation that he is still an active candidate.
I also saw some commentary that Briles would want to bring Houston's OL coach with him to his next job. I'm told that would not holdup a potential deal with FSU. Not sure what that would mean for Greg Frey, but maybe he would go back to being the Co-OL coach as he was at Michigan.
I saw a report that former North Carolina head coach Larry Fedora is a candidate for the OC opening at Florida State and the two may "be in talks". Fedora certainly makes sense as a potential candidate but at this stage we can't confirm there that there have been any real contact between his camp and FSU. Not saying there hasn't been any contact, but if the two sides are talking they are doing a good job keeping it under wraps and/or it's very preliminary.
Again, we'll do our best to provide news and tidbits when they come our way.
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Friday, 9 a.m. - There are now multiple reports that Hugh Freeze has accepted the head coaching position at Liberty. That's a bit of a surprise but apparently he really wanted to be a head coach again instead of an assistant.
So it's back to searching for other candidates. We'll hopefully have some more info. on where FSU is looking later today. Stay tuned...
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Thursday, 9:45 p.m. - Sorry for not providing more updates. There just hasn't been a whole lot to report today.
Sources close to the Hugh Freeze/Jimmy Sexton camp say negotiations with FSU are still ongoing. As you've seen from prior updates, his agent is working several potential offers. So he's doing what he does best and maximizing the return for his client (and his commission).
The tactics of delaying and playing schools against each other is frustrating for fans, media, and schools like FSU, that want to get these deals done as quickly as possible. But this how negotiations for major coaching openings work nowadays. How quickly FSU closed the deal with Willie Taggart is the exception not the rule. That was a very unique situation with a coach that was from Florida who grew up a huge FSU fan. That's generally not the case, and certainly isn't with Freeze who has no ties to the Seminoles and is looking at the FSU opening as a pure business transaction.
From the Florida State camp I've now heard for the second time that they are "moving on" to other OC candidates. That could be the case or it could be that FSU wants that out there for negotiation purposes with Freeze. Either way, was told that the plan is to have this wrapped up by this weekend but not sure if that's a legitimate timeline or wishful thinking.
As we noted previously, Houston offensive coordinator Kendal Briles is on the list of FSU's candidates. It came out earlier today that he is interviewing for OC position at Tennessee. Complicating matters, Alabama's Dan Enos is also reportedly a candidate for the opening. If he were to take that job it's almost a given that Freeze would end up in Tuscaloosa. A lot of moving parts here...
I mentioned earlier that Jeff Scott "could" be a potential candidate for the Seminoles' OC opening. However, as of earlier today he had not be contacted by Taggart or FSU. Wouldn't completely discount him as a candidate but the odds seem against it happening.
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Thursday, 10 a.m. - Even though time keeps passing it seems like Hugh Freeze is still in play for Florida State. I know we keep saying it, but if something happens it should be soon.
Not surprisingly, we are hearing pretty large salary numbers being thrown around for Freeze. One source said Jimmy Sexton's initial demand was for $2 million annually. That may sound outrageous on the surface, but keep in mind that three college coordinators already make over $2 million a year (Dave Aranda - $2.5 million, Brent Venables - $2.2 million - Kevin Steele - $2.05 million). Assuming the initial demand gets negotiated, the final salary (if this gets done) will probably be in the $1.5 to $2 million range - eight college coordinators currently make $1.5 million or more.
We've had two sources tell us that Tennessee is effectively out of the running for Freeze. Apparently there is bad blood with current athletic director Phil Fulmer going back to Freeze's high school days. So again, it sounds like he'll end up at either FSU or Alabama, with Auburn and Liberty (HC) being long shots.
Outside of Kendal Briles, who recently signed a three-year deal with Houston, I haven't yet confirmed another candidate's name from a good source. That being said, there's a lot of buzz surrounding Clemson co-offensive coordinator Jeff Scott, who is the son of former FSU coach Brad Scott. Scott was named one of the top-25 recruiters in the nation by Rivals in 2018. He is also the wide receivers coach so he could slide into that role should David Kelly move to support staff as many expect.
Even though he has very strong Clemson ties, Scott grew up in Tallahassee and cheered for the Seminoles when his father was on Bobby Bowden's staff. He's also in a co-coordinator role so he might relish the opportunity to have that position all to himself. Should he make the jump to FSU, there's a good chance his father, who is currently director of player development at Clemson, will join him in a support staff role. Brad Scott is a veteran coach that could help with some of the organizational issues that currently plague the program.
Overall, it's reasonable to assume that Jeff Scott is on Willie Taggart's short list of OC candidates. We don't have confirmation of that yet but are working on it.
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Wednesday, 2:15 p.m. - Sorry there won't be much meat in this update but some tea leaves are lining up that might explain what's happening in FSU's negotiations with Hugh Freeze.
Heard from a secondary source today that Freeze has been given another 24 hours to accept the offer from Florida State. Some of the timing on that makes sense. Sounded like the two sides are close to a deal until the news broke of Mike Locksley taking the Maryland job. It's no secret that Freeze want the Alabama job and Nick Saban wants him on his staff (tried to hire him last year in a support staff role). And I suspect super agent Jimmy Sexton prefers Freeze at Alabama since its a proven path to get a major client rehabilitated and set him up for a huge payday down the road.
Saban's dilemma is that he really likes QB coach Dan Enos, who likely expects to be promoted to the open OC position. You have to wonder if Sexton and Saban are hoping to craft a scenario where Enos and Freeze could be co-coordinators. They need time to see if that's a workable situation so Freeze/Sexton are holding the FSU job in reserve as backup plan.
Admittedly, this is mostly speculation on my part based on (1) timing, (2) hearing from Tennessee that Freeze is probably out of the running, (3) Auburn is apparently a long shot,(4) Saban desperately wants to keep Enos, and (5) no one expects that Liberty to be a real factor for Freeze.
I know there's some chatter that the term of Freeze's deal is holding things up. I don't think that's the overriding factor here. Not saying it's a complete non-factor, but IMO Freeze/Sexton are keeping their options open as long as possible to garner the best possible deal. Maybe the negotiation over the term of the deal is being used an an excuse but really don't see that being the underlying problem here.
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Wednesday 9:30 a.m. - All quiet with Hugh Freeze this morning. That's obviously not a good sign. From what we heard earlier yesterday, those close to the situation were optimistic that the hire was going to happen. All I can say is a source told me there were some issues during the negotiations. No idea what those issues were but it sounds like they might have put a kibosh on the deal.
I haven't heard that Freeze is no longer in play but the vibe definitely isn't very positive right now.
So what's Plan B? The name I heard the other day was Kendal Briles, Houston's associate head coach/offensive coordinator. Problem is that he just signed a three-year deal worth $2.1 million. Unless there's a provision in the contract that provides for a minimal buyout, I don't see FSU paying that kind of money plus an annual salary that would probably have to hit seven digits.
Plan C? Working on that. A lot of names floating around but haven't heard just one or two that Taggart is focused on. I'll be working the phones to day in hopes of coming up with names of legitimate targets for FSU's OC position.
Josh Ball situation - Not related to the OC, but we had heard there was a very good chance that the former FSU OL would probably be back on the team in the spring or summer. In fact we just recently got confirmation that a plan was in place for his to return. However, the recent story and comments by his ex-girlfriend could be make the hurdles to high to overcome.
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Tuesday 8:30 p.m. - In case you missed it, Alabama's Mike Locksley is headed to Maryland to become the Terps' head coach. He's staying on Saban's staff through the college football playoffs. That of course opens up the offensive coordinator position at Alabama.
Hugh Freeze is a candidate for that opening at but we are getting conflicting information on Alabama's interest. There is a lot of fan buzz about Freeze but our contact in Tuscaloosa expects that Dan Enos will be promoted to the OC position. Also, Rich Rodriguez was in recently for an interview for a spot as Alabama's main offensive support staff member.
That may sound good for FSU's chances of hiring Freeze but that may not be the case. Things have gone very quiet on that front. Considering we are at the 24 hour mark the odds of him being hired as Taggart's new OC are declining by the minute. If we don't hear something by the morning it's probably time to move on to the next candidate.
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Tuesday, 11 a.m. - Not as much newsy stuff but wanted to bring everyone up to date on what we are hearing. Tennessee has reached the fish or cut bait time with Hugh Freeze. If he's going to get an offer from the Vols it's going to happen very soon. Sounds like there's some disagreement among the decision-makers on whether to push for the hire. Our source there says he doesn't believe it's going to happen. In addition to Auburn, which seems like a bit of a long shot, hearing he has the opportunity to become the head coach at Liberty. Not sure how appealing that would be unless he's really focused on being a head coach above all else.
Throwing it out there, but keep in mind that Freeze is Jimmy Sexton client (surprise, surprise). There might be some motivation on Sexton's part to help out two of his clients by getting Freeze on staff with Taggart.
Seems like whoever I speak to Alabama's Mike Locksley name comes up as someone who could start the coaching dominoes falling. As you you know, he's a candidate for the head coaching job at Maryland. Sounds like Alabama is Freeze's first choice and Saban's top target should the OC position open up. But with the Tide in the playoffs, and the favorite to win it all again, there's a lot of back and forth going on with Locksley.
Again, we shouldn't have to wait long as by this time tomorrow we should know if Freeze is coming in as the new OC or not.
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Tuesday, 9 a.m. - As we noted, Hugh Freeze was at FSU yesterday to interview for the offensive coordinator position. Was told his family was with him to check out the town. Time is of the essence here. In fact, sounds like we'll get his decision within 24 hours.
You can also throw Auburn into the mix of schools interested in Freeze.
The FSU's higher up are hoping that an experienced coach like Freeze will not only help jump start the offense, but will be able help Taggart with some of the other issues that have adversely impacted the program. So if Freeze, or someone like him is hired, look for them to have a lot of input on how things are run going forward.
If Freeze falls through, there is a decent fallback candidate out there. We'll cross that bridge should it come to that.
I know there is some buzz out there about Tee Martin but not sure how serious that is re. the OC position. Maybe he's talking to Taggart about coaching wide receivers. But haven't heard his name from a reliable source.
Mentioned Deondre Francois yesterday. Really sounding like he's going to transfer regardless of who is hired as OC. But Taggart has his eye in a really talented graduate transfer QB.
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8:15 p.m. - Confirmed that Hugh Freeze was in fact on campus today to interview for the OC position. Was told by our Tennessee publisher, UT is also in discussions with Freeze about a position there. However, was surprised to hear that Jeremy Pruitt isn't in a huge hurry to fill the position, while FSU is. That could help FSU's chances with Freeze if the job is offered.
On the other hand, heard he really wants the OC job at Alabama. Mike Locksley is a candidate for the Maryland and possibly other jobs. Should he take one of those jobs, sounds like Freeze would be pretty high on Saban's list to replace him.
Again, we are probably talking just days before this all shakes out.
And yes, there is something to the rumors about Deondre Francois' considering a transfer. If he decided to leave Tennessee is the most likely destination. However, this could easily change if Sam Howell decommits. How he gets along with the new OC/QB coach could also play a role. So it's all TBA at this stage.
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7 p.m. - There is a lot of buzz out there about Hugh Freeze being a candidate to replace Walt Bell as the next OC. Confirmed with a source that Freeze was in fact scheduled to come to FSU today to interview for the position. Not sure if he made it in or not, but he's definitely a candidate. Was told that he will make his decision by this weekend so stay tuned.
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Wanted to provide some background on what took place with Walt Bell and what happened leading up to him reportedly accepting the head coaching position at UMass. Some of this is solid information provided by third parties and good sources, and some is a bit of speculation on my part.
I received a call last week from a source close to the Kansas Athletic Department that Walt Bell was in Lawrence, Kansas interviewing with Les Miles for the OC position there. What was incredibly surprising is that this meeting took place during Florida week. The source didn't see Bell first hand and like me, had a hard time believing it actually happened.
A couple days after the UF game, Les Miles flew in on the private UK jet to Atlanta to interview an OC candidate. We never received 100% confirmation that Bell was in Atlanta at the time but a recruiting target in the area was offered by Bell around this time. So it sounds like was probably there for the meeting. As you may know, former Auburn OC Chip Lindsey was eventually hired to take that position. Not sure if Lindsey was hired over Bell, so he decided to take the UMass offer or if Lindsey was Miles' fallback and Bell wanted a HC job.
In any event, during the past couple days we confirmed with sources at Florida State the Bell was in fact "looking around" for other employment. There has already been some vetting of potential OC candidates to replace Bell.
Bell's decision has been brewing for a while. If you read Ira's story with FSU president John Thrasher you saw his comments about upcoming changes to the coaching staff and there being " chemistry issues". He didn't say it directly, but it's obvious that the main chemistry issue was tension between Taggart and Bell.
We've been told that Bell didn't feel he was given the right opportunity to call plays and run the offense. Not sure if he assumed that when he was hired or if there was an actual agreement, or what but he definitely felt he wasn't given the freedom to run the offense the way he expected. You may remember he took over play-calling for the NC State game, but apparently that was dialed back to some extent in FSU's final couple games. This resulted in a lot of animosity and was probably behind Bell's search for employment elsewhere.
With the early signing period for recruiting just a couple weeks away, you can expect a hire pretty quickly. Hearing candidates will be interviewed over the next few days.
Bell's departure will definitely have an impact on recruiting. Things are not looking good for QB commitment Sam Howell. More here. Taggart's back will really be up against the wall if in fact Howell does decommit. With rumors of Deondre Francois considering a transfer, the QB situation could be beyond precarious in 2019. Unless there's a home run hire at OC that can turn a current QB commitment, FSU will likely be forced to go with a backup plan QB.
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Saturday, 10:30 a.m. - A short update to start your weekend. Received additional confirmation that things still look very good for FSU hiring Kendal Briles as its next offensive coordinator. And that one of the reasons for the delay is that Briles would like to finish out at Houston and coach the bowl game - the Cougars play Army in the Armed Forces Bowl a week from today (12/22). So an announcement during Christmas' time might be in the works.
Again, to follow-up on the OC situation and QB commitment Sam Howell. First, please go to the Recruiting Message Board and read what Michael Langston has to say about Howell's recruitment. He is in frequent contact with the family and has the best information on what's happening recruiting wise. A lot has changed in the past 48 hours and now it's looking more like Howell and his family may be willing to wait and not sign during the early signing period, which starts this upcoming Wednesday (12/19). So that's another factor that makes it much less urgent to have an OC in place before Houston's bowl game.
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To Clarify the post re. Sam Howell (3:45 p.m.): It now sounds like Sam Howell may wait to sign his Letter of Intent regardless of whether or not FSU hires its offensive coordinator anytime soon. Michael Langston got some updated info. I wasn't aware of. So to clarify, FSU isn't out of it. Still think UNC might hold a slight edge. But either way, there may not a a huge rush to push the hire through when it comes to Howell.
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Friday, 2:15 p.m. - Sorry for not posting something sooner but frankly there hasn't been anything of note to post. Still really nothing going on. It's been incredibly quiet for the last couple days.
Said it before, but to emphasize the point -- there are a lot of moving parts that need to come together before the Kendal Briles' hire can become official. Florida State has never had to deal with the number of contractual complexities involved with hiring Briles, OL coach Randy Clements, moving current assistants around, buyouts, new NCAA rules and so on.
Unless the hire comes though in the next few hours, it may be a while before it happens. Things do not look great for QB commitment Sam Howell so it's possible Willie Taggart has moved on. If that's the case, there's less of a need to push through the OC hire. And if the staff doesn't feel it's essential to have the OC on staff for this weekend's official visits (no QBs or offensive skill players are scheduled to visit) then FSU simply doesn't have a sense of urgency to push the hire through. Fans, and some of us in the media, may have a very different view of how urgent it is to find and hire a new OC.
The dead period in recruiting is about to kick in prior to next Wednesday's early signing period. It runs all the way through the first weekend in January. As such, if Briles isn't hired in the next 24 hours it could be weeks before it becomes official. At the very earliest, it would probably be after Houston's 12/22 bowl game.
I can add that I've heard nothing in the past 48 hours to change my opinion that Kendal Briles' will likely be hired as FSU's new OC. All signs are still very positive.
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Wednesday, at noon - Not really and update an clarification of an earlier nugget. Some people have taken yesterday's note about a booster meeting with president Thrasher way too far. This was not an official meeting and did not involve a Seminole Booster rep. This was a casual conversation at a social event. In fact, the Seminole Boosters had no idea of who even met with Thrasher.
It sounds like this casual conversation probably had nothing to do with the today's more positive reports on Briles. It was just a coincidence.
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Wednesday, 9:30 a.m. - The sun is finally out this morning in Tallahassee. That means the news should be better for Florida State today, and so far it is. Got a call this morning that leads me to believe that the deal to hire Kendal Briles as the new offensive coordinator is much closer to being finalized. Whatever holdups were mucking up the works the past couple days have apparently been resolved, or some workable solutions have been found. Assuming it gets done, Briles will be a package deal with current Houston offensive line coach Randy Clements. There has been talk that Briles would also like to bring current UCF QB coach Jeff Lebby with him as well. I believe he does want to bring him but not certain that's going to happen. More shuffling would be needed before that could happen.
Not saying this is a "done deal" but the odds are now very good that the hire will be announced in the next day or two (look for more Twitter reports announcing the hire before its finalized). As I noted in yesterday's update, there's a strong motivation to get the contract signed soon since time is running out for the new OC to meet with QB commitment Sam Howell before the quiet period kicks in this weekend. Also, this is the final recruiting visit weekend before next Wednesday's early signing day.
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Tuesday, 3:30 p.m. - One thing I can add from this morning's update is that a couple highly placed boosters will be speaking to FSU president John Thrasher tonight about the offensive coordinator hire. Sounds like they are going to make a push for Briles' to be hired ASAP. Whether these conversations will have any impact on the current situation remains to be seen. This could all be moot if he holdups are worked out and a deal is finalized in next few hours.
The urgency to hire Briles, or another OC, quickly became more important with North Carolina hiring Phil Longo this afternoon.
In case you missed the report earlier today on FSU QB commitment Sam Howell, he won't sign with FSU, or any school, until he knows who the offensive coordinator is. Considering that the Tar Heels are probably the 'Noles' chief competition, it would be a major blow to FSU's chances for Howell if an OC hire isn't made this week. Keep in mind that the "quiet period" starts this weekend, meaning there are no in-home visits with recruits -- and the early signing period starts next Wednesday (12/19).
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Tuesday, 11:30 a.m. - Despite some "reports" to the contrary, Kendal Briles being hired as FSU's offensive coordinator is not official yet. In fact, was told there could be some things holding up the deal. Not going to speculate on what those holdups could be but it does signal that there's a chance that this may not go through.
Now, I still won't be surprised if we get word any minute that a contract has been signed but for the first time since the weekend there's a real concern that Briles to FSU may not happen. So if the deal falls through, what's next?
If Briles isn't the guy, we've been told it's more than likely FSU won't hire an offensive coordinator anytime soon. In fact, it may not happen until after the bowl games are wrapped up. If what we are hearing about the potential delay in a hire is accurate, it doesn't seem like Larry Fedora is very high up on Willie Taggart's wish list for OC.
Sorry to rain on the parade of people that thought this was completely wrapped up and that Briles would be a great hire. Still think there's a decent chance it gets worked out, and that Briles is hired, but just warning our readers that this isn't as open and shut as some are saying.
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Monday, 9:15 p.m. - We confirmed that Willie Taggart was in Houston, Texas today. He was officially there on a recruiting trip to visit Marcus Banks. However, its seems very coincidental that he was there the day after Houston's Kendal Briles interviewed for the FSU OC job in Jacksonville. I strongly suspect Taggart had some kind of meeting with Briles and Cougars' OL coach Randy Clements.
Still nothing new on the Briles' hire being finalized. It never seems like these things move smoothly or quickly. But if it's going to happen, it should be soon.
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Monday, 9:30 a.m. - Sorry for not having more updates since Saturday. Figured it might be quiet yesterday with the meeting taking place. It was on complete lockdown so information has been hard to come by. Yes, the meeting did take in Jacksonville and BOT chair Ed Burr was very involved in the negotiations. Remember, Burr helped close the deal with Willie Taggart last December. Anyway, the little we've heard sounds good for FSU potentially hiring Kendal Briles.
The fact that everything is hush-hush is probably a good sign for a deal going forward. If the two sides were able to come to an agreement, the next step would be for Briles to get his house in order, discuss it with his family, coaches and players, before it becomes public. Not saying this is 100%, because hand-shake deals fall apart all the time, but this sure seems to be on the path of being a done deal.
I really expect that we'll hear something today, or tomorrow at the the latest. With the early signing period just nine days away, there's a lot of motivation on both sides to get Briles on the road recruiting as soon as possible.
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Saturday, 3:15 p.m. - Things are definitely fading with Kendal Briles and Tennessee. The combination of bringing along his offensive line coach, and philosophical differences between Briles and Pruitt, have really soured the potential for him ended up in Knoxville. Sounds like UT is already focusing on other candidates.
That could really clear the field for Florida State hiring Briles. I don't think there is other major competition for his services, other than staying at Houston. And I do not believe he's a Jimmy Sexton client so the usual games of pitting schools against each other to drive up the price may not happen here. So that could make for an easier negotiation between Briles and FSU. Guessing the annual salary will probably come in between $1-$1.5 million.
Here are some interesting stats for Kendal Briles' coached offenses:
* in 52 games as OC his offenses have been held under 30 points just 8 times.
* Briles' offenses have been held under 20 points just three times and two of those were the first two games at FAU.
* Houston was not held under 30 points all season in 2018.
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Saturday, 9:45 a.m. - Good Morning! I was able to get further clarification on Florida State's search for an offensive coordinator. First, it's pretty clear that Kendal Briles is the front-runner. As we noted recently, the two sides will be meeting and it will be soon. From what we are being told, FSU holds a slight edge over Tennessee for his services. If things go well, we could have an announcement as soon as Monday.
I posted it in another thread recently, but I'll state it here - Briles insists on bringing offensive line coach Randy Clements with him. Again, that will not be an issue for Willie Taggart. If that happens, not sure if Greg Frey moves into a co-OL role as he had at Michigan, or whether he will be asked to move on. Also heard Briles wants to bring a second staff member along as well - special teams coach?
Clearly, Larry Fedora is next in line but still a viable candidate. He obviously want to be a head coach again so there's a concern that he might not last long at FSU.
Stay tuned....
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Friday, 10:30 p.m. - First, was told that the Willie Taggart circle was unhappy that so much leaked out regarding the negotiations with Hugh Freeze. This explains why the information flow on FSU's OC search has really tapered off the last 48 hours. So getting good intel has been a bit more difficult and it takes a little longer for us to confirm/deny rumors that are coming out.
That being said, have to give credit to the report that came out earlier today regarding former UNC head coach Larry Fedora. We have been able confirm that he is a legitimate candidate and discussions will or currently are taking place. He definitely has a similar offensive mindset to Willie Taggart -- up-tempo spread with a lot of RPO.
We are also getting more solid information that Kendal Briles is also major candidate, and that FSU either has, or will be, speaking to him about the OC position.
I wish we had more details to offer but it's safe to say both Fedora and Briles are in the thick of things for FSU's opening.
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Friday, 2:30 p.m. - As you may know, Tennessee is interviewing Kendal Briles today. Was told by our Tennessee contact the Pruitt and Fulmer are putting on the full court press. They really want Briles to become UT's OC. Sounds like they are talking about an annual salary of around $1.2 million.
Got a little more clarification on his buyout at Houston. It's actually 50% of his "base" pay. That works about to about $800K. So not nearly as bad as the total value of his $2.1 million contract. Whether or not he is still in play for the FSU job is uncertain. He definitely was a target (probably No. 2 behind Freeze) but we haven't been able get confirmation that he is still an active candidate.
I also saw some commentary that Briles would want to bring Houston's OL coach with him to his next job. I'm told that would not holdup a potential deal with FSU. Not sure what that would mean for Greg Frey, but maybe he would go back to being the Co-OL coach as he was at Michigan.
I saw a report that former North Carolina head coach Larry Fedora is a candidate for the OC opening at Florida State and the two may "be in talks". Fedora certainly makes sense as a potential candidate but at this stage we can't confirm there that there have been any real contact between his camp and FSU. Not saying there hasn't been any contact, but if the two sides are talking they are doing a good job keeping it under wraps and/or it's very preliminary.
Again, we'll do our best to provide news and tidbits when they come our way.
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Friday, 9 a.m. - There are now multiple reports that Hugh Freeze has accepted the head coaching position at Liberty. That's a bit of a surprise but apparently he really wanted to be a head coach again instead of an assistant.
So it's back to searching for other candidates. We'll hopefully have some more info. on where FSU is looking later today. Stay tuned...
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Thursday, 9:45 p.m. - Sorry for not providing more updates. There just hasn't been a whole lot to report today.
Sources close to the Hugh Freeze/Jimmy Sexton camp say negotiations with FSU are still ongoing. As you've seen from prior updates, his agent is working several potential offers. So he's doing what he does best and maximizing the return for his client (and his commission).
The tactics of delaying and playing schools against each other is frustrating for fans, media, and schools like FSU, that want to get these deals done as quickly as possible. But this how negotiations for major coaching openings work nowadays. How quickly FSU closed the deal with Willie Taggart is the exception not the rule. That was a very unique situation with a coach that was from Florida who grew up a huge FSU fan. That's generally not the case, and certainly isn't with Freeze who has no ties to the Seminoles and is looking at the FSU opening as a pure business transaction.
From the Florida State camp I've now heard for the second time that they are "moving on" to other OC candidates. That could be the case or it could be that FSU wants that out there for negotiation purposes with Freeze. Either way, was told that the plan is to have this wrapped up by this weekend but not sure if that's a legitimate timeline or wishful thinking.
As we noted previously, Houston offensive coordinator Kendal Briles is on the list of FSU's candidates. It came out earlier today that he is interviewing for OC position at Tennessee. Complicating matters, Alabama's Dan Enos is also reportedly a candidate for the opening. If he were to take that job it's almost a given that Freeze would end up in Tuscaloosa. A lot of moving parts here...
I mentioned earlier that Jeff Scott "could" be a potential candidate for the Seminoles' OC opening. However, as of earlier today he had not be contacted by Taggart or FSU. Wouldn't completely discount him as a candidate but the odds seem against it happening.
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Thursday, 10 a.m. - Even though time keeps passing it seems like Hugh Freeze is still in play for Florida State. I know we keep saying it, but if something happens it should be soon.
Not surprisingly, we are hearing pretty large salary numbers being thrown around for Freeze. One source said Jimmy Sexton's initial demand was for $2 million annually. That may sound outrageous on the surface, but keep in mind that three college coordinators already make over $2 million a year (Dave Aranda - $2.5 million, Brent Venables - $2.2 million - Kevin Steele - $2.05 million). Assuming the initial demand gets negotiated, the final salary (if this gets done) will probably be in the $1.5 to $2 million range - eight college coordinators currently make $1.5 million or more.
We've had two sources tell us that Tennessee is effectively out of the running for Freeze. Apparently there is bad blood with current athletic director Phil Fulmer going back to Freeze's high school days. So again, it sounds like he'll end up at either FSU or Alabama, with Auburn and Liberty (HC) being long shots.
Outside of Kendal Briles, who recently signed a three-year deal with Houston, I haven't yet confirmed another candidate's name from a good source. That being said, there's a lot of buzz surrounding Clemson co-offensive coordinator Jeff Scott, who is the son of former FSU coach Brad Scott. Scott was named one of the top-25 recruiters in the nation by Rivals in 2018. He is also the wide receivers coach so he could slide into that role should David Kelly move to support staff as many expect.
Even though he has very strong Clemson ties, Scott grew up in Tallahassee and cheered for the Seminoles when his father was on Bobby Bowden's staff. He's also in a co-coordinator role so he might relish the opportunity to have that position all to himself. Should he make the jump to FSU, there's a good chance his father, who is currently director of player development at Clemson, will join him in a support staff role. Brad Scott is a veteran coach that could help with some of the organizational issues that currently plague the program.
Overall, it's reasonable to assume that Jeff Scott is on Willie Taggart's short list of OC candidates. We don't have confirmation of that yet but are working on it.
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Wednesday, 2:15 p.m. - Sorry there won't be much meat in this update but some tea leaves are lining up that might explain what's happening in FSU's negotiations with Hugh Freeze.
Heard from a secondary source today that Freeze has been given another 24 hours to accept the offer from Florida State. Some of the timing on that makes sense. Sounded like the two sides are close to a deal until the news broke of Mike Locksley taking the Maryland job. It's no secret that Freeze want the Alabama job and Nick Saban wants him on his staff (tried to hire him last year in a support staff role). And I suspect super agent Jimmy Sexton prefers Freeze at Alabama since its a proven path to get a major client rehabilitated and set him up for a huge payday down the road.
Saban's dilemma is that he really likes QB coach Dan Enos, who likely expects to be promoted to the open OC position. You have to wonder if Sexton and Saban are hoping to craft a scenario where Enos and Freeze could be co-coordinators. They need time to see if that's a workable situation so Freeze/Sexton are holding the FSU job in reserve as backup plan.
Admittedly, this is mostly speculation on my part based on (1) timing, (2) hearing from Tennessee that Freeze is probably out of the running, (3) Auburn is apparently a long shot,(4) Saban desperately wants to keep Enos, and (5) no one expects that Liberty to be a real factor for Freeze.
I know there's some chatter that the term of Freeze's deal is holding things up. I don't think that's the overriding factor here. Not saying it's a complete non-factor, but IMO Freeze/Sexton are keeping their options open as long as possible to garner the best possible deal. Maybe the negotiation over the term of the deal is being used an an excuse but really don't see that being the underlying problem here.
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Wednesday 9:30 a.m. - All quiet with Hugh Freeze this morning. That's obviously not a good sign. From what we heard earlier yesterday, those close to the situation were optimistic that the hire was going to happen. All I can say is a source told me there were some issues during the negotiations. No idea what those issues were but it sounds like they might have put a kibosh on the deal.
I haven't heard that Freeze is no longer in play but the vibe definitely isn't very positive right now.
So what's Plan B? The name I heard the other day was Kendal Briles, Houston's associate head coach/offensive coordinator. Problem is that he just signed a three-year deal worth $2.1 million. Unless there's a provision in the contract that provides for a minimal buyout, I don't see FSU paying that kind of money plus an annual salary that would probably have to hit seven digits.
Plan C? Working on that. A lot of names floating around but haven't heard just one or two that Taggart is focused on. I'll be working the phones to day in hopes of coming up with names of legitimate targets for FSU's OC position.
Josh Ball situation - Not related to the OC, but we had heard there was a very good chance that the former FSU OL would probably be back on the team in the spring or summer. In fact we just recently got confirmation that a plan was in place for his to return. However, the recent story and comments by his ex-girlfriend could be make the hurdles to high to overcome.
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Tuesday 8:30 p.m. - In case you missed it, Alabama's Mike Locksley is headed to Maryland to become the Terps' head coach. He's staying on Saban's staff through the college football playoffs. That of course opens up the offensive coordinator position at Alabama.
Hugh Freeze is a candidate for that opening at but we are getting conflicting information on Alabama's interest. There is a lot of fan buzz about Freeze but our contact in Tuscaloosa expects that Dan Enos will be promoted to the OC position. Also, Rich Rodriguez was in recently for an interview for a spot as Alabama's main offensive support staff member.
That may sound good for FSU's chances of hiring Freeze but that may not be the case. Things have gone very quiet on that front. Considering we are at the 24 hour mark the odds of him being hired as Taggart's new OC are declining by the minute. If we don't hear something by the morning it's probably time to move on to the next candidate.
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Tuesday, 11 a.m. - Not as much newsy stuff but wanted to bring everyone up to date on what we are hearing. Tennessee has reached the fish or cut bait time with Hugh Freeze. If he's going to get an offer from the Vols it's going to happen very soon. Sounds like there's some disagreement among the decision-makers on whether to push for the hire. Our source there says he doesn't believe it's going to happen. In addition to Auburn, which seems like a bit of a long shot, hearing he has the opportunity to become the head coach at Liberty. Not sure how appealing that would be unless he's really focused on being a head coach above all else.
Throwing it out there, but keep in mind that Freeze is Jimmy Sexton client (surprise, surprise). There might be some motivation on Sexton's part to help out two of his clients by getting Freeze on staff with Taggart.
Seems like whoever I speak to Alabama's Mike Locksley name comes up as someone who could start the coaching dominoes falling. As you you know, he's a candidate for the head coaching job at Maryland. Sounds like Alabama is Freeze's first choice and Saban's top target should the OC position open up. But with the Tide in the playoffs, and the favorite to win it all again, there's a lot of back and forth going on with Locksley.
Again, we shouldn't have to wait long as by this time tomorrow we should know if Freeze is coming in as the new OC or not.
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Tuesday, 9 a.m. - As we noted, Hugh Freeze was at FSU yesterday to interview for the offensive coordinator position. Was told his family was with him to check out the town. Time is of the essence here. In fact, sounds like we'll get his decision within 24 hours.
You can also throw Auburn into the mix of schools interested in Freeze.
The FSU's higher up are hoping that an experienced coach like Freeze will not only help jump start the offense, but will be able help Taggart with some of the other issues that have adversely impacted the program. So if Freeze, or someone like him is hired, look for them to have a lot of input on how things are run going forward.
If Freeze falls through, there is a decent fallback candidate out there. We'll cross that bridge should it come to that.
I know there is some buzz out there about Tee Martin but not sure how serious that is re. the OC position. Maybe he's talking to Taggart about coaching wide receivers. But haven't heard his name from a reliable source.
Mentioned Deondre Francois yesterday. Really sounding like he's going to transfer regardless of who is hired as OC. But Taggart has his eye in a really talented graduate transfer QB.
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8:15 p.m. - Confirmed that Hugh Freeze was in fact on campus today to interview for the OC position. Was told by our Tennessee publisher, UT is also in discussions with Freeze about a position there. However, was surprised to hear that Jeremy Pruitt isn't in a huge hurry to fill the position, while FSU is. That could help FSU's chances with Freeze if the job is offered.
On the other hand, heard he really wants the OC job at Alabama. Mike Locksley is a candidate for the Maryland and possibly other jobs. Should he take one of those jobs, sounds like Freeze would be pretty high on Saban's list to replace him.
Again, we are probably talking just days before this all shakes out.
And yes, there is something to the rumors about Deondre Francois' considering a transfer. If he decided to leave Tennessee is the most likely destination. However, this could easily change if Sam Howell decommits. How he gets along with the new OC/QB coach could also play a role. So it's all TBA at this stage.
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7 p.m. - There is a lot of buzz out there about Hugh Freeze being a candidate to replace Walt Bell as the next OC. Confirmed with a source that Freeze was in fact scheduled to come to FSU today to interview for the position. Not sure if he made it in or not, but he's definitely a candidate. Was told that he will make his decision by this weekend so stay tuned.
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Wanted to provide some background on what took place with Walt Bell and what happened leading up to him reportedly accepting the head coaching position at UMass. Some of this is solid information provided by third parties and good sources, and some is a bit of speculation on my part.
I received a call last week from a source close to the Kansas Athletic Department that Walt Bell was in Lawrence, Kansas interviewing with Les Miles for the OC position there. What was incredibly surprising is that this meeting took place during Florida week. The source didn't see Bell first hand and like me, had a hard time believing it actually happened.
A couple days after the UF game, Les Miles flew in on the private UK jet to Atlanta to interview an OC candidate. We never received 100% confirmation that Bell was in Atlanta at the time but a recruiting target in the area was offered by Bell around this time. So it sounds like was probably there for the meeting. As you may know, former Auburn OC Chip Lindsey was eventually hired to take that position. Not sure if Lindsey was hired over Bell, so he decided to take the UMass offer or if Lindsey was Miles' fallback and Bell wanted a HC job.
In any event, during the past couple days we confirmed with sources at Florida State the Bell was in fact "looking around" for other employment. There has already been some vetting of potential OC candidates to replace Bell.
Bell's decision has been brewing for a while. If you read Ira's story with FSU president John Thrasher you saw his comments about upcoming changes to the coaching staff and there being " chemistry issues". He didn't say it directly, but it's obvious that the main chemistry issue was tension between Taggart and Bell.
We've been told that Bell didn't feel he was given the right opportunity to call plays and run the offense. Not sure if he assumed that when he was hired or if there was an actual agreement, or what but he definitely felt he wasn't given the freedom to run the offense the way he expected. You may remember he took over play-calling for the NC State game, but apparently that was dialed back to some extent in FSU's final couple games. This resulted in a lot of animosity and was probably behind Bell's search for employment elsewhere.
With the early signing period for recruiting just a couple weeks away, you can expect a hire pretty quickly. Hearing candidates will be interviewed over the next few days.
Bell's departure will definitely have an impact on recruiting. Things are not looking good for QB commitment Sam Howell. More here. Taggart's back will really be up against the wall if in fact Howell does decommit. With rumors of Deondre Francois considering a transfer, the QB situation could be beyond precarious in 2019. Unless there's a home run hire at OC that can turn a current QB commitment, FSU will likely be forced to go with a backup plan QB.
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