Christmas Comes Early In Norman
Long expected to take over at San Diego State (AP)
Former Iowa quarterback Chuck Long is expected to become the next head coach at San Diego State after spending four seasons as offensive coordinator at Oklahoma.
Long's hiring could be announced as early as Saturday, barring any unforeseen glitches, two people familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press on Friday, speaking on condition of anonymity because a deal was still pending.
In Norman, Sooners coach Bob Stoops said Long was in San Diego for a second interview, adding that a deal had not been finalized.
Long, 42, has been on Stoops' staff for six seasons. He'll replace Tom Craft, who was fired on Dec. 5 after going 19-29 in four seasons, including 5-7 this year.
Bob Stoops has always had nothing but praise for Chuck Long, but some Sooner fans (myself included) have never been that impressed with the job he's done with the Sooner offense. The offense improved notably as the season went on this year, but even so, it's inexplicable that the team looked so unprepared early, especially the offensive line, and that Rhett Bomar didn't get the majority of snaps in spring practices (instead of Paul Thompson, who looked overwhelmed from the start).
Stoops has twice elevated existing assistants to offensive coordinator when a coach has departed for a head coaching gig, and current offensive line coach Kevin Wilson may (unfortunately) be in line for it if Stoops goes that route. I'm not so sure that would be a great move.
UPDATE (12-17-2005): Daily Oklahoman columnist Berry Tramel has a different opinion on Long.
UPDATE (12-18-2005): Kevin Wilson gets the job. Maybe Christmas hasn't come so early in Norman. We'll see.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 12/16/05 21:26 | Big 12 Football | Technorati
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Comments
You're gonna laugh at this one:
A good friend of mine who's tied into the College scene is fronting the rumor that a certain former UH coach facilitated the Long to SDSU hire.
The AD at SDSU is a former KSU AD.
Who is the only person that would have ties to all three of the people involved in the hire?
That person is the behind the scenes favorite to be the next O-coordinator at OU.
Posted by Sedosi @ 14:26 on 12/17/05
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