By Staff
Staff, Wire Reports
Skip Holtz was still East Carolina’s football coach. At least as of Wednesday evening.
Holtz has been linked to jobs at the University of South Florida and at the University of Tennessee. The Pirates’ head coach, who has guided his team to consecutive Conference USA championships, appears to be the frontrunner for the job at USF.
Jim Leavitt was fired and the Bulls are looking for a new head coach.
Holtz has been in Florida at the American Football Coaches Association convention, and he had told media members in Orlando that the South Florida job is an “attractive” one.
TENNESSEE’S TAKE
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Disappointed Tennessee athletic director Mike Hamilton doesn’t have anytime to waste replacing Lane Kiffin, whose abrupt resignation has left the Volunteers scrambling.
The AD said he’d like to have someone in place before Sunday, when coaches are allowed to begin live recruiting again.
Interim head coach Kippy Brown, tasked with holding together the program’s recruiting class, would prefer to have someone in place even sooner than that.
‘‘This is an absolutely critical time for our program as it relates to wrapping up the recruiting and signing date time, so we will work very diligently toward trying to bring closure to this process,’’ Hamilton said Wednesday.
The Volunteers are trying to hold together a recruiting class ranked as one of the best in the country.
Brown is proceeding with plans made by Kiffin to host prospects on campus this weekend and would like to see the new head coach in place by Friday or Saturday to speak with those prospects.
Hamilton said he would be a day late on the decision if it meant hiring the right coach. Hamilton took a month before hiring Kiffin, though when asked to describe Kiffin’s tenure as coach, he had one word: ‘‘Brief.’’
The athletic director began his search Tuesday afternoon after officially learning Kiffin would be leaving and continued his search after meeting with the program’s eight mid-term enrollees and media Wednesday morning.
Though he’s never commented publicly on the other candidates he interviewed to replace Phillip Fulmer in November 2008, Hamilton said few if any were still available for the job now.
One potential candidate Hamilton is possibly focusing on is Texas defensive coordinator and coach-in-waiting Will Muschamp, a former assistant at LSU and Auburn, and a Georgia graduate.
Tennessee associate athletic director of football operations David Blackburn said he had no knowledge of Muschamp traveling to Tennessee for an interview.
Other coaches Hamilton may consider include Duke coach and former Tennessee offensive coordinator David Cutcliffe and East Carolina coach Skip Holtz.
TCU coach Gary Patterson told the AP on Wednesday night that neither he nor his agent had been contacted by Tennessee.
Agent Jimmy Sexton, who represents Kiffin, Muschamp and many other college football coaches, declined comment to The Associated Press.