Monday, January 4, 2021

Marshall's Next Head Football Coach: 11 Potential Candidates

Do you know what Cam Henderson, Jim Donnan and Bob Pruett have in common? They all served as Marshall’s head football coach for fewer games than Doc Holliday, who announced today he won’t be returning next season. And while you might bristle at Holliday’s winning percentage (.617) and amount of conference championships (one), the Hurricane native’s long run in the Shewey Building was unprecedented.

Consider this, only one FBS head coach hired between the 2009 and 2010 football seasons, Notre Dame’s Brian Kelly, remains in the same job. For comparisons sake, during the decade Holliday patrolled Marshall’s sideline, Lane Kiffin served as head coach at USC, Florida Atlantic and Ole Miss, plus a two season stint under Nick Saban at Alabama.

So who will be the Thundering Herd’s next football coach? A better question might be who is making the selection. According to one report, West Virginia Governor Jim Justice and the University’s Board of Governors went around athletic director Mike Hamrick and decided not to retain Holliday.  

While that subject probably needs its own deep dive, we’re going to focus on candidates to replace Holliday. 

From the NFL

1.     Byron Leftwich, Offensive Coordinator, Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Any Marshall coaching search figures to start, and potentially end with one of the Thundering Herd’s most prolific quarterbacks. Since hanging up his helmet following the 2012 NFL season, Leftwich has been an assistant with the Arizona Cardinals and Buccaneers. Under Leftwich’s direction, Tampa Bay’s offense finished third in total yards and scored the fourth most points in the league last season. Now with future Hall of Fame quarterback Tom Brady at the helm, Leftwich has the Buccaneers ranked seventh in total offense.

Although Leftwich has never coached at the college level, and seems destined to become an NFL head coach one day, could the pull of his alma mater bring him to Huntington?

2.     Mike Furry, Wide Receivers Coach, Chicago Bears – The former Marshall wide receivers coach has a unique story. Following a record breaking college career at Northern Iowa, Furry spent time as a wide receiver and defensive back in the XFL and Arena Football League. Signed by the St. Louis Rams in 2003, he continued playing both offense and defense. Eventually, Furry settled in at wide receiver with Detroit, leading the Lions with 98 receptions in 2006.

Although Furry’s been a NFL assistant coach since 2018, he has extensive college experience. In addition to three seasons under Holliday at Marshall, Furry was head coach at Kentucky Christian University (2011-2012) and Limestone College (2016-2017).

3.     Thomas Brown, Running Backs Coach, Los Angeles Rams – The current Ram’s assistant has worked at an impressive list of schools since his single season as Marshall’s running backs coach. From 2014 to 2019, Brown tutored running backs at Wisconsin, Georgia, Miami and South Carolina. At Miami, Brown was also Mark Richt’s offensive coordinator, although he didn’t have play calling responsibilities.

After a year working under one of the NFL’s foremost offensive minds, Rams head coach Sean McVay, is the longtime assistant ready to lead his own college program?

College Head Coaches

4.     Sean Lewis, Head Coach, Kent State – From 2013-2017, Paul Hayes won nine conference games as Kent’s head football coach. Enter Lewis, who took helm of the Golden Flashes football program in 2018 and over three seasons has a winning record in Mid-American Conference play. He also led Kent to their first ever bowl win and a 3-1 mark this season.

Lewis has no Marshall ties, having played or coached at Wisconsin, Eastern Illinois, Bowling Green, Syracuse and the aforementioned Kent State. Wage wise he is earning $440,000 a year, which is dramatically less than Holliday’s most recent salary. That being said, per the USA Today college coach’s salary database, Lewis has a $750,000 buyout.

5.      Kevin Sumlin, former Head Coach, Arizona – Yes, his time with the Wildcats was bad, 9-20 over three season’s bad. Things were better at Texas A&M, but a 25-23 record against Southeastern Conference competition and zero division titles in six years wasn’t enough to keep Sumlin employed with the Aggies.

Although Sumlin failed at bigger programs, he was wildly successful in Conference USA. During a four season stint as Houston’s head coach, the Cougars qualified for two league championship games and only suffered eight losses to conference foes.   

College Coordinators

6.      Brad Lambert, Defensive Coordinator, Marshall University – Could Holliday’s replacement already be on staff? Lambert interviewed for the Marshall job in 2009 and figures to be a strong candidate again after re-launching Charlotte’s football program and two impressive seasons leading the Herd's defense.

But what do you make of Lambert’s time at Charlotte? He was let go in 2018 after posting a 22-48 record over six seasons, including an 8-24 record against C-USA competition. That being said, when Lambert was hired by the 49ers in March of 2011, no one thought Charlotte would be playing FBS football 2½ years later. 

7.     Adam Fuller, Defensive Coordinator, Florida State – Plucked by Holliday from The University of Tennessee Chattanooga prior to the 2013 season, Fuller served as the Thundering Herd’s linebackers coach for four years before being appointed defensive coordinator in 2018. During the 2018 season, Fuller helped Marshall finish second among C-USA schools in total defense.

Hired away by Memphis, Fuller and the Tigers completed an undefeated regular season and captured the 2019 American Athletic Conference championship. Fuller joined Mike Norvell’s staff in Tallahassee when the former Memphis head coach was named to the same position at Florida State. 

In addition to serving as an assistant at Wagner, Richmond, Chattanooga, Marshall, Memphis and Florida State, Fuller was head coach at Division II Assumption College in 2008.

8.     Tony Petersen, Offensive Coordinator, Illinois – Former Marshall quarterback, Thundering Herd assistant under three different head coaches (Donnan, Pruett, Holliday) and an offensive coordinator at Louisiana Tech, East Carolina and Appalachian State. Not to mention additional coaching stints with Minnesota, Iowa State and South Dakota. 

In December, new Fighting Illini coach Bret Bielema hired Petersen away from Appalachian State to be his offensive coordinator. 

Petersen is entering his fourth decade as a college football coach, yet unlike Fuller and Lambert, he has never lead his own program. Lack of head coaching experience didn’t stop Hamrick from hiring Holliday ten years ago, could he do the same with Petersen?

9.     Gerard Parker, Offensive Coordinator, WVU – What are the chances Parker travels the same path Holliday blazed from Morgantown to Huntington?

Raised less than an hour away from Joan C. Edwards Stadium in Louisa, KY, Parker was Marshall’s wide receivers coach in 2011 and 2012 before leaving for Purdue. Following Darrell Hazell’s dismissal with six games remaining in the 2016 season, Parker was named the Boilermakers interim head coach, finishing the year 0-6.

Prior to being appointed offensive coordinator at WVU, he served as wide receivers coach with Duke and Penn State. 

Parker does have a blemish on his record. He plead guilty to operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated in West Lafayette, IN. The incident, which occurred in February of 2017, cost Parker an opportunity to serve as an assistant at East Carolina.

College Assistants

10. Gunter Brewer, Wide Receivers Coach, Louisville – If you’re looking for a Holliday esque hire, look no further than this former Herd assistant. Similar to Holliday before he was hired at Marshall, the 56 year-old Brewer has been an assistant coach for over 30 years. In addition to working under Pruett in Huntington, Brewer’s held jobs at Oklahoma State, Ole Miss, North Carolina and Louisville. He was also the Philadelphia Eagles wide receivers coach for a season.

Is it time to bring Brewer back to his former stomping grounds? From 1996-1999 he was part of a 1-AA National Championship, three Mid-American Conference titles and two undefeated seasons with the Thundering Herd.  

Someone the Writer would Consider

11.   Matt Canada, Quarterbacks Coach, Pittsburgh Steelers – I’ve been keeping an eye on Canada since he was appointed interim head coach at Maryland in 2018. As you might recall, Canada replaced the suspended DJ Durkin, who was eventually fired over the death of Jordan McNair, a victim of heatstroke suffered during a team workout.

Coaching under the cloud of McNair’s passing, Canada lead the Terps to five wins, including a season opening victory over Texas. Maryland almost got its sixth win that season against No. 9 Ohio State, but an overtime two point conversion pass by current Western Kentucky quarterback Tyrell Pigrome sailed wide of an open wide receiver.

In addition to his time at Maryland, Canada served as offensive coordinator at Indiana, Northern Illinois, Wisconsin, NC State, Pittsburgh and LSU. At Pitt, he was a 2016 finalist for the Broyles Award, given annually to the top assistant coach in college football.


Sunday, December 24, 2017

Marshall Football: Seven Candidates for the Herd's Next Offensive Coordinator

After eight seasons on Doc Holliday's staff, Bill Legg resigned his position as offensive coordinator/tight ends coach with Marshall University earlier this week. We won't delve into Legg's "resignation" here, but we will explore his potential replacements.

How about that for our first blog post in over three years...

Internal Candidates

Todd Gobbel, Marshall University,Co-Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks Coach
Gobbel orchestrated a high octane offense as Ohio Dominican University's (Division II) assistant head coach/offensive coordinator from 2011-2014. During his time with the Panthers, Ohio Dominican averaged no less than 31 points per game.

If Holliday wants to promote from within, Gobbel seems like the obvious answer, especially after coaching the Herd's quarterbacks during the recently completed season. That being said, Gobbel's play calling experience ends at the Division II level. Is that the type of pedigree Holliday is looking for?

Former Assistants Under Holliday

Thomas Brown, University of Miami, Offensive Coordinator/Running Backs Coach
Don't let the title fool you, although Brown is listed as the Hurricanes offensive coordinator, head coach Mark Ritch calls plays. That being said, Brown has an impressive resume. Since leaving Marshall in 2013, the former Thundering Herd running backs coach has worked at Wisconsin and Georgia in addition to Miami.

If Holliday isn't looking for someone with previous play calling experience, Brown could be the choice, although he might have to take a slight pay cut. A private institution, Miami isn't required to report salaries of it's football staff, but Brown made $275,000 as Georgia's running backs coach in 2015. Assuming he earns more now, Brown's current salary probably eclipses the $232,000 Marshall paid Legg this year.

Tony Petersen, East Carolina University, Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks Coach
The former Marshall quarterback has directed ECU's offense since 2015 to solid, yet unspectacular results. Under Petersen's direction, the Pirates have finished 43rd, 23rd and 55th in total offense.

Even if Holliday wants to bring Petersen back to Huntington, would the former Marshall assistant leave ECU? Although the Pirates finished with a 3-9 record and have only recorded six victories in two seasons under head coach Scottie Montgomery, Petersen's $300,000 salary probably outstrips what the Herd can offer. You could argue taking a pay-cut to serve the same role at another "group of five" school doesn't make sense.

Outside Candidates

Marcus Satterfield, Unemployed, Former Head Coach and Offensive Coordinator
After a two year stint at Tennessee Tech, Satterfield was fired as the Golden Eagles head coach in November. Prior to his time as a head coach, he was offensive coordinator at Temple, helping the Owls grow from a two win team in 2013 to a 10-4 record in 2015. Satterfield's offenses weren't prolific at Temple, never averaging over 400 yards per game, but as the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga's offensive coordinator in 2010, the Mocs' finish eight nationally in total offense (FCS).

In terms of Marshall connections, Satterfield worked with current Herd assistant Adam Fuller at Chattanooga for three seasons. Satterfield checks the experience box, but he has never coached with Holliday and his offenses at Temple didn't light the world on fire.

Chris Beatty, University of Maryland, Associate Head Coach/Wide Receivers Coach
Beatty and Holliday were on Bill Stewart's West Virginia University staff from 2008 to 2009. The current Maryland assistant has made a number of stops since then, working at Vanderbilt, Illinois, Wisconsin and Virginia.

Beatty is known as an ace recruiter. He recently brought the number one prospect in the 2015 recruiting class, Auburn transfer Byron Cowart, to the Terps. Beatty also has offensive coordinator experience, serving that role with Hampton University in 2006, leading the Pirates to average 34.17 points per game, good for seventh nationally (FCS). That being said, he had a disastrously short tenure as Illinois' co-offensive coordinator in 2012, the Illini finished 119th in total offense.

Gregg Brandon, Colorado School of Mines, Head Coach
Like Holliday, Brandon is part of the Urban Meyer coaching tree. Brandon was Meyer's offensive coordinator at Bowling Green for two seasons before succeeding him as head coach from 2003-2008. Since that time, the 49 year coaching veteran has held the offensive coordinator title at Virginia, Wyoming and New Mexico State.

Brandon has been successful in Colorado, leading the Division II Orediggers to a 25-10 record over three years. Would he be willing to leave that environment and return to major college football?

Gunter Brewer, University of North Carolina, Co-Offensive Coordinator/Wide Receivers Coach
An assistant at Marshall during two undefeated Thundering Herd seasons (1996 & 1999), Brewer is a well traveled assistant coach with many impressive programs on his resume. He has held the offensive coordinator title at Marshall, Oklahoma State and now North Carolina, but its been awhile since Brewer called plays. Mike Gundy handled those duties with the Cowboys during Brewers tenure there and he is now part of a play calling committee at UNC.

Like a few other coaches on this list, Brewer would probably be taking a pay-cut to join the Herd. He earned $345,000 with the Tar Heels this year.

Keep in mind I have no insider knowledge. This is one persons guess over 400 miles away from Huntington, WV.

Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Marshall Basketball: Chris Duhon Added to Staff

Reaching back to his NBA roots, Marshall basketball coach Dan D'Antoni will reportedly add former Duke standout Chris Duhon to the Thundering Herd's coaching staff.

Over a nine year NBA career Duhon averaged 25.6 minutes, 6.5 points, and 4.4 rebounds per game with the Chicago Bulls, New York Knicks, Orlando Magic, and Los Angeles Lakers. Duhon played under D'Antoni and his brother, former NBA head coach Mike D'Antoni, in New York and L.A.

A Duke alum, Duhon ended his Blue Devils career as the schools all time leader in steals and minutes played. He is also the second winningest player in program and Atlantic Coast Conference history.

Duhon has never severed as a coach, much less at the college level. His exact title and role with Marshall's coaching staff has not been announced.

WSAZ sports reporter Rich Donnelly caught up with Duhon in Huntington, watch the interview by clicking here.

Marshall Basketball: Brantley and Uwadiae Headed Elsewhere

They might not have played a game for Marshall, but Jaylen Brantley and Henry Uwadiae made a impact on the Thundering Herd's basketball program today.

Formerly one of the top 100 basketball recruits in the country, Brantley will transfer from Marshall after sitting out the 2013-2014 season as a academic non-qualifier. A 5-foot-10 point guard from Springfield, Mass., Brantley is leaving the Herd for a junior college in Texas. 


Marshall also lost the tallest member of its recruiting class as Uwadiae, 6-foot-10 center, was granted a release from his letter of intent. Uwadiae spent last season at Kirkwood Community College where he averaged 1.6 points and 1.8 rebounds per game.

Counting those players returning to Marshall and incoming recruits Shane Hall and Jay Johnson, recently hired basketball coach Dan D'Antoni is one scholarship below the NCAA limit of 13.

Sunday, April 27, 2014

Marshall Football: Green & White Game Ends Spring Practice

Marshall wrapped up spring football practice yesterday with the annual green and white game. This years edition had a special twist as former Thundering Herd quarterbacks Chad Pennington and Byron Leftwich picked each team.

As with the rest of spring practice, yesterdays game was highlighted by the backup quarterback battle. Redshirt sophomore Gunnar Holcombe lead the way, completing 11 of 18 attempts for 220 yards, three touchdowns, and a interception. Holcombe's favorite target was wide receiver Justin Hunt, who finished his day with two touchdowns on three receptions and 153 yards.

Participating in his first spring game, freshman Cole Garvin tossed a touchdown and two interceptions while converting 10 of 17 passes for 109 yards. Kevin Anderson received the least amount of playing time between the three backup quarterbacks. He only attempted four passes, completing none while throwing a interception.

A former quarterback at Huntington High School, walk-on defensive back Mark Shaver had a big day for the defense. He lead the team with two interceptions and also recorded two tackles. In total, the defense allowed 224 rushing yards on 51 attempts and 431 passing yards on 24 completions.

Stats

Huntington Herald Dispatch

Hunt makes plays in front of his idol

Players of the past like present

White tops Green 30-13

Herd backup QBs in the spotlight

Charleston Daily Mail

The spring season ends

Pennington to Moss

Charleston Gazette

Cato's understudies have strong moments in Herd's spring ending workout

Mitch Vingle: Despite performance, MU is Rakeem Cato

HerdZone

BOGACZYK: Backup QB Battle Plays on into August

Marshall Football: Herd Adds Birdsong to QB Mix

Marshall's search to find an eventual replacement for star quarterback Rakeem Cato added another member today. While visiting campus during the annual green and white game Michael Birdsong gave a verbal commitment to the Thundering Herd.

Birdsong comes to Marshall from James Madison University. The sophomore quarterback started every game for the Dukes last year, completing 227 of 376 pass attempts for 2,278 yards, 22 touchdowns, and 15 interceptions. An occasional rushing threat, he also ran for three scores and 310 yards.

Then a assistant coach at JMU, Marshall defensive line coach J.C. Price recruited Birdsong to the Dukes. A Virginia native, Birdsong decided to leave James Madison after losing the starting quarterback job to Vlad Lee during spring practice.

Birdsong is a sizable quarterback, standing 6-foot-4, 230 pounds. Before committing to Marshall, he also had a official visit scheduled at Old Dominion. Per NCAA transfer rules, Birdsong will sit out the upcoming season. Once eligible, he will have two years left to play.

Friday, April 25, 2014

Marshall Basketball: Dan D'Antoni Introductory News Conference