Heupel joins Venables in the coaching derby
Published: 11/29/2011 8:26 AM
Last Modified: 11/29/2011 8:26 AM
What, you thought Oklahoma's other coordinator was going to get left out of the coaching madness? Sorry.
Josh Heupel, who OU fans feel has had a better year than Brent Venables, has been connected to at least one college vacancy -- UCLA's.
Orange County Register columnist Mark Whicker lists nine candidates to replace Rick Neuheisel: Kevin Sumlin (the former OU assistant now up for 43 jobs at last count), Gary Andersen (the guy at Utah State), Mike Bellotti, Paul Chryst (Wisconsin's offensive coordinator), Dave Christensen (used to be Mizzou's OC, now runs Wyoming), Ron Caragher (San Diego coach... Univ, not Chargers), Rod Marinelli (Bears defensive coordinator... Chicago, not Baylor), Chris Petersen and Heupel.
"He's only 33," Whicker writes, "but Heupel calls the plays for the supersonic Sooners and has coached Sam Bradford and Landry Jones. If you think (correctly) that UCLA's most egregious failing is in the quarterback department, Heupel is your man."
I remember blogging that the most impressive thing about ESPN's "All-Access" preseason special on the Sooners was Heupel's presence at practice. That he came across a lot more ready to be a head coach than I thought.
If you want him to stay at OU, better hope UCLA AD Dan Guerrero (or any AD in the market for a head coach) doesn't see that footage.
-- Guerin Emig
Written by
Guerin Emig
Sports Writer
