Gill’s appeal heating up
Auburn is latest to come calling
In a matter of one lopsided half in the Mid-American Conference Championship Game, Turner Gill was transformed from a hot coaching prospect to one that’s positively molten.
Gill was expected to head for New York City either Monday night or today to meet with Auburn Athletic Director Jay Jacobs about the Tigers’ head coaching vacancy. Many coaches and ADs, including the University at Buffalo’s Warde Manuel, are gathering in the Big Apple for today’s National Football Foundation awards dinner.
Meanwhile, Gill continues to remain a candidate for the head job at Syracuse and is being mentioned as a potential replacement for Sylvester Croom at Mississippi State. Reports out of Syracuse indicate that Athletic Director Daryl Gross is expected to decide on the successor to Greg Robinson by the end of this week. Others being considered for the position include East Carolina coach Skip Holtz, Temple coach Al Golden and New Orleans Saints offensive coordinator Doug Marrone, a Syracuse alumnus.
Gill’s name first surfaced in connection with the Auburn job when former NBA great Charles Barkley wholeheartedly endorsed him in a radio interview last week. Since then, former Auburn coach Pat Dye, a revered figure at the university, portrayed Gill as an intriguing candidate in an interview with the TimesDaily of Alabama.
“I’ve been watching him and the job he’s done all along,“ Dye said Saturday. “It would be very interesting. He’s done a great job at Buffalo.”
At this point the Auburn coaching search has unearthed few other candidates. Jimbo Fisher, the offensive coordinator at Florida State, has indicated he’ll remain with the Seminoles. Mississippi coach Houston Nutt signed a new deal Friday, and Texas Tech coach Mike Leach has been tendered a new contract by the university although no agreement’s been reached.
Gill’s being heralded far and wide for taking a downtrodden UB program and winning a conference championship within three years. Down, 10-7, at the half, the Bulls overwhelmed unbeaten and 12th-ranked Ball State, 42-24, at Detroit’s Ford Field on Friday night.
In a poll being conducted on al.com, an Alabama- based Web site, almost 40 percent of voters identified Gill as the coach they want to see on the Auburn sideline. Will Muschamp, the defensive coordinator at Texas, was second with about 20 percent of the vote as of Monday evening.
Among other candidates reportedly in the mix for the Auburn job are University of Miami offensive coordinator Patrick Nix and Georgia assistant head coach Rodney Garner.
While Gill draws increased interest for his UB revival the Bulls have begun looking ahead to their Jan. 3 International Bowl date with UConn at the Rogers Centre in Toronto. The teams last played in the opener of the 2005 season, with the Huskies rolling, 38-0. That was the first game in a UB uniform for the Bulls’ current fourth-year seniors, including quarterback Drew Willy, who would soon help orchestrate UB’s turnaround.
“They’re a real good Big East team and it should definitely be a real good test for us,” Willy said. “We’re ready for the challenge and it’s day and night from where we were in 2005. We look forward to going to play them up in Toronto.”
The Bulls were to have a team meeting later Monday afternoon to determine preparations for the school’s first-ever bowl appearance. UB declined an invitation to the 1958 Tangerine Bowl when told by organizers that the two black players on the team, Willie Evans and Mike Wilson, would be prohibited from participating.
“I am extremely proud of the efforts of our football team and am thrilled to be a part of bringing the college bowl game experience to everyone associated with UB — alumni, students, faculty and staff — and our fans in Western New York and across the country,” Manuel said in a statement. “These are the types of collegiate experiences that we were hoping to bring to Buffalo when I came here, and it is a particular thrill for me that it occurs 50 years after our 1958 team stood up in unity for what is right.”
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