How Head Coaches are hired from other schools 101

First, because of NCAA rules, the schools cannot directly contact without the whole permission/notification process. So, the trend has been (certainly over the past 5-8 years) to hire private search firms.

In the old days, when a HC vacancy arose, the Athletic Director would make 4 or 5 calls, set up interviews, and make a recommendation to the decision making authority (whether that was a chancellor/BOS, etc.) Then, the trend became search committees, with board members, assistant ADs, possibly former coaches, etc. However, these all ran afoul of the rules. Now, with a privately contracted search firm to gauge "interest", they can skirt the no-contact rules and merely be doing a "survey" whereby the search firm can contact a number of coaches (or coaches reps, most likely) to "hypthetically" talk about several vacancies (including their client school), and just, coincidentally, they are "surveying" the top 5 or 6 coaches on their wish list. They can also use this "survey" to gauge what kind of compensation package, term, etc. that their wish list needs to accept the position.

Months (or sometimes weeks) pass, the school sends a final feeler out, again through the search firm to "confirm" that the "hypothetical" offer is still acceptable (and possibly getting an answer on the timing question), and that nothing has changed - then, when the timing is as optimal (again, the coach will have communicated this back through the search firm) they "announce" the interview, the "offer", and the hiring.

That's why the process appears very confusing to those of us on the outside. The schools do courtesy interviews - it is traditional when a coach is fired (or retires for that matter) to interview one or both coordinators. It is traditional to offer at least one coordinator an offer to remain on staff, things like that. This could only be if they knew who the new head coach was, and who he was likely to want to keep.

To cover the process, the bigger schools now allow a first "interviewee" to get an "offer" that he can reject. It's a formality and it's smoke screen. Rich Rodriquez is an example for the Bama vacancy last year. Currently, Ferentz is the customary "first interviewee" for Michigan.