Updates on Florida, Ole Miss, and Tennessee

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1. Florida Two candidates have emerged from the pack: UCF head coach Scott Frost and Oregon head coach Willie Taggart. Frost is repped by Trace Armstrong, a former Florida player and Gainesville resident. Taggart is a client of prominent agent Jimmy Sexton. Oregon’s recent three-game skid hasn’t seemed to hurt Taggart’s buzz, likely because decision makers aren’t focused on a Year 1 rebuild involving multiple key injuries. Florida is unofficially communicating with potential candidates about possibly retaining particular staff members for recruiting reasons, including defensive coordinator and current interim head coach Randy Shannon.

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2. Ole Miss Ole Miss has been vetting a long list of candidates in recent weeks, namely USF head coach Charlie Strong, Memphis head coach Mike Norvell, and UTSA head coach Frank Wilson. Athletic director Ross Bjork is hoping to make a hire quietly and to have a replacement for Hugh Freeze and interim head coach Matt Luke in place immediately following the Egg Bowl. Strong spent 1990 as an Ole Miss assistant and has spent nearly his entire career in current SEC states. Wilson’s stock is very high, partly for his recruiting acumen. As an assistant for Ed Orgeron, he helped build the Rebels’ 2008 and ‘09 Cotton Bowl teams with a host of Louisiana talent, and he has two former Ole Miss players on his staff in San Antonio. He led the Roadrunners to their first-ever bowl in 2016 and is on the verge of a second. Norvell has become a favorite of Memphis-area boosters. Ole Miss believes Arkansas will consider Norvell if the Razorbacks move on from Bret Bielema. A separate faction of Ole Miss boosters has pushed for SMU head coach Chad Morris and Alabama defensive coordinator Jeremy Pruitt. Despite the variety of suggestions, multiple sources indicate it’s Bjork’s call.

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3. Tennessee With Week 10’s win over Southern Miss, Butch Jones’ job security is technically alive, albeit on life support. The message inside the program is that UT needs to win out and keep its recruiting class intact through December’s early signing period. At other schools, coaches and agents are treating Tennessee like an open job. Mississippi State head coach Dan Mullen is the most frequently discussed name (that isn’t Jon Gruden). Multiple coaching sources confirm Mullen would “fit” with new athletic director John Currie.

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