Here are all the names I can think of that are being talked about for the now vacant NC State Head Coaching job. NC State will hire Chuck Nienas, the consultant who helped UNC land Butch Davis, because after the basketball search debacle we know Lee Fowler can not handle the pressure.

Bill Cowher, Head Coach, Pittsburgh Steelers
Risk: Low
Reward: High
My Opinion: Every state fans’ dream, unfortunately maybe just that.
- Even if it is a long shot, you HAVE to make the call and make him say No. It never hurts to ask. Per ESPN

“John Clayton is reporting Cowher turned down contract extension offers ranging up to $6.5 million per year. No doubt in my mind that he is out of Pittsburgh now. See you in North Carolina, Bill. Odd that the same day Amato is fired, Cowher seemingly has quit the Steelers…
Maybe coincidence. Either way, I suspect he’ll be somewhere in Carter Finley in the next few years.”

Wolfpack nation waits with baited breath, but we know we are not this lucky so we shouldn’t get our hopes up.

Bill Cowher’s Resume:
- made Super Bowl in his 3rd year as head coach (youngest head coach in history to reach Super Bowl)
- led Steelers to playoffs in his first six years as a head coach (one of only two coaches to do this)
- In 14 seasons has led Steelers to 10 playoff appearances, 6 AFC championships, and two Super Bowls, one Super Bowl Championship
- Since he has become the coach of the Steelers, they have had the best record in the NFL

Norm Chow, Off. Coord, Tenn. Titans
Risk: Moderate
Reward: High
My Opinion: Unsure about his head coaching skills, but his offensive mind alone is worth it to me.
- Current OC for the Tenn. Titans (former NC State OC) who has been rumored to be cleaning house after this season. This means Head Coach Jeff Fisher (mentioned with the Miami job) and staff, Chow included, will be looking for a new job. Chow is no doubt one of the greatest offensive minds in the game and has groomed super star QBs in Ty Detmer, Rivers, Carson Palmer, among others. The NC State Board of trustees has already stated they would love to have an offensive mind but like anyone else there are questions that surround Chow. Why hasn’t he ever been a Head Coach before? Can he recruit? How long will he stay? Chow has gone on record saying he wants to be a head coach and that he likes Raleigh, so the fit is there but its up to those in power to make the decision if he is right for NC State.

*UPDATE* - If NC State wants Chow they have to move fast and hard b/c the Ariz. State job just opened up and Chow has stated the only two jobs he would consider leaving the NFL for were NC State and Arizona State.

Norm Chow’s Resume
-He spent the 2000 season as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at North Carolina State, where he helped the Wolfpack to an 8-4 season and a victory in the Micronpc.com Bowl. The NCSU passing offense was ranked 15th nationally (292.6). His quarterback, Philip Rivers, was a Freshman All-American who completed 53.7% (237-of-441) of his passes for 3,054 yards with 25 touchdowns and was 12th nationally in total offense (269.9).
-He coached 6 of the NCAA’s top 16 career passing efficiency leaders and was involved with squads that hold 11 of the top 30 single season passing yardage totals in NCAA history.
-He was named the National Assistant Coach of the Year in 1999 by the American Football Foundation and in 1993 by Athlon. He was the 1996 Division I Offensive Coordinator of the Year by American Football Quarterly. In 1996, he was a finalist for the Broyles Award.

Mike Price, Head Coach, UTEP
Risk:High
Reward:High
My Opinion: Needs to show some more consistency but if you can win at UTEP that has to mean something.
- The current head coach at UTEP who is probably best known for the ‘Hotel Incident’ after being hired away from Washington State to Alabama. Before ever coaching a game he was dismissed from ‘Bama for an incident revolving a stripper in a hotel room. HE quickly took the job at UTEP where in his first season, he led the Miners to an 8-4 record and a berth in the Houston Bowl, where they lost to Colorado. The season was an astounding turnaround for the Miners, who has won only two games in each of their previous two seasons. At one time during the 2004 season, UTEP earned its first-ever ranking in the AP Poll, rising as high as 23rd. Price was a finalist for Eddie Robinson Award and the Paul “Bear” Bryant Award for coach of the year. He followed up the 2004 campaign with another 8-4 record but the Miners have struggled to a 5-7 record this year with a Senior QB Jordan Palmer. I believe Mike Price is a good coach, although he has off the field issues he can def. coach’em up, if you can take a previously 2 win UTEP team and have back to back 8 win seasons.

Paul Johnson - Head Coach, Navy
Risk:Low
Reward:Moderate
My Opinion: Not sure if the system will work in a big boy league, no doubt he can coach.
-Paul Johnson, a NC native, built a D1AA powerhouse at Georgia Southern, the Eagles captured the NCAA Division I-AA national football championships in 1999 and 2000. He is also one of only four coaches to ever record 50 wins in their first four seasons as head coach at the Division I level. During his 5 years at Ga. So. he compiled a 62 and 12 record winning 5 straight Southern Conference championships to go with his 2 National Championships. His overall coaching record is 90-31 which is amazing, sort of reminds me of Jim Tressel at Youngstown State (pre Ohio State).

Wikipedia Says

Much of Johnson’s success has been predicated on his triple option flexbone offense, a run oriented attack that has led NCAA DI-A football in rushing yards two of the last three years. Some have criticized the triple option as an antiquated, unbalanced system unfit for major college football, which may explain BCS teams’ reluctance to offer him a position despite his accomplishments at both Georgia Southern and Navy. Johnson has rebutted this argument in numerous press conferences and interviews, asserting that several top teams, including 2005-2006 national champion Texas and SEC stalwart Florida, utilize various forms of the option. In his opinion, the superior athletes in power conferences could help the triple option flourish.

Johnson took over a Georgia Southern program in 1997 that was 4-7 the previous year and orchestrated a turnaround which ranks among the NCAA’s best ever, directing the Eagles to a 10-3 record. Navy, which can’t get the athletes another BCS school can get, had trouble putting up points vs Rutgers, Notre Dame and Tulsa. There is no doubt the guy can coach but will he adapt his triple option offense to fit its athletes? I don’t know but I’d love to see Andrew Brown, Tony Baker and Jamelle Eugene in a pure run type offense.

Steve Logan - Former ECU Head Coach
Risk:Moderate
Reward:Moderate
My Opinion: Safe bet for consistency, not likely for greatness
In 11 seasons at East Carolina, he won 69 games and went to five bowl games. He groomed NFL quarterbacks Jeff Blake and David Garrard and came close on two others — Dan Gonzalez and Marcus Crandall. Few coaches have more of a knack for bringing two quarterbacks up to speed at once than Logan. He’s done it throughout his career, even as a coach in NFL Europe. There are two popular negative perceptions about Logan: that he’s as stubborn and temperamental as an Oklahoma wildcatter and that he’s pass-happy beyond rehabilitation. Both are false. Logan usually does speak his mind. That is true. He normally gives an honest answer to an honest question. That made him a hit with players — and the media — but a bust with ECU’s administration. Its also what has made his Logan Zone radio show so popular. Regarding his pass happy tendencies, At ECU, the most overlooked aspect of Logan’s head coaching career was that the Pirates usually ran as effectively as they passed. Just ask Junior Smith, Leonard Henry and Scott Harley, three of the most prolific Pirates rushers ever.
Against N.C. State in the final game of the 1996 season, Harley got 42 carries for 351 yards in a 50-29 win.

ECU firing Logan is one of the worst moves that program has ever made and are just not recovering thanks to Skip Holtz.Logan has been mentioned with numerous jobs and just about every open coaching position in the state of NC, so why not this one?

David Cutcliffe, Off. Coord. @ Univ. of Tenn.
Risk:High
Reward:Moderate
My Opinion: Record at Ole Miss reminds me a lot of Chuck, and when he had Eli Manning he went 7-4 (read: Philip Rivers + Chuck Amato)
Cutcliffe is loved by the UT fans as an OC and has made it known he wants to be a head coach somewhere again and close to his home in Knoxville. Is a great offensive mind but as a head coach I’m not sure. I’d rather have Chow. From a UT Fan

“Won 2 SEC Championships, National Championship as an OC, second nationally in scoring (42.8ppg). Head Coach at Ole Miss for 5 years, did good considering how bad they were, only coach there to win at least 7 in each of his first 5 years. Was picked by Weiss to be OC at ND but had to have heart surgery haha. Coached Shuler (hey, he was great in college dammit haha), Peyton, Eli, Ainge. Real good at teaching QB fundamentals, really loyal (fired from Ole Miss for refusing to fire his assistants)”

Jimbo Fisher, OC, LSU
Risk:Low
Reward:High
My Opinion: Offensive mind, great recruiter, put lots of talent in the NFL. I remember his name being tossed around for the OC job at NC State when Amato hired that chump Trestman. *The more I read about him the more I like.
Here is his LSU bio. Fisher enters his seventh season as LSU’s offensive coordinator in 2006 and during his previous six years with the Tigers, he has established himself as one of the nation’s top offensive minds, while also serving as one of the school’s top recruiters. Fisher joined the Tigers in 2000 and during that six-year span, Fisher has been a part of 59 victories, two Southeastern Conference titles and the 2003 BCS National Championship. The 59 victories since the 2000 season are the most in LSU history over any six-year period of the program, while the Tigers’ streak of six consecutive bowl games is a school record.

Since 2000, Fisher’s offense’s have set numerous school records, including points in a season (475 in 2003), total yards (5,857 in 2003), and passing touchdowns (30 in 2003). Fisher’s offenses currently hold 13 LSU school records.

Here is an interesting read regarding Jimbo Fisher staying at LSU after Nick Saban took the Dolphins job.

Nick Saban’s offensive coordinator, Jimbo Fisher, will remain at LSU with the same title under new head coach Les Miles, after flirtations with Saban’s Miami staff and with NC State.

Tiger fans are split on whether this is good news or not. Yes, he was OC during Saban’s best years, but the LSU offense in 2004 was exceptionally boring and predictable, and quite often impotent. Some fans argue that this was because of the lack of experience at QB, others say Saban handcuffed Fisher and wouldn’t let him open up the offense. My guess is that it was a combination of both

Rumors on the LSU fan sites is that Jimbo is a strong candidate for the soon to be open Cincy job.

Considering we let it known we want an Off. Guy I don’t see these names being of much significance but they should be mentioned.
Defensive Coordinators
Jon Tenuta - DC and Assist. Head Coach at GT, supposedly does all the “organization/planning” stuff for GT. His defenses have always owned NC State, and more importantly UNC.

Gene Chizik - DC at Texas, Auburn before that, really big on discipline

Ron English - DC at Michigan, as one state fan says “dont know much about him but after the job he did this year, why the f*&k not”

Other Guys
Steve Kragthorpe - The current head coach at Tulsa has already said he wouldn’t leave for the UNC job, so he’s def not going to leave for the NC State job.

Gary Petterson - The current head coach at TCU. While he would be an excellent coach anywhere, he has turned down other jobs and is probably holding out for a big time offer (Alabama Maybe?). He is def. not leaving football crazed state of Texas to come to basketball crazed NC. It’s just not going to happen.

Mike Leech - The current head coach at Texas Tech. Another not likely to leave the football state of Texas. While I’d love to have the high powered offense that Mike Leech is known for, his job is low pressure and his teams play zero defense.