A reported 10 finalists have been chosen of 45 preliminary candidates for the Cal Poly head football coaching vacancy left by Rich Ellerson, and the athletic department could reportedly make a decision by the end of the week.
FootballScoop.com reported Monday that former Michigan State defensive coordinator Chris Smeland interviewed and “could be the leading candidate.”
Smeland, a defensive back at Cal Poly from 1970-73, was the Mustangs defensive coordinator from 1982-87 before coaching at Hawaii in 1991 as a linebackers assistant under then-defensive coordinator Ellerson.
Meanwhile, Fresno State associate head coach John Baxter is rumored to be a candidate, as well.
At the Bark Board, a Fresno State message board that requires registration, someone operating with the username HORNET79 posted Tuesday afternoon the following, verbatim: “I have a friend who is close to the search committe (sic) and said assc HC John Baxter is a finalist for the Cal Poly job.” A poster registered as FresnoRocks posted soon after the following, verbatim: “This pieces together with something I heard the other day.”
It could be trustworthy.
Baxter just completed his 11th year with the Bulldogs, who are coming off a disappointing season and undergoing some coaching turmoil. He’s credited with the success of Fresno State’s “Academic Game Plan,” which would be in line with the stringent standards at Cal Poly. He and Bulldogs head coach Pat Hill (whose son Matt was part of Cal Poly’s 2005 recruiting class before he left the program) coached together at Arizona from 1990-91, a year before Ellerson did. On a lighter note, he’s married to the daughter of Ron McBride, the head coach at Weber State, which ended Cal Poly’s season Nov. 29.
The (San Luis Obispo County) Tribune, which first reported Oregon offensive line assistant Steve Greatwood as a prominent hopeful, reported an announcement could come as early as Wednesday. The possibility of Greatwood was corroborated Monday by The Oregonian.
If the coaching reports are to be believed, who would you like the most?
In some recruiting news, the San Gabriel Valley Tribune reported Monday that Cal Poly (in addition to Montana State and Sacramento State) has made an offer to 6-foot-4, 253-pound Servite (of Anaheim) offensive lineman Zachary Burge.