842 PM UPDATE--First off, heard back from someone that covers Utah State. He said he's heard talk of PAC-12 schools courting Aggies AD Scott Barnes, but nothing about Missouri.
The only name I've heard more than once today is Houston AD Mack Rhoades. Rhoades is working on a contract extension with Houston (and may have even agreed to it), but it does seem, based on what I'm piecing together, that Mizzou has at least looked into Rhoades. I don't have a feel at this point for whether or not they have mutual interest, or whether he's the guy, but I do believe there has at least been some investigation. If you're interested, you can read a little bit about what Rhoades has done at Houston, which is pretty impressive just on its surface.
303 PM UPDATE--Checked with someone I know who covers Boise about Mark Coyle. He said, "I heard he was on their list, but was not the top candidate."
Take that for what it's worth. It is my opinion that Coyle isn't going to be the hire at this point in time.
First of all, I'm relatively confident at this point the Curator's meeting is to approve the contract of an athletic director. And I'm relatively confident as well that Missouri will have a new one named at some point next week.
--As posted in its own thread, Dave Matter is reporting that Mizzou approached Ole Miss AD Ross Bjork, but Bjork was not interested in the job.
R. Bowen Loftin told me on the day Alden resigned that he would lead the search and would take a name (or at least a short list) to Wolfe late in the process. But this always was going to be a one man search committee (yes, he enlisted a search firm, but as far as guys at Mizzou, Loftin is a committee of one). Whoever he takes to Wolfe and the curators will be approved.
I can tell you absolutely that Tim Wolfe isn't going to be the next AD at Missouri. It's a rumor that made the rounds that Wolfe wanted the job, but multiple people familiar with things are telling me they don't know how that gained any traction.
Dave Matter reported this morning that Jason Cook is out of the running.
I have reached out to Mark Alnutt asking if he is a candidate for the job. I have received no response. I may not. The only way I will is if Alnutt absolutely isn't a candidate and he tells me that. I've got a good relationship with Mark, so if he isn't in the mix, it's possible he tells me he isn't. But if he is in the mix (or even if he's the guy) he isn't going to tell me, I'm sure.
I posted a week ago I heard John Currie's name, the current AD at Kansas State. Talking to multiple people I know who tend to know things out of Manhattan, I've been told that Currie most definitely would be willing to move up. He's got big goals, like being a conference commissioner and beyond down the road. However, Currie's name doesn't seem to have a lot of traction at Mizzou.
I've posted the names Mark Coyle (Boise State AD) and Scott Barnes (Utah State AD) as ones I had heard mentioned. I believe those guys still are possibilities, though I have nothing confirming that either has interviewed or anything like that.
Some have discussed Ross Bjork. He worked at Mizzou for a while and is currently at Ole Miss. I reached out to some people that know him. Nobody, at this point, seems to have any information indicating that Bjork might be headed back to CoMo. If that changes, certainly I will pass it on.
I get the feeling there's only one guy at Missouri who currently knows who the next AD is going to be. And Chancellor Loftin isn't telling me. I've spent most of the morning working as many sources as I can on this. If I get anything further today or over the weekend, I'll certainly pass it on. But, as you can tell by the coverage not just here, but from everyone that covers Mizzou, getting info on this is hardly easy.
This post was edited on 3/6 3:04 PM by GabeD
This post was edited on 3/6 1:09 PM by GabeD
This post was edited on 3/6 8:46 PM by GabeD
The only name I've heard more than once today is Houston AD Mack Rhoades. Rhoades is working on a contract extension with Houston (and may have even agreed to it), but it does seem, based on what I'm piecing together, that Mizzou has at least looked into Rhoades. I don't have a feel at this point for whether or not they have mutual interest, or whether he's the guy, but I do believe there has at least been some investigation. If you're interested, you can read a little bit about what Rhoades has done at Houston, which is pretty impressive just on its surface.
303 PM UPDATE--Checked with someone I know who covers Boise about Mark Coyle. He said, "I heard he was on their list, but was not the top candidate."
Take that for what it's worth. It is my opinion that Coyle isn't going to be the hire at this point in time.
First of all, I'm relatively confident at this point the Curator's meeting is to approve the contract of an athletic director. And I'm relatively confident as well that Missouri will have a new one named at some point next week.
--As posted in its own thread, Dave Matter is reporting that Mizzou approached Ole Miss AD Ross Bjork, but Bjork was not interested in the job.
R. Bowen Loftin told me on the day Alden resigned that he would lead the search and would take a name (or at least a short list) to Wolfe late in the process. But this always was going to be a one man search committee (yes, he enlisted a search firm, but as far as guys at Mizzou, Loftin is a committee of one). Whoever he takes to Wolfe and the curators will be approved.
I can tell you absolutely that Tim Wolfe isn't going to be the next AD at Missouri. It's a rumor that made the rounds that Wolfe wanted the job, but multiple people familiar with things are telling me they don't know how that gained any traction.
Dave Matter reported this morning that Jason Cook is out of the running.
I have reached out to Mark Alnutt asking if he is a candidate for the job. I have received no response. I may not. The only way I will is if Alnutt absolutely isn't a candidate and he tells me that. I've got a good relationship with Mark, so if he isn't in the mix, it's possible he tells me he isn't. But if he is in the mix (or even if he's the guy) he isn't going to tell me, I'm sure.
I posted a week ago I heard John Currie's name, the current AD at Kansas State. Talking to multiple people I know who tend to know things out of Manhattan, I've been told that Currie most definitely would be willing to move up. He's got big goals, like being a conference commissioner and beyond down the road. However, Currie's name doesn't seem to have a lot of traction at Mizzou.
I've posted the names Mark Coyle (Boise State AD) and Scott Barnes (Utah State AD) as ones I had heard mentioned. I believe those guys still are possibilities, though I have nothing confirming that either has interviewed or anything like that.
Some have discussed Ross Bjork. He worked at Mizzou for a while and is currently at Ole Miss. I reached out to some people that know him. Nobody, at this point, seems to have any information indicating that Bjork might be headed back to CoMo. If that changes, certainly I will pass it on.
I get the feeling there's only one guy at Missouri who currently knows who the next AD is going to be. And Chancellor Loftin isn't telling me. I've spent most of the morning working as many sources as I can on this. If I get anything further today or over the weekend, I'll certainly pass it on. But, as you can tell by the coverage not just here, but from everyone that covers Mizzou, getting info on this is hardly easy.
This post was edited on 3/6 3:04 PM by GabeD
This post was edited on 3/6 1:09 PM by GabeD
This post was edited on 3/6 8:46 PM by GabeD
