Bidding war for Tom Herman could impact coaching searches across college football – Yahoo Sports

LSU played its final regular-season football game Thursday night. Houston and North Carolina played theirs at noon ET Friday. Texas had its finale at 3:30 ET.

As those games finished, more schools will start to lay their cards on the table in a high-stakes game of coaching poker.

Thanksgiving night certainly upped the ante. There were various media reports that Houston coach Tom Herman had become the primary target at LSU, which may have moved on from Florida State’s Jimbo Fisher. However, sources have told Yahoo Sports that Texas remains a strong option for Herman – if indeed the administration fires current coach Charlie Strong, who was left twisting all week amid reports that the school already had decided to dismiss him.

The Baton Rouge Advocate is reporting that the LSU coaching search is down to two names: Herman and interim coach Ed Orgeron. If the school cannot land Herman, Orgeron is considered the fallback choice.

A potential bidding war between two power programs over Herman would affect the rest of the coaching landscape throughout college football.

Baylor, for instance, had been hoping for a shot at Herman – who was hired for his first head-coaching job at Houston by current Baylor athletic director Mack Rhoades. But that was before Herman raised his stock another notch by blowing out Louisville last week, and before Strong and LSU interim coach Ed Orgeron were upset by Kansas and Florida, respectively.

That changed the marketplace, and not in Baylor’s favor.

With Herman likely headed to either Austin or Baton Rouge, sources told Yahoo Sports that North Carolina coach Larry Fedora is a prime target for Baylor, where he once worked as a graduate assistant and still has friends and supporters.

“Expect [Baylor] to get going Friday,” one source told Yahoo Sports earlier this week.

There are others on Baylor’s list, though, including California coach Sonny Dykes and SMU’s Chad Morris. Other candidates could emerge, depending on what happens elsewhere.

Fedora could be a second-tier candidate at LSU or Texas, whichever school loses the Herman Sweepstakes. Or he could be a prominent candidate at Texas A&M, should the school part ways with Kevin Sumlin.

Sumlin has a massive buyout, and it would cost a considerable sum to buy out his staff as well. But this marks the fourth straight year of failing to replicate the success of his 11-2 debut season at A&M, when Johnny Manziel won the Heisman Trophy. The current Aggies are 8-4 after a 6-0 start, following seasons of 8-5 last year, 8-5 in 2014 and 9-4 in 2013.

Sumlin’s November record the past three years is 5-7, just 2-7 in Southeastern Conference games.

Another portentous game Friday: Toledo at Western Michigan. Having led his team to an 11-0 record, the Broncos’ P.J. Fleck has options to consider.

And another program that finishes its season Friday and could make a change: Cincinnati, which plays at Tulsa at 8:30 p.m. ET. The Bearcats are a dismal 4-7 in their fourth season under Tommy Tuberville, with just one win in American Athletic Conference play.

If the 62-year-old Tuberville retires or is fired, expect Cincinnati to look for a candidate with offensive expertise to revive a program that has stopped being fun to watch (the Bearcats have scored a total of 26 points in their past four games, all losses). Western Kentucky’s Jeff Brohm, 27-10 in three seasons as head coach of the Hilltoppers, could be a strong candidate if Cincinnati opens.

More ripples will be created Saturday. Purdue will play its final game under interim coach Gerad Parker and appears to be well down the road toward its next hire, with speculation centering on former LSU coach Les Miles and Fleck. However, both those coaches may be watching what’s happening elsewhere and weighing all their options, while maintaining conversations with Purdue.

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