I am throwing out a new list of candidates for the Texas job.
Art Briles - Baylor, David Shaw - Stanford, Charlie Strong - Louisville, Mark Helfrich - Oregon, Gus Malzahn - Auburn, Mark Dantonio - Michigan State, Gary Pinkel - Missouri
Most qualified and favorite of the ESPN analyst: Charlie Strong. His team has been strong on defense and offense. Of course, he has one of the best quarterbacks in the nation, but still he evidently has some thoughts on offense. Possibly, because he is a strong (no pun intended) defensive coach, he understands the offensive strategy. He is the best fit for a new coach hire, but if things do not go smoothly at Texas, the fans would be quick to get down on him in that State. Best choice in my opinion, but maybe not at Texas.
The next best candidate appears to be Mark Dantonio of Michigan State. You win championships with defense, and his team is one of the best defensive teams in the nation. He also has a pretty good offense. He is probably the next best choice, but his team is not through with the bowl games.
Art Briles of Baylor has a high octane offensive mind and system which makes him valuable, but his defensive team was questionable with a weak schedule. However, Baylor plays the teams in that area, and he would have an advantage in recruiting Texas. Briles is a good candidate for a sleeper.
David Shaw of Stanford runs an offensive system which relies on the run and the pass mixed pretty equally which is a good thing if you can recruit the great players. Texas has a huge base of recruits from which to choose, but his defense is only soso. A possible candidate, but his qualifications may be iffy, because he already has a strong recruiting base in California and around the nation. A candidate, but maybe some questions to be answered.
Mark Helfrich of Oregon would also be a candidate if you wanted to outscore your opponents, but his defensive teams are not the best. His teams are high powered, but he had several outstanding quarterbacks in his tenure at Oregon. How will he do if he does not get a superb quarterback to run the show if his defense is not up to par. A candidate, but defense and questionable results without a great quarterback leaves a few questions.
The last one is Gus malzahn. His team is also up-tempo, and he is known as an offensive genius, but his defense was not very good this past year. He won two games on miracles, and he was close on some of the other games. Of course, the glitter of the wins and his appearing in the championship game probably makes him a candidate. However, at closer research into this years team and its near misses, it could leave some doubt of his validity as the front runner. Actually, I have him as the last choice, so I will probably be wrong and Texas will choose him. He supposedly has a contract extension with Auburn, but there is some questions as to the validity of his signature on the contract.
It appears Jimbo Fisher is now out of the picture.
Texas may be waiting until the bowl games are over, especially if some of these coaches have yet to play their bowl games.
