JMU Coaching Possibilities
Matt Jones, Publisher
A list of potential candidates for the vacant JMU head coaching job
HARRISONBURG — James Madison athletic director Jeff Bourne said last week that the school would be “quick” but “thorough” in its search for a new football coach.
The Dukes will have help, once again using the services of CarrSports Consulting to assist in the search. Speed in the process will be critical – national signing day is less than a month away.
The Dukes went off the radar to hire Everett Withers in 2013, one benefit of using a search firm. Bourne said that JMU will have no shortage of attractive candidates to pick from.
“I feel really good about where we are right now and I felt that way through the fall,” Bourne said. “You’re constantly getting a barometer on people interested in your program even when you don’t have an opening, but in the last day my phone locks down with people trying to say, ‘Yeah, I’m interested in being a JMU Duke.’ That’s a good thing.”
Whether JMU is looking for a coach with a background on the offensive or defensive side is unknown. Withers was making $580,000 at Ohio State as co-defensive coordinator before coming to Madison, but the Dukes became well-known for their high-powered offense during his two seasons.
Here are some potential candidates for the JMU job:
John DeFilippo: Cleveland Browns offensive coordinator
DeFilippo – a former James Madison quarterback – has spent most of his coaching career in the NFL with the Giants, Jets, Raiders and Browns. Now DeFilippo needs a new job – Cleveland head coach Mike Pettine was fired last week – and the 37-year-old is wasting no time trying to find one.
Cleveland.com reported that DeFilippo interviewed for the vacant head coaching position with the San Francisco 49ers and for the St. Louis Rams’ offensive coordinator job.
Despite the Browns' 3-13 record, DeFilippo’s pro-style offense produced some of the best statistics in team history. With a revolving door at quarterback – including the polarizing Johnny Manziel – the Browns threw for 4,155 yards, fourth-most in franchise history.
With his interest at an all-time high, it seems a longshot that DeFilippo – who expressed significant interest in the JMU opening two years ago – would go back to the college game.
Bobby Hauck: San Diego State special teams coordinator
Hauck, the former Montana coach, has plenty of FCS experience. Under his command, the Grizzlies won or shared seven straight Big Sky Conference championships, including a trip to the 2004 Division I-AA national championship game and the 2006 team to the I-AA semifinals.
His 2008 team defeated JMU 35-27 in Harrisonburg in the FCS semifinals.
Hauck left Montana in 2010 to become the head coach at UNLV. He was unsuccessful in his only FBS coaching stint, going 15-49 in five seasons at the helm. After resigning, he became the special teams coordinator at San Diego State in 2015.
His UNLV teams ran a pistol spread offense with limited success. The 51-year-old has extensive West Coast experience, but has never coached east of Colorado.
Rod Smith: University of Arizona co-offensive coordinator
The Franklin, W.Va., native did not get an interview last go around, despite the fact that he badly wanted the job.
The 42-year-old has been the co-offensive coordinator at Arizona under mentor Rich Rodriguez the past four years and previously had stops at Michigan and West Virginia.
This month, Smith turned down the offensive coordinator job at East Carolina. He makes $340,000 at Arizona, while JMU paid Withers $325,000.
Steve Spurrier Jr.: Former South Carolina co-offensive coordinator/wide receivers coach
Another coach currently looking for a job, Spurrier Jr. is the son of former South Carolina head coach Steve Spurrier, who stepped down in October.
Though he held the co-offensive coordinator title, Spurrier Jr. did not call plays for the Gamecocks. He was also the team’s recruiting coordinator.
South Carolina struggled in the mighty SEC in 2015, finishing 3-9. Offense was its main issue: the Gamecocks averaged 362.2 yards per game, 99th in FBS.
Spurrier Jr., 44, was part of the coaching staff under his father at Florida in the late 1990s, orchestrating the Fun-N-Gun offense before working under Bob Stoops at Oklahoma as receivers coach, winning a national championship in 2000.
Bryan Stinespring: Former Virginia Tech tight ends coach
A 1986 graduate of JMU, Stinespring was on former Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer’s staff since 1990. When Justin Fuente retained only one offensive assistant – receivers coach Zohn Burden – Stinespring was out of a job.
Stinespring was offensive coordinator for the Hokies from 2002 through 2012, but lost his play-calling duties to Mike O’Cain late in that time. When O’Cain was fired after the 2012 season, Stinespring was reassigned to tight ends coach, while remaining recruiting coordinator.
The 52-year-old is regarded as an ace recruiter in the state, mining the fertile Hampton Roads region for most of his tenure with the Hokies.
Mike Yurcich: Oklahoma State offensive coordinator
Yurcich was on the short-list of candidates to be the next coach at Tulane this offseason, but was passed over for the job, ultimately given to former Georgia State coach Willie Fritz.
Yurcich has experience at the lower levels of college football – he was offensive coordinator at Division II Shippensburg University in Pennsylvania prior to arriving in Stillwater, Okla., in 2013.
The 39-year-old would bring the same uptempo offense JMU fans have become accustomed to. Since Yurcich's hiring in 2013, the Cowboys have averaged 39.1 points per game, scored 40 or more points six times and 50 or more points four times.
Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy spoke to a group of reporters last month about Yurcich’s performance: “He is certainly is very intelligent and very creative. He has developed into what I would describe as a good teacher. He’s kind of a young and rising star in this profession.”
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