Speculation abounds in UI search

MOSCOW — It’s been three weeks since Idaho announced the firing of football coach Paul Petrino after nine seasons.

Since then, the NCAA coaching carousel has been rotating at DEFCON 1.

Struggling USC stole Lincoln Riley from wildly successful Oklahoma, and LSU did the same with Notre Dame’s Brian Kelly, who replaced Mr. Louisiana himself, Ed Orgeron, in a couple of the biggest coaching moves in recent years.

In the FCS, Jacksonville State announced the bombshell hire of Rich Rodriguez, the former coach at West Virginia, Michigan and Arizona. Fellow Big Sky Conference schools Idaho State (Rob Phenicie) and Southern Utah (Demario Warren) also are in the market for new leaders.

In the midst of the chaos, FootballScoop.com reported earlier this week Montana assistant and Moscow native Brent Pease as the leading candidate to take over for the Vandals.

Sources confirmed Pease interviewed for the position, but other reports point to Pease not being the guy. Sports radio personality Johnny Mallory, who does a show on KTIK-FM (93.1) in Boise, said on social media he’s “hearing it’s 100 percent not Pease.” Former Vandal broadcaster Ryan Phillips said something similar, albeit with less certainty.

Idaho’s athletic department has stayed mum on updates to its coaching search, other than saying interviews are happening and it wants to go through a thorough process and make sure to do it right.

The department multiple times has declined to comment on how many candidates have been interviewed, where it’s at in the hiring process or when it hopes to make decision.

However, Vandal insider Brian Marceau of Tubs at the Club told the Tribune that 10 candidates interviewed for the job.

He reported sources confirming interviews of three other intriguing candidates, including New Orleans Saints running backs coach Joel Thomas, South Dakota State offensive coordinator Jason Eck and Sacramento State defensive coordinator Andy Thompson.

Of course, the hire still could be someone other than the four mentioned, but the names provide some food for thought.

Thomas, 47, is one of UI’s most beloved graduates. A 1998 alumnus, he still holds Vandal records in rushing yards (3,929) and rushing touchdowns (51). He was UI’s co-offensive coordinator and running backs coach in 2004-05 and has coached running backs with the Saints since 2015.

Pease, 57, is in the middle of an Football Championship Subdivision playoff run with Montana, where he’s held the position of assistant head coach and receivers coach since 2018. He was born in Moscow but grew up in Mountain Home, and has ties to the Gem State, the Pacific Northwest and beyond.

Some of his stops include offensive coordinator at Baylor (2003-05), multiple positions at Boise State (2006-11), OC at Florida (2012-13), wide receivers coach at Washington (2014-15) and offensive coordinator at UTEP (2016-17). However, Pease was fired from his last three stops before joining the Griz.

Eck and Thompson are coordinators who have seen big success at FCS programs.

Under Eck’s guidance, Jackrabbits running back Pierre Strong leads the FCS in rushing yards with 1,575. SDSU averages 37.7 points per game, No. 8 in the FCS, and currently is in quarterfinal round.

Thompson has been with the fast-rising Hornets since 2019 and in his first season as defensive coordinator, he chopped off 132 yards allowed per game — a significant improvement in just one season.

Speculating is fun, but Idaho athletic director Terry Gawlik is keeping the search close to the vest.

With the early signing period looming Wednesday, an official announcement probably will not be too far away.

Wiebe may be contacted at (208) 848-2260, swiebe@lmtribune.com or on Twitter @StephanSports.