ESPN’s Joe Schad is reporting Arkansas Razorbacks coach Bobby Petrino has signed a seven-year contract extension, removing him from the list of candidates for the Florida Gators job made available by Urban Meyer’s resignation. Petrino has twice before been considered for the Florida job, and was rumored to be near the top of the Gators list of candidates this time around.
So now what? If Mississippi St. Bulldogs coach Dan Mullen is still “absolutely committed” in Starkville, which would be put to a very serious test if Florida started waving Florida money around, two of the most prominent candidates would remain Louisville Cardinals head coach Charlie Strong, Meyer’s longtime defensive coordinator, and Boise St. Broncos head coach Chris Peterson. At the mothership Spencer Hall has downplayed the chances of Strong leaving Louisville and weighed Peterson’s SEC qualifications.
Vegas would add Oklahoma Sooners coach Bob Stoops and TCU Horned Frogs coach Gary Patterson to that list, among several others. Auburn Tigers offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn will be a rumored consideration for just about any job until he actually takes one, which he may be in the process of doing, but Florida isn’t going to hire a first-time head coach after the Ron Zook experiment.
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