Gundy competing with Miles for next defensive coordinator?

By Scott Wright

I found it interesting that Mike Gundy gave himself a timetable for the hiring of a defensive coordinator, saying he hopes to have it done about 10 days after the bowl game. In case you’re scoring at home, that’s Jan. 9.

That tells me that he’s working through this process already. Maybe he isn’t taking every call from every potential candidate, but he’s calling back the ones he’s interested in.

I also find it interesting that he’s competing with his old boss for some of these candidates. Les Miles is in the market for a defensive coordinator at LSU as well. Former Auburn DC Paul Rhoads is among Miles’ targets, and he’s one of the best available.

As for the OSU opening, former New Mexico coach Rocky Long is becoming a hot commodity as one of the most highly regarded defensive coaches around. Washington is interested. So is UNLV. But OSU would be a better job than either of those. However, Long could be a candidate Gundy misses out on if he holds off too long.

Gundy speculated this week that he could promote someone internally. Obviously, the only candidates would be Joe DeForest or Glenn Spencer. If I had to guess, DeForest probably gets the first look because he’s been around the longest, he stayed loyal to Gundy when Miles left, and he has worked in some capacity as a coordinator at OSU, albeit special teams.