The coaching searches in college football are getting really interesting. We have been discussing the Tom O’Brien situation over at the blog on 850 the Buzz today, and the gang at State Fans Nation covered it as well. With this Tom O’Brien move to NC State, it’s going to create another BCS conference school without a coach. I thought I would take a minute and give you the rundown of the major openings, and what I think could happen here.

We’ll start with Tom O’Brien. On Wednesday the story broke that Tom O’Brien was NC State’s choice for the job of head football coach. Most of the chatter up until then was that Paul Johnson of Navy would be the main target. Turns out he wasn’t, and O’Brien was. This move will create another opening at BC, and it just struck me that Paul Johnson could wind up there.

Down in Tuscaloosa, the University of Alabama is also looking for a new head football coach. All signs are pointing towards Rich Rodriguez from West Virginia to be named the new coach in a matter of days. Thus, the West Virginia job will open up. Look for Jimbo Fisher to land on his feet here, after lobbying hard for the NC State job.

This brings us to Miami. There is a lot of clamour that Mike Leach at Texas Tech may be the next guy. I am not so sure. Something tells me that Nick Saban may wind up playing a role here, if the search extends long enough. So the longer this thing drags out, the better it could wind up being for the U. Why do I think this is a possibility? It is because Saban was reportedly a candidate for the Alabama job, but they didn’t want to wait for the NFL season to end so they removed him from consideration today. Thus, it’s known that Saban is at least considering jumping back into the college ranks. Seriously, what better place to do that than Miami?