43
Nothing imminent in YSU coach chase
By Joe Scalzo
YOUNGSTOWN
It’s been 17 days since Youngs-town State University fired head football coach Eric Wolford and the Penguins still haven’t hired Bo Pelini — or anyone else — to replace him.
“No white smoke,” a YSU source joked Wednesday night.
Pelini, a Cardinal Mooney High graduate who was fired last month after seven seasons at Nebraska, reportedly was set to join the Penguins this week but a YSU source said, “at best, that’s a long shot. I don’t expect that to happen.”
On Tuesday night, FootballScoop.com reported that Pelini was expected to accept a forthcoming job offer from the Penguins as early as today. Though YSU has repeatedly disputed that report, the school is still interested in Pelini, who has never played or coached at the Football Championship Subdivision level and is expected to have several Football Bowl Subdivision options elsewhere, either as a head coach or a defensive coordinator.
His buyout from Nebraska calls for him to make $150,000 a month for the next 51 months, with that salary offset by whatever he makes at his next job. Wolford made about $260,000 last year.
One previously unknown candidate did emerge on Wednesday in Eastern Kentucky University coach Dean Hood, an Ashtabula native who spent seven years as the defensive coordinator at Wake Forest before getting hired by the Colonels in January 2008.
Hood is 49-33 in seven seasons at EKU, advancing to the playoffs three times and losing in the first round each time.
Neither Hood nor Pelini have returned calls seeking comment.
Former YSU offensive coordinator Brian Wright, who coached under Jon Heacock from 2001-09 and is now the offensive coordinator at Florida Atlantic, is also in the mix, the source said.
The Penguins are also looking at candidates from the Division II and III levels.
Although YSU was hoping to hire a coach by the end of this week, there’s no definite timetable.
“There’s nothing imminent right now,” the source said, “but that could change with the next phone call. That might sound crazy, but that’s where we’re at.”