Now that Jeff Purinton has been hired as Florida State‘s athletic director, the Seminoles can start their search to find their next football coach. Purinton outlined several qualities he considers when evaluating coaches on Tuesday, and the Seminoles are expected to pursue a sitting head coach as they make a pivotal hire.
On3’s Pete Nakos appeared on the “Crain and Cone” show on Tuesday and said that he has been told that it sounds like Purinton is “going to take some big swings” in the head coaching search. While he did not have any specific candidates who fit that criteria, he did name several ACC head coaches who he thinks are potential candidates.
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He pointed out that Duke Blue Devils head coach Manny Diaz worked with Purinton at FSU back when they were first starting their careers. He also singled out Wake Forest head coach Jake Dickert as someone at the “top of the list” and said he will get “seriously looked at.”
Dickert is in just his second season at Wake Forest and has them in the running to make the College Football Playoffs after an 8-1 start to the season, with their only loss coming against the Miami Hurricanes. While he has never coached at a major school, he went 23-20 in four seasons at Washington State and is 17-5 at Wake Forest, despite having some of the fewest resources in the country.
Diaz is an FSU graduate and admitted that he addressed the rumors with his team last week, saying he is “really, really happy here.” He is 25-11 as Duke’s head coach and led them to an ACC Championship last season.
The final ACC head coach seems like a much longer shot, and that is SMU’s Rhett Lashlee, who Nakos said “will definitely get looked at.” While Lashlee has turned the Mustangs into one of the best programs in the ACC and they are well resourced, Nakos pointed to the difference between the brands of FSU and SMU.
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If FSU elects to go after some surprising candidates, they do have one big advantage. They are currently the top open job, and it is unclear if any other of their caliber will be open.
This article originally appeared on FSU Wire: FSU is expected to ‘take some big swings’ in head coach search
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