Tracy Pierson from BruinReportOnline reports (free story)
Bruin Report Online has heard a reliable report that Randy Shannon, the former head coach of the Miami Hurricanes, has agreed to be UCLA's new defensive coordinator..
Randy Shannon, the former head coach and defensive coordinator of the Miami Hurricanes, looks to be UCLA's next defensive coordinator.
A source who is close to one of UCLA's recruits told us that a UCLA coach called the recruit last night and told him that the deal is done for Shannon, and just the contract needed to be signed.
Other recruits have also indicated they heard the same.
It was known that Shannon was on campus Sunday to meet with UCLA Head Coach Rick Neuheisel.
Nothing has been confirmed yet but there is certainly a sense of movement on this front yet. This will probably mean that Chris Foster from the LA Times will make a quick phone call to UCLA spokesperson to write a silly "non denial" denial "story."
As Patroclus blogged Shannon's arrival in Westwood will be "a mutually beneficial hire for Neuheisel and UCLA." We will updated this post if more details appear confirming Tracy's sources. May be we are finally heading towards what appears to be a positive conclusion of the coaching search saga in Westwood. Stay tuned.
Update - (gbruin): HT to LongtimeBru for linking Jon Gold's Inside UCLA blog that reports of Randy Shannon's hiring may be premature. From Gold:
Earlier this morning, Scout.com's Tracy Pierson reported that sources close to recruits have been told that Randy Shannon has been hired as UCLA's defensive coordinator.
Shannon, the former Miami head coach, interviewed for the position on Sunday, and at that point, I was told UCLA had more interviews planned for the following week.
I'm getting conflicting answers from sources; assorted players and parents have said they've heard the same, but a source very close to the program says that it's premature and that there are still more interviews to come.
We had heard of another potential big name interview yesterday, (besides Shannon), but this may be the first suggestion of other interviews to come. Both Pierson and Gold are quite reliable, so it remains to be seen which way this goes. Shannon seems to be a great hire if that is the case. If Neuheisel has legitimate options, that may be play well, but the clock is ticking... Stay tuned.
2nd Update (A): LarryBrownSports has a post up on Shannon detailing some contractual related issues that both sides need to work out. LBS also writes that UCLA could be interested in Jets' DL coach, a former Trojan, pro-bowler and Rick's coworker from Baltimore days - Mark Carrier. Pierson himself brought up the possibility few days ago on BruinReportOnline. This is not a surprise as Carrier has previously been on Rick's radar. While Carrier has solid qualifications, Shannon IMO would be the preferable choice.