The College Football Hall of Fame dinner is Tuesday night in New York, and thus the Big Apple is the epicenter of the college football universe this week. With a zillion hotels and zero college football culture, nowhere on earth can a college football program conduct interviews under the cloak of anonymity better than New York.
As such, Georgia Tech plans to conduct a round of interviews this week to find Paul Johnson's replacement. Source tells FootballScoop Stansbury is expected to hire a coach who will guide Georgia Tech away from the triple option.
As has been widely reported, Ken Whisenhunt has already interviewed. The Chargers offensive coordinator and former Cardinals and Titans head coach hasn't coached in the college game since a 2-year stint at Vanderbilt in 1995-96, but he's not only a Georgia Tech alum but a former Yellow Jackets teammate of Georgia Tech AD Todd Stansbury.
Other candidates that have been mentioned by sources are Clemson co-offensive coordinator Tony Elliott and Temple head coach Geoff Collins.
Elliott has never been a head coach before, but has been a key ingredient in Clemson's rise and won the Broyles Award as the nation's top assistant coach in 2017. In addition to serving as a shot across the bow at a division rival, Elliott has another intangible to offer Georgia Tech in that he's an actual, card-carrying engineer; he holds a degree in industrial engineering and worked for Michelin before leaving a prominent career behind to become South Carolina State's wide receivers coach in 2006.
Collins has gone 15-10 in two seasons as Temple's head coach, and prior to that coordinated defenses at Mississippi State and Florida. The 47-year-old is a native of Conyers, Ga., a short drive east of Atlanta.
App State head coach Scott Satterfield might wind up Louisville's head coach before the end of the day but if he doesn't, seems like Georgia Tech would be crazy not to visit with Satt to explore the fit. Satterfield is 51-24 in six seasons as Appalachian State's head coach, including a 29-9 mark with three Sun Belt championships in his last three seasons.
Additionally, we were hearing buzz among SEC coaches that Gus Malzahn may be involved in the Georgia Tech search. We are not able to confirm whether talks took place or whether talks will take place in the future, but reports emerged Sunday that Malzahn told his staff he plans to return to Auburn in 2019.
There is significant interest in this job among the coaching community, so expect other candidates to emerge as this search develops. Georgia Tech offers a strong degree and is located smack dab in the middle of one of the most talent-rich, football-crazed metro areas in the country.
As always, stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.