Coach search heats up
Phones at MU ringing with calls from potential candidates

By DAVID WALSH - The Herald-Dispatch


Matt Hempel/The Herald-Dispatch

Larry Kueck begins his run as interim head football at Marshall University in earnest today. Spring practice begins at 3 p.m. at Joan C. Edwards Stadium.

HUNTINGTON -- Football coaches across America must be aware of the success Marshall football enjoyed under Coach Bobby Pruett the past nine years.

One day after Pruett’s surprise exit, Marshall athletic director Bob Marcum was bombarded with calls from candidates who want to be the Thundering Herd’s next head coach.

The position came open Wednesday morning when Pruett announced his decision to retire from coaching. During his tenure at his alma mater, the Herd compiled a 94-23 record with five Mid-American Conference championships and a5-2 bowl record.

"I’m getting resumes by e-mail and fax," Marcum said. "The phone hasn’t stopped ringing. Some calls are from agents who represent eight to 30 coaches."

Here is the candidate screening committee for the Marshall University head football coaching position announced by athletic director Bob Marcum:

Menis Ketchum: Vice chairman, Marshall University Board of Governors; chairman of the board’s Athletic Committee.

Robert Bookwalter: Marshall’s NCAA Faculty Athletics Representative.

Larry Tweel: President of the Big Green Scholarship Foundation.

Who will lead the Herd?

In addition to members of the Marshall football coaching staff, these coaches have been mentioned as possible replacements for Bobby Pruett, who retired as head coach on Wednesday.

• Mark Snyder, defensive coordinator, Ohio State: The 1988 Marshall graduate was both a player and coach with the Thundering Herd. Prior to his stint at Ohio State, the Ironton High School all-state selection previously coached at Minnesota, Marshall, Central Florida and Youngstown State.

• Mark Whipple, quarterbacks coach, Pittsburgh Steelers: With Marcum serving as UMass’ athletic director, Whipple led the Minutemen to the 1998 Division I-AA national championship. In six seasons, he posted a 49-25 record. Whipple joined the Steelers coaching staff in 2004.

• Tony Petersen, co-offensive coordinator, University of Minnesota: In six seasons with the Gophers, Petersen has directed one of the nation’s most prolific offenses. In 2003, Minnesota set a Big Ten record for total offense (6,340) and finished with the fourth-highest rushing total (3,759) and sixth-highest point total (503) in Big Ten history. Petersen, among Marshall’s all-time top quarterbacks, led the Herd to the 1987 national championship game.

• Jim Donnan, college football analyst, ESPN: Donnan coached Marshall to its first Division I-AA national championship in 1992. During his six-season tenure with the Thundering Herd (1990-1995), Donnan reached four national championship games. Donnan coached at Georgia prior to his current role with ESPN.

• Jim Grobe, head coach, Wake Forest: The Huntington High School graduate was a fellow assistant coach with Pruett under Sonny Randle. Grobe against Marshall at Ohio before assuming his current position in the ACC.

Larry Kueck, the Herd’s quarterback coach and offensive coordinator, will serve as interim head coach until a permanent replacement is named. He has said he will be a candidate for the job.

Marcum has formed a candidate screening committee. The three members are: Menis Ketchum, vice chair of the Marshall University Board of Governors and chair of the board’s Athletic Committee; Larry Tweel, president of the Big Green, and Dr. Robert Bookwalter, Marshall’s NCAA Faculty Athletics Representative.

The committee will whittle down the list of candidates. When they settle on a recommendation, they will forward a name to Marshall interim president Michael J. Farrell for the final decision.

Marcum said the main concern at the moment is spring practice. Spring drills begin today, and that’s why Kueck was elevated to the position.

"You take care of immediate things first," Marcum said. "Larry Kueck is the interim head coach. We didn’t want to do anything to distract from their objectives. It’s important to those young people, the coaching staff and coach Kueck.

"People will be able to see what Larry can do. That’s a good advantage. It’s not like he hasn’t coached some good people."

During Kueck’s two stints at Marshall, he coached NFL standouts Randy Moss and Byron Leftwich. Both were NFL first-round draft picks.

Marcum, who is no stranger to hiring coaches, said candidates usually fall into two categories: (1) The candidate is out to enhance the position he already has; and (2) The candidate really has a sincere interest to be a head coach, in this case at Marshall.

"I can weave my way through that," Marcum said.

Fans at schools usually cry for a high-profile name to land the position.

"What about the head coach we just had?" Marcum said. "He was not a head coach at the time."

Pruett was an assistant coach at Florida before he came to Marshall. Pruett replaced Jim Donnan, who served as an assistant coach at Oklahoma. Stan Parrish, who ended Marshall’s 18-year streak of losing seasons when he went 6-5 in 1984, left Wabash for the Herd. When Parrish left for Kansas State, George Chaump came in from Indiana University of Pennsylania.

"They all continued to do something to make the job better at Marshall," Marcum said. "Donnan did more and Pruett even more. He played entirely different opponents."

Pruett had non-conference games against the likes of Florida, Virginia Tech, Clemson, South Carolina, Georgia, Kansas State and Ohio State. This fall, Kansas State visits Marshall while the Herd travels to Virginia Tech again.

"What do I look for? An individual who will be good with x’s and o’s and the places he’s been," Marcum said. "The person’s caliber of experience is very important. Will he be the right fit for our environment?"

The 2004 season was Marshall’s last in the MAC. The Herd begins play in the 12-team Conference USA this fall. Marshall will be in the East Division with Central Florida, Memphis, Southern Mississippi, Alabama-Birmingham and East Caroline. West members are Tulsa, SMU, Rice, Houston, Texas-El Paso and Tulane.

C-USA has tie-ins with five bowl games.

"This is a good position and Conference USA presents a different challenge," Marcum said.

Sports reporter Anthony Hanshew contributed to this story