Making the morning rounds.
? Why don't you stay a while? Houston has removed the "interim" tag from head coach Tony Levine's title, anointing Levine as the full-time successor to Texas A&M-bound Kevin Sumlin. I'll wait a few seconds while you Google Yahoo! the name "Tony Levine." It's OK: Just about everyone reporting on Levine's promotion outside of Cougar beat writers had to look him up, too.
In fact, not only has Levine never been a head coach: He's never been an offensive or defensive coordinator on any level, toiling for most of his career ? including three years on Bobby Petrino's staff at Louisville and two with the Carolina Panthers ?�as a special teams coach. At Houston, he's spent the last four years under Sumlin coaching special teams, tight ends and outside wide receivers. Now, he inherits a team that loses both the coach (Sumlin) and the prolific quarterback (Case Keenum) who have guided the Cougars to 35 wins over the last four years, just as it's preparing to take a step up in class from Conference USA to the Big East in 2013. The natives are not impressed.
"Before we began this process, we talked about the characteristics we wanted in the leader of our football program, and Tony embodies each of those qualities," athletic director Mack Rhoades said Wednesday night. "We spoke with former players, current student-athletes, and interviewed some of the top football coaches in the country, and all of our talks led us right back to�Tony." [Houston Chronicle, Houston's Clear Thinkers]
Asked if any Bulldogs coaches knew TCU's signals, Louisiana Tech spokesman Patrick Walsh shrugged it off. "Of course not," he said. "If they have the same signals as 10 years ago, they're not doing their job." [San Diego Union Tribune]
? You're a Meyer man now. As expected, Urban Meyer has officially tapped veteran Everett Withers as his new defensive coordinator at Ohio State, fresh from Withers' season-long stint as interim head coach at North Carolina. Withers' first three years in Chapel Hill produced seven NFL draft picks ? the current Tar Heel defense will produce at least three more next April ?�most of them from the defensive line. And if there's one thing the Buckeyes are going to have over the next few years, it's a surplus of hyped defensive linemen.
Ohio State also confirmed that linebackers coach Mike Vrabel�will remain on the staff with his bro Luke Fickell, though neither Vrabel nor Fickell has been assigned a title. [ohiostatebuckeyes.com]
? Bruins on ice. UCLA has ruled out four players for next week's trip to the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl in San Francisco, including backup quarterback Richard Brehaut, who was suspended for (altogether now) an undisclosed violation of team rules. Offensive lineman Albert Cid, linebacker Isaiah Bowens and safety Tony Dye have been ruled academically ineligible. Of the four, only Cid was expected to start or play significantly against Illinois. [Los Angeles Times]
FSU coach Jimbo Fisher also confirmed Wednesday that freshman linebacker Arrington Jenkins and senior cornerback Avis Commack won't be with the team "in any way, shape" until their standing felony theft charges are resolved. [South Florida Sun-Sentinel]
Quickly? Gene Chizik may not settle on Auburn's new coordinators until after the new year. ? Maryland's starting left tackle will finish his career at Rutgers. ? A handful of fans sing "Happy Birthday" to Joe Paterno. ? Casey Pachall flashes a little school spirit. ? Steve Spurrier forgets about Skip Holtz. ? And the Wall Street Journal calls Iowa "The Harvard of Coaching," which I guess makes Hayden Fry the Charles William Eliot of football.
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Matt Hinton is on Facebook and Twitter: Follow him @DrSaturday.
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