With the shocking news earlier Sunday that Ohio St. Buckeyes head coach Jim Tressel resigned, one of the best college football jobs in America just opened up.
Will Kyle Whittingham be a candidate when the 2011 season comes to a close?
Well probably not. I'm guessing the first person Gene Smith calls is former Utah head coach Urban Meyer - who resigned as Florida's coach last year.
If Meyer is itching to get back into the game, I see no reason why he wouldn't accept the Buckeyes' position. You know, with it being his dream job after all.
Then again, the Buckeyes are probably going to be levied with major sanctions and the next guy who steps in will most likely have a rebuilding project on his hand. For Meyer, a guy who supposedly backed out of his comfortable job coaching in the talent-rich state of Florida because of stress, the potential of an over-scrutinized rebuild at a program where the fans aren't exactly thrilled the last coach was forced to resign might not be the most ideal situation.
You wouldn't blame him if he deferred to a sacrificial lamb - say, Kyle Whittingham?
Of course I doubt Meyer, who is best buddies with Whittingham, would push Whittingham to take the job expecting him to fail. But that might not stop Ohio State from giving him a look.
It's all way too speculative right now, so I'm not too worried. But if Whittingham leads Utah to a surprisingly good season in the Pac-12 this year, I would be very surprised if his name did not come up to replace interim head coach Luke Fickel.
But we'll see...