Just updated our hot board to reflect what I posted in today's INsider:

After offering Gino, Brown, Hitsch, and Tressel spots on his Wisconsin staff last week, Coach Fickell has started his second round of contacting the remaining UC staffers, but unlike when Dantonio was pressuring Narduzzi to go to Michigan State, Fick is showing more patience for the guys he wants.

Coombs will have plenty of options, but I think he’d like to stay in Cincinnati if possible. Walt Stewart will also have plenty of options, but I know he’d also like to remain at UC.

I called a staffer that worked under Butch Jones at UC today. He was effusive in his praise for Walt Stewart. I’ve heard Pat Fitzgerald at Northwestern is also hoping to add Stewart to his staff.

My call to the former UC staffer (to my surprise) said many coaching changes these days are done without the incoming head coach ever stepping foot on the new campus. We are seeing in this coaching search that the interviews are done on zoom, and I guess it’s not a stretch to think facilities can be highlighted remotely as well.

As I wrote in another thread, I’m really not concerned about UC’s ‘23 class. They’ll keep the kids that don’t have a more attractive offer, and the kids that really love UC. There could also be some additions the new coach might be able to bring. The more important additions will come from the transfer portal. Even though UC will probably lose most of their top recruits, the top rated kids don’t always work out, and the UC kids that love being a Bearcat, are the people that have built this program.

UC is entering the toughest football conference in its long history, and there were going to be some growing pains even if Fick had stayed. With this current scenario of a coaching change coupled with the early signing date, those growing pains will be even more pronounced so be prepared.

I’m convinced the lack of money in the NIL collective is an issue so if you contribute any money to the group CincyReigns, https://cincyreigns.org/ it is probably the best thing you can do to help the program. I made my contribution on Friday.

My additional advice for fans is to stay positive! It is counterproductive to go on social media and complain about your coach, and some UC are already doing just that.

I see some new members here, and I appreciate it since I signed up for a year after my subscription to Bearcat Journal ended, and I prefer smaller more civil discussion than dealing with emotional, out-of-control fans that I’ve seen elsewhere. And I hear from fans that feel the same way. Word of mouth is a powerful way to spread Bearcat Report’s mission. I’m here for another 11 months, even though I’m not a staffer, I’ll be posting mostly here as soon as the Coach search is over. Right now, I want to stay on Twitter and do what little bit I can to rally people for UC football.

Finally, please post as much as possible. It gives the site life, and I can assure you that no one is going to be rude- certainly not Sam, Jason or me. Message boards are only as good as the members who post.

Tim

We already knew thanks to earlier reports, but UC confirmed in the Fenway Bowl vs Louisville for the Keg of Nails.

We'll know for certain on Sunday when bowl matchups are revealed, but Justin Williams of The Athletic was first to report today that UC is expected to head to the Fenway Bowl, where it will play Louisville:
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Good Sunday morning everyone! Wow! This has been an insanely interesting coaching search to cover. I appreciate all the discussion on the thread I started yesterday. I've absolutely loved hearing everyone's take and the healthy banter that ensued. We all want to know who the coach will be. And I can tell you we're exhausting all our resources to try to nail things down. As has been pointed put, John Cunningham has absolutely put a lid on this, which in this day and age, is absolutely admirable. It is incredibly hard to do that anywhere. So, below is our latest updates on what we're hearing. And again, Sam will add here as he sees fit, but everyone is absolutely welcome to chime in. Love the discussion!

*I can corroborate Justin Williams' report that Gino Guidugli has been told he will not get the job and will head to Wisconsin to join Luke Fickell's staff there. So as far as internal candidates to stay, honestly, whoever the new coach will basically have Walter Stewart and Kerry Coombs to work with. Pretty much everyone else is headed to Wisconsin. Either or both would be good to keep on board. But either way, I expect quite a bit of player turnover, as much as staff here.

**The three new names I'm hearing chatter on are TCU offensive coordinator Garrett Riley, Troy coach Jon Sumrall and Buffalo coach Mo Linguist. These are three very different scenarios and none have the natural tie to Cincinnati or Ohio like the other candidates. But I'll go into each.

***First off, Sean Lewis is still in play, though again, my same source that's close to him has told me that as of about 7 pm last night, he had not been offered the job and was still waiting to hear back from Cunningham. Of course, this also means he hasn't been told he's NOT getting the job. So I think Lewis has to remain in play here.

****Our friend Tim Adams threw out Riley's name here and I've gotten back conflicting reports here. It does sound like there's some smoke with Riley, just not sure how much. I had one source tell me Riley is very interested, but couldn't confirm whether or not he was on the plane spotted at Lunken Airport that arrived from Arlington yesterday. But then I had another Rivals source reach out to some coaches and was told by one coach that they absolutely couldn't see it because he has no experience in the region. BUUUT, UC will almost certainly have to recruit Texas more, playing four Texas schools on a regular basis, so that's not necessarily a detriment. Yes, Riley would have to recruit Ohio, Michigan and Kentucky, but he can hire assistants who know those areas well. Remember, the head coach doesn't usually go out recruiting a ton himself. That falls largely to the assistants. The head coach comes in to support the assistants. So I think Riley is definitely in play here. He's the one of the four names here, however, without head coaching experience.

*****I honestly have heard less on Sumrall and Linguist. But I have heard their names mentioned here, so I think each has to be in play. I don't believe Sumrall has had any on-campus visit, so of these four, I'd put him at least likely. And I really can't confirm a ton here with him, other than I do believe he's in play, based on what I'm hearing.

******Linguist I also have not heard a ton on. But aside from others reporting he's an option, I have heard his name. I first heard it Friday after Buffalo's game, but it was just from one source, so I didn't think a ton of it. But his name came up again last night, when I was trying to figure out where UC goes after Alex Golesh agreed to go to South Florida. I can tell you Golesh was never offered the job at UC and I think felt that he didn't want to pass a sure thing at USF for the potential of getting UC. I can get that.


Sooooooo, I'll update the hot board as well, but it sounds like we've got four (five if you count Coombs, though I don't expect him to be the guy). Updates here throughout the day when available, as an announcement could come as soon as later today.

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Good Saturday morning! Wanted to put up today's post before my kids wake up and it's still quiet in my house. That won't last long. We've got a visit to see one of Santa's helpers on tap...

*I'm fully aware of the word last night about Alex Golesh, that he was the guy. Yes, that report was premature. But it's still not out of play. I can confirm through multiple sources that Golesh has already interviewed on campus and I think that's partly where those reports stem from. It happens. Remember, unless you're Golesh or John Cunningham themselves, every info you get will at least be second-hand. And in coaching searches, it's usually, third, fourth or fifth-hand. It's why I do my best to check and double check any info I get, to verify as best as I can whether or not what a source tells me is true. So far now, that report might be premature, but it also might not be totally false.

**While Gino Guidugli is technically still in this, we're basically down to a top-two of Golesh and Sean Lewis. Players and alumni continue to lobby for Guidugli, as they should. He's a UC guy, played and coached for the Bearcats, is from Fort Thomas, I mean, he's a likable guy. But it just sounds like he's a backup at this point. That's no slight to him, he just doesn't have the experience that the other two have and it sounds like Cunningham doesn't want to go with an internal candidate. As with everything else, that could always change.

***One very, very good source confirmed what I had heard from another source, that as of early last night, Lewis had not heard one way or the other on whether or not he got the job. He's waiting like everyone else is. If a coach was hired, you'd let the other candidates know. Lewis could still be the guy, but while we heard all about him being the front-runner all week, that's definitely shifted.

****LOTS of breadcrumbs continue to lead towards Golesh as being the guy. But I haven't heard enough to definitively confirm that just yet. I can tell you that I have a couple of really good sources who regularly communicate with Golesh, who told me he hasn't responded to them, which also gives me reason to think he's the front-runner. But again, I'm not putting anything outside of here to suggest that, because I just don't have enough to confirm it.

Sam can add anything here, but know we're tapping into all our sources to deliver the best news. If we're first and break the hire, great. But we won't make a report unless we feel like we know pretty darn well. So there's a chance that even though we feel like we've had a good pulse on the search, we won't be first. That's out of our control.

More coming if and when available.

Our friend Clint Cosgrove caught up with Anderson for the latest:

This essentially echoes what I've been posting in our daily INsider updates. But wanted to provide a new hot board. Again, I list Coombs, but we're basically down to the other three candidates:

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Happy Friday everyone! Hard to believe we're already at the end of the week of this search. And as has been the case every day, there's more progression to go over. I'll have an updated hot board this afternoon.

*First off, it sounds like there could always be someone else who comes in at the 11th hour, but the search has really narrowed to three candidates: Sean Lewis, Alex Golesh and Gino Guidugli. From what sources have told me, Lewis remains the front-runner, but the other two aren't all that far behind. The goal is still to have a hire made by Sunday, the day after all the conference championships. Something could come out before Sunday, but unless we hit a snag, that's the day to circle as when we'll get word on John Cunningham's decision.

**Lewis again, remains the front-runner. I talked to an excellent source who's close to Lewis who told me, "It just too make sense for Sean, who’s an up and comer." My source talked about the recruiting footprint with UC being similar, the previous relationship with Cunningham and his head coaching experience. I agree, but you'd feel more comfortable making the jump UC is, to the Big 12, with someone who has head coaching experience. Not that the other two wouldn't be good, too, but Lewis provides more comfortability and stability. The other good quote my source told me was, "He’d be a knock it out the park hire in my opinion." So I know a lot of Bearcats fans have been down on Lewis, but the reviews from those in the industry have been nothing but positive. Kent State is a tough place to hire coaches to go to, a tough place to recruit and a tough place to win. There just haven't been that many winning seasons there, period.

***I'm told Cunningham is very intrigued by Guidugli. Apparently it's been more than he anticipated. And honestly, way more than I anticipated to start. But there have been multiple players lobbying for Guidugli, including Desmond Ridder in a tweet last night. Cunningham loves his experience at UC, his knowledge of the area and the program, how he developed guys like Ridder, but he just doesn't have head coaching experience. Years from now, Guidugli could be a guy to come back to. But there have been doubts he's ready to lead a team into the Big 12.

****The one guy who we know is in the mix, yet have heard the least about specifically is Golesh. We know that he's spoken with Cunningham, though have yet to confirm if it's only been by phone and Zoom. I have not confirmed that he's been on campus, but hope to do so today. We do know that he's still in contention and are working to find out more details.

As I've said all week, I'll let Sam add anything here and know that we're working diligently to track down the latest info. Cunningham has done his best to keep this under wraps, so most of what we're getting is piecing together INside sources, including info from agents and the coaches involved as well.

From our Rutgers site:

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Hey all and happy Thursday! We're still cranking along with UC's efforts to find its next head coach. Below is the latest:

*It sounds like all three coordinators (Mike Tressel, Gino Guidugli and Kerry Coombs) have all received interviews. I'll reiterate, but that's something we've been told all along, that all three would get some type of interview with AD John Cunningham, we just weren't sure if they would be formal or not. And honestly, I'm still not sure is these were conversational or formal interviews for the position, but they've all happened. Sam can add here, but we've been told Coombs interviewed yesterday and that it took two hours. Not sure what all that means, if it was just shooting the shit or talking specifics, but take that time for what it's worth. I did, for the first time yesterday, hear that there's a possibility Cunningham could suggest Coombs is retained, for some continuity. But not sure if Cunningham would insist that with whoever the new coach is or suggest it, but that sounds like a real possibility, should Coombs not get the job.

**Brian Hartline from Ohio State has also interviewed and as our friend Tim Adams said in a separate post, we too have heard that it went well. Not sure if it means well enough to surpass Kent State coach Sean Lewis, but Hartline has also become a real possibility. There's lots to like about Hartline, from his youth, ability to recruit and NFL experience. He doesn't have any head coaching experience, which would go against what I was originally told Cunningham was prioritizing, but I'm told Cunningham has taken a shine to him.

***Before I get too far away from the coordinators, it sounds like even though Gino Guidugli got an interview, that he's not a super strong possibility to get the job. And so I'd put it at 90% that he heads to Wisconsin as Luke Fickell's offensive coordinator. As has been reported elsewhere, Fickell already offered Gino a position there. And it sounds like that will happen.

****They're gonna wait until the coach at UC is announced, to keep some order and continuity, but I'm told Max Stienecker and Pat Lambert have accepted Fickell's offer to join him at Wisconsin and run that recruiting department. Big loss, but those are two very talented guys who have earned the opportunity they've accepted.

Again, Sam and I will add to this throughout the day as info comes in, but that's what I've got for now. Have a blessed day!

News broke last night, but I wanted to share the release this morning from the College Football Playoff:

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Hey all, things are really picking up with UC's search process on this Wednesday. I updated our coaching hot board, though I also need to add Gino Guidugli's name in there. I'll explain why in a moment.

*First off, Sam and I have both heard through multiple sources that Kent State coach Sean Lewis has emerged as the front-runner in this job search. He's already interviewed with John Cunningham for the position and as I explained on the hot board, he has a connection with Cunningham. They were both at Syracuse in 20015 and 2016, Lewis as co-offensive coordinator and Cunningham as associate AD. So there's familiarity, which ADs often time like. Lewis has also had some success at Kent State, which is a tough place to coach. Not the greatest resources there and not exactly a destination school for recruits. Again, I'm not going as far to say he's the guy because that hasn't been confirmed yet. But it's safe to say Lewis is in the top couple of candidates for the job.

**We've also confirmed that Gino Guidugli has been formally interviewed for the position by Cunningham. As I've said multiple times, including the hot board, I was told from the beginning that the UC coordinators would get some type of interview, just wasn't sure if that would be formal or not. And from the get-go, it didn't sound like Gino was a legit candidate, so I didn't add him on our first hot board. I'm still not sure how legit of a candidate Cunningham sees him. But I do know Cunningham has a lot of respect for Guidugli, Kerry Coombs and Mike Tressel. And I think he felt he owed them at least the opportunity to sit down and talk. I'll let Sam add here as well, but don't be surprised to see Gino on the Wisconsin staff with Fickell.

***It's weird, I haven't gotten any type of confirmation that he's even gotten an interview, but I continue to hear Alex Golesh's name brought up. The offensive coordinator at Tennessee, that makes perfect sense. Our friend Tim Adams mentioned in another post, that Cunningham is valuing offense in this search. Which would make perfect sense with Golesh. His Vols offense has the top offense at the FBS level and had a Heisman candidate in Hendon Hooker until Hooker tore his ACL a few weeks ago.

****At the same time, it's gone pretty cold on Jesse Minter at Michigan. That's a defense-minded guy, so if offense is the top priority, it stands to reason why Minter hasn't gained a lot of traction. Still, I haven't heard enough to remove him from the hot board, so he's on there for now.

*****I noted on the hot board, but I did remove Urban Meyer and Mike Denbrock. It sounds like Meyer has no interest and I don't think Denbrock was ever contacted. I had thought that might be a possibility, but it seems like Cunningham had no interest.

That's all from me. Sam and I will post more updates here throughout the day if and when available.

Just wanted to pass along this blurb from national recruiting analyst Adam Friedman on a couple of UC commits:

It’s obviously early on here in Fickell’s departure…

However, after speaking with several Cincinnati commits, the consensus is that they are waiting to speak with their position coaches/recruiters. Obviously Fickell will take some coaches with him and almost definitely some recruits/current players.

Commits are in the unknown right now. A very tough situation for a program heading to the Big 12

Hey all, not a lot of coverage on this game, including lack of highlights as of this post. So I just stuck Wes Miller's post game presser on here:

A total of 13 Bearcats made the all conference team, while Ivan Pace Jr was named defensive player of the year and Mason Fletcher was named special teamer of the year. Release from UC:

Senior linebacker Ivan Pace Jr. nabbed Defensive Player of the Year honors and sophomore punter Mason Fletcher grabbed Special Teams Player of the Year accolades to lead 13 Cincinnati football players on the All-American Athletic Conference teams that were announced by the league on Wednesday.

Pace Jr. and Fletcher also were named to the All-AAC First Team, joining senior tight end Josh Whyle, senior defensive lineman Jowon Briggs, redshirt freshman defensive lineman Dontay Corleone and senior cornerback Ja’Quan Sheppard.

Snagging All-AAC Second Team honors were: junior wide receiver Tyler Scott, senior offensive tackle James Tunstall, senior safety Ja’Von Hicks and senior kicker Ryan Coe.

Earning honorable mention all-league were: senior cornerback Arquon Bush, redshirt sophomore offensive tackle Joe Huber and senior offensive lineman Dylan O’Quinn.

Pace Jr. is the second straight Bearcat to be named the AAC Defensive Player of the Year, joining Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner, who was the unanimous choice in 2021.

The Cincinnati native led the AAC in tackles (120), tackles for loss (19.5) and ranked second in sacks (9.0). He is a finalist for the Butkus Award, given to the nation’s top linebacker, and the Bednarik Award, given to the nation’s top overall defender.

Fletcher is the first Bearcat to win the AAC’s Special Team Player of the Year award. He is a finalist for the Ray Guy Award, given to the nation’s top punter, and ranks fourth nationally in average (46.7). He set the AAC record with an 84-yard punt at SMU earlier this season.

Whyle becomes a three-time all-conference selection, earning honorable mention in 2021 and second team honors in 2020. He finished with 32 receptions for 326 yards and three scores in 2022, while also proving to be a devastating blocker. He set the UC record for career touchdowns by a tight end with 15.

Briggs, Corleone and Sheppard are First Team selections for the first time, having stepped up in more prominent roles this season.

Briggs and Corleone rotated at nose tackle. Briggs had 58 tackles, 4.5 TFLs, three sacks and five hurries this fall, while Corleone tallied 45 tackles, 5.5 TFLs, three sacks and two forced fumbles.

Sheppard ranked second in the league in pass breakups (10) and finished with 50 tackles and 4.5 TFLs, while starting all 12 games at boundary cornerback after replacing Gardner.

Hicks and O’Quinn wrap up their careers as two-time all-league selections, as well.

AAC RoofClaim Defensive Player of the Year: LB Ivan Pace Jr.

AAC Special Teams Player of the Year: P Mason Fletcher

All-AAC First Team

TE Josh Whyle (3x all-league)

LB Ivan Pace Jr.

DT Jowon Briggs

DT Dontay Corleone

CB Ja’Quan Sheppard

P Mason Fletcher


All-AAC Second Team

WR Tyler Scott

OT James Tunstall

S Ja’Von Hicks (2x all-league)

K Ryan Coe


All-AAC Honorable Mention

CB Arquon Bush

OT Joe Huber

OL Dylan O’Quinn (2x all-league)



Mike Tressel named AFCA Assistant Coach of the Year

Defensive coordinator Mike Tressel was named AFCA Assistant Coach of the Year on Tuesday. Tressel, a 27-year veteran of the coaching profession, has served as the Bearcats’ defensive coordinator for the last two years, helping leading UC to a 22-4 record, an AAC Championship and an appearance in the College Football Playoff.

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Sean Lewis emerging as a candidate per sources… was at Syracuse as a Co-OC while Cunningham was an associate AD. He’s a young, energized coach with experience recruiting Ohio. Long way to the finish line but don’t doubt MAC coaches abilities to jump to the next level

Just after this I followed up with a source within the MAC who said Lewis has interviewed with Cincinnati.

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Good morning Bearcats! Nothing super definitive, but wanted to post the latest on this Tuesday morning.

*The most definitive thing I'm told is that the plan to have a coach in place by the end of the week is still the goal. Which, if anything, that should eliminate any coaches from the teams playing in championship games this weekend. And if we don't have a hire in place by the end of the week, that could signal a shift to a candidate from one of those teams. If that were to happen, the top candidates from those teams are Jesse Minter at Michigan and Garrett Riley at TCU. The latter is especially intriguing. Riley is a Texas guy, has lived most of his life there and coached mostly there. No real ties to Ohio or the midwest. BUT, since UC is headed to the Big 12, the thought is that the Bearcats will recruit more in Texas, with four Big 12 schools there. That makes Riley more of a possibility.

**The name I've heard the most mentioned with sources talking about UC is Alex Golesh. I'll be shocked if he isn't in town today or tomorrow to interview, based on what I've heard. There's some real fear from the Vol side that Golesh is very interested as well. I'll let Sam add here as he gathers intel, but Golesh is a very, very intriguing candidate. As you can see from my hot board, he grew up in Ohio and graduated from Ohio State. And Tennessee had a very prolific offense this season. Against the teams UC will see in the Big 12, points are a premium.

More info coming when available.

Miller, Lahkin and Nolley talked ahead of UC's game tomorrow with NJIT:

Mason Fletcher getting recognized again, this time as a finalist. Release from UC:

Cincinnati sophomore punter Mason Fletcher was announced on Tuesday as one of three finalists for the Ray Guy Award, given annually to college football’s top punter.

Fletcher, a native of Melbourne, Australia, is joined by Rutgers’ Adam Korsak and Michigan State’s Bryce Baringer as finalists.

The winner will be announced on the 32nd annual The Home Depot College Football Awards on Dec. 8 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. ET on ESPN.

Fletcher ranks fourth nationally in average (46.7) and the Bearcats’ net average of 44.69 sits second-best in the country. He has boomed 28 punts inside the 20 and sent 14 at least 50 yards with only two touchbacks in 55 attempts.

Fletcher is a two-time AAC Special Teams Player of the Week and was selected as the Ray Guy National Punter of the Week earlier this season.

He shattered UC and AAC records at SMU last month. Fletcher booted an incredible 84-yard punt in the first quarter against the Mustangs, breaking the 46-year-old Cincinnati record by six yards as well as the AAC record by five yards. The previous UC mark of 78 yards was set by Mike Connell in 1976.

Fletcher sent each of his three punts at least 50 yards with two dropping inside the 20-yard line versus SMU. His 65.0 average also shattered the UC and AAC marks, and remains the best single-game average in college football in 2022. Current Cincinnati Bengals punter Kevin Huber held the old UC mark of 58.7 – set in 2007.

He is the third Bearcat to be named a finalist for the prestigious punting award, joining Kevin Huber (2008) and James Smith (2018).

Fletcher is looking to join Coby Bryant (2021 Jim Thorpe Award) and Jonathan Ruffin (2000 Lou Groza Award) as national award winners for Cincinnati.

Release this morning from UC:

Cincinnati senior linebacker Ivan Pace Jr. was named one of three finalists on Tuesday for the Chuck Bednarik Award, given to the nation’s top defensive player.

The winner will be announced on the 32nd annual The Home Depot College Football Awards on Dec. 8 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. ET on ESPN.

Pace Jr., who starred at Colerain High School in Cincinnati, tallied 120 tackles to go along with 19.5 TFLs and 9.0 sacks in 2022, while leading a defense that ranked fifth nationally in yards per play allowed (4.52).

His 19.5 TFLs rank third in the nation, while his 120 stops are seventh-most in the country and his nine sacks sit 14th.

He is the nation’s second-highest-graded defensive player according to Pro Football Focus (93.1), and a finalist for the Butkus Award, given to the nation’s top linebacker.

He collected National Linebacker of the Month honors from the Butkus in October.

Pace Jr. was named a Midseason All-American by the Associated Press, ESPN, The Athletic and Pro Football Focus.

In Week 4, he was outstanding against Indiana, tallying 15 tackles, 4.5 TFLs (fifth-most in UC history), 2.5 sacks and three QB hurries en route to AAC Defensive Player of the Week, Bednarik National Player of the Week and PFF Defensive Player of the Week honors.

He is a two-time PFF National Team of the Week honoree and two-time member of the AAC Weekly Honor Roll.

Pace Jr. finished 10th in the nation with 125 tackles in 2021 while playing for Miami (Ohio). He had six sacks in a game for the Redhawks against Akron in 2019, as well.



Pace Jr. is looking to join Coby Bryant (2021 Jim Thorpe Award) and Jonathan Ruffin (2000 Lou Groza Award) as national award winners for Cincinnati.

The former Cincinnati WR commit details his decision to reopen his recruiting process, says the Bearcats are still an option, talks new schools involved, and more