Tarheels want Kragthorpe

[Okla-homey]

as reported in today's Tulsa World...



UNC interested in Kragthorpe
By ERIC BAILEY World Sports Writer
10/25/2006

The Fayetteville (N.C.) Observer reported in Tuesday's edition that Tulsa's Steve Kragthorpe is the leading candidate for the North Carolina head coaching job vacated by John Bunting earlier this week.

"Our top guy is at Tulsa," the Observer quoted a UNC source saying. "He was described to me as this year's Urban Meyer."

Following Tuesday night's practice, Kragthorpe said the North Carolina talk is "all conjecture and rumors" and he hasn't had any contact with UNC.

"The future for me is tomorrow and getting this team ready to play UTEP," Kragthorpe said.

Kragthorpe has received attention for other openings during the past 10 months. Last December, he issued a statement saying he wasn't interested in the Colorado vacancy. In January, the Dallas Cowboys approached him about becoming their passing game coordinator.

Kragthorpe has repeatedly said he likes Tulsa and plans to stay for a while. "It's a great place to live," Kragthorpe said. "It's a community that's embraced what we've been doing (as a football program)."

TU boosters started a "Keep Kragthorpe Campaign," last year, which has a goal of raising $500,000 annually over a three-year period. Reports show Kragthorpe's 2005 salary was around $438,000, which is probably higher now due to a six-year contract extension signed last summer.

Kragthorpe said the UNC talk "comes with the territory."

"People are probably saying that Paul Smith is the best player in the state of Oklahoma now that Adrian (Peterson) is out," Kragthorpe said. "People are saying he should be the starting quarterback at Oklahoma or Oklahoma State. People are saying I should be the head coach someplace else. . . . It's just rumors."

[Sooner_Bob]

That would be a step down for him IMO.

[OklahomaTuba]

Well, UNC could be a good place I guess. Beautiful area thats for sure.

But, thats not the job he takes. Its gonna be a really big job.

Dudes got it rolling at Tulsa right now, and I think he really appreciates the fact that Tulsa gave him this chance to prove himself, so he wants to re-pay the favor before moving on by putting Tulsa on a solid foundation in their new conference.

At least, thats what I have heard.

[mrowl]

thats not the job for him. Something bigger will open up.

[Mjcpr]

Like Miami?

[OklahomaTuba]

Whats great about Krag is his staff. Bunch of old school guys like Charlie Stubbs behind the scenes kicking some ***.

But what Krag can do with QBs is something else. Not that Paul Smith really needed that much work to begin with. Still have no idear why OU didn't come after him harder, being that he was a HUGE OU fan and his dad was an alum.

[OklahomaTuba]

Like Miami?

Nah, I don't see that being a fit for him at all.

Besides, they all want Butch back, in a great way.

[TheHumanAlphabet]

There are better fishes out there than UNC. That program has been the stepchild of Bball forever. Fans don't have a high interest in football, and I would say many fans in NC don't care much for football. That is a Bball area... I bet Kragthorpe could do better...But then, I'm not a coach and don't make $500K/year.

[sooneron]

scUM is going to need a former prison warden for a coach. This is a lateral step at best for Krag. You can win at NC, especially as screwed up as the acc is, but you'd still be second fiddle to roundball.

[bri]

Yeah, UNC would be a HUGE step backwards for Coach K. He's not gonna want to go anywhere that his football program will ALWAYS be an afterthought to hoops and soccer.

At least, I hope he's not. :D

[hurricane'bone]

If he goes to UNC, I'll punch him the junk before he leaves.

[soonerlaw]

Tulsa has always been a place where coaches come and make a name for themselves and then leave... but usually it's in basketball. Here's to hoping the golden hurricane can keep SK around for a while.

[MiccoMacey]

If he goes to UNC, I'll punch him the junk before he leaves.

My 15-month old is looking at me inquisitively, wondering why I'm laughing out loud. I wish I could explain this to her.

And, yeah...I'm right behind you in the junk-punching line. Although UNC is a great place to coach and a place where you CAN win (heck, Mack Brown went 11-1 a few years back), I hope he stays.

[umberto]

UNC will never be a strong football school again. Kragthorpe should wait for a better gig. You guys have any suggestions? I think maybe somewhere like Mississippi, where they have won before and football is king. They can't be satisfied with Carroll's flunky, especially after firing Cudcliffe after one losing season.

[Okla-homey]

I fear the call to Collie Station will be too difficult to resist in the end.

[umberto]

I fear the call to Collie Station will be too difficult to resist in the end.

So you think Man-Boobs is gone no matter what?

[Oldnslo]

Coach K could find himself in Collie Station or Los Angeles, depending on how things work out.

But I'd hate to see him go to UNC.

[umberto]

Does Kragthorpe have ties to any other schools?

[Okla-homey]

Does Kragthorpe have ties to any other schools?

I think he was an offensive coordinator at aTm for a while when they were pretty good. He grew up on the BYU campus where his pop was a coach. Thankfully, T. Boone has not come calling yet with a check for a bajillion dollars.

[hurricane'bone]

I could stomach him going to Collie Station, I would be happy for him if he went to LA, but I would punch him in the junk if he went to UNC.

Oh and Homes, I don't think he'd go to boones state

[OUstud]

Why would he be in LA...is Dorrell in trouble there? I thought they were kind of on the rise.

[yermom]

you know... this is probably a great time to be in the ACC with Miami and FSU playing like ***

[astro5169]

He should be offered a position as ofensive coordinator at OU. It would be a step up to all that have been mentioned.

[Taxman71]

NC wasn't a bad stepping stone for Mack. He got them to redo their facilities, then bolted before ever beating FSU.

[goingoneight]

Aggy's gonna be stuck with Fran forever!!! :D Nice job extending his contract aTm, let the sucking continue!

[yermom]

of course they could do something stupid when he loses to Texass again

i'm sure he'll have his hands full with Baylor this Saturday in Waco

he looks fairly safe this year though, at least right now at 7-1

[goingoneight]

of course they could do something stupid when he loses to Texass again

i'm sure he'll have his hands full with Baylor this Saturday in Waco

he looks fairly safe this year though, at least right now at 7-1

They'd be 4-4 if he hadn't played a Special Olympics Non-Conference schedule.

[yermom]

they needed some luck to be where they are too, even against the cupcakes they've played so far

[Oldnslo]

Why would he be in LA...is Dorrell in trouble there? I thought they were kind of on the rise.
Nonononono. SUC, if onePete heads back to the pros.

[goingoneight]

Nonononono. SUC, if onePete heads back to the pros.

I'll give him a bonus tree-fiddy to help him decide. :D

[yermom]

Nonononono. SUC, if onePete heads back to the pros.

i hadn't heard that this was being discussed

why would he want to leave the gig he has???

[birddog]

i didn't realize he was that hot of a coaching candidate. i don't get alot of tulsa info up here though.

[hurricane'bone]

i hadn't heard that this was being discussed

why would he want to leave the gig he has???


Yeah, possible location of Arizona. I think he'd leave for the money and to prove he could succeed at it

[bri]

i hadn't heard that this was being discussed

why would he want to leave the gig he has???

Good question. I mean, in the NFL you actually have to win to get championships.

[StoopTroup]

Penn State once Joe Paws pacemaker quits.

[Okla-homey]

New story this morning (10/26)



Hot commodity
By ERIC BAILEY World Sports Writer
10/26/2006

Steve Kragthorpe’s name has already come up for coaching vacancies this year, and the season isn’t even over. The Steve Kragthorpe coaching rumors have officially begun.

The fourth-year Tulsa coach has been named a strong candidate for the vacant University of North Carolina head coaching position by many media outlets near the Atlantic Coast Conference school.

TU fans shouldn't be shocked that Kragthorpe -- considered one of the nation's top up-and-coming coaches -- is craved by others. It happened at least twice last season when Colorado and the Dallas Cowboys pursued him.

But the timing of the North Carolina talk, just seven games into Tulsa's best start in 24 years, was unexpected and understandably unwanted by TU's athletic department.

On Wednesday evening, athletic director Bubba Cunningham issued a statement about Kragthorpe's situation.

"Speculation about the future employment status of a head coach can be damaging to any athletic program," Cunningham said. "For this reason, I am not going to make any comment or engage in hypothetical discussions to one's job until such time that there is a change in employment status."

When approached about the North Carolina opening earlier this week, Kragthorpe said his focus was on TU's game against UTEP on Friday.

"That's all conjecture," Kragthorpe said about UNC. "It comes with the territory. It's just rumors. "I haven't had any contact (with North Carolina). I haven't talked to them."

ESPN analyst Craig James penciled Tulsa (6-1) at No. 23 in his latest Associated Press poll.

"Steve Kragthorpe is capable of coaching at any major college in America," James said. "I could see Steve as being the head coach at Texas, Michigan, USC or Notre Dame. You have to take in account his personality, style and demeanor. He carries himself with an aura of confidence, not cockiness.

"I'll also say this," he added. "I also believe in my conversations with him that he's happy in Tulsa and that he's a smart man that will not go hang himself at another school that's perceived to be bigger."

Kragthorpe recently signed a six-year contract that runs through the 2011 football season. His salary -- guarded since TU is a private school -- is more than the $438,000 he received in 2005 thanks to a booster-driven "Keep Kragthorpe Campaign" that aims to raise $1.5 million dollars over three years for the head coach and his assistants.

Kragthorpe would rather answer questions about an upcoming opponent than his future at Tulsa. But he's been approached often in the past 10 months. Some of his comments included:

At the end of 2005's regular season, before he said he wasn't interested in Colorado, Kragthorpe said, "I've got the best job I've ever had. So I'm going to work my tail off to do the best job that I can at the University of Tulsa. People will speculate, look at things and say things, but I'm happy here. I like living in Tulsa, first and foremost."

The "Keep Kragthorpe Campaign" started after he didn't pursue the Dallas Cowboys' passing-game coordinator job, which was believed to pay seven figures annually: "I've always had enough money. Money is not a big object to me. It's important that I support my family in a quality lifestyle and that's easy to do in Tulsa."

On July 30, after Tulsa announced Kragthorpe agreed to an incentive-laden contract extension through 2011: "Actions speak louder than words, and this is a huge action by our administration. They've stepped up and said that we want to be a major player in Division I college football."

North Carolina isn't the first school that may be interested in Kragthorpe. It probably won't be the last. But Tulsa seems to always be a special place for him, and he's shared that with rival coaches.

"One thing he has always said to me is that Tulsa is the best place he's lived as far as living with family and coaching," UTEP coach Mike Price said.

North Carolina, which is severing ties with head coach John Bunting at season’s end, isn’t the only school that may take interest in Tulsa’s Steve Kragthorpe in upcoming months. Schools with coaches on the hot seat include:

Targeting Kragthorpe

Arizona State (4-3):
Dirk Koetter is just 2-19 versus ranked opponents.

Kentucky (3-4):
Rich Brooks has directed Wildcats to 9-21 record over past three seasons.

Michigan State (4-4):
Spartans, under John L. Smith, haven’t been to bowl game since 2003.

Miami (5-2):
Could look to replace Larry Coker to restore integrity, especially after Florida International fiasco.

Texas A&M (7-1):
National ranking keeps Dennis Franchione seemingly safe, but four tough games loom.

[Grimey]

If for some awful reason Coach Stoops left for the NFL, I would be thrilled to have Kragthorpe.