Report: ex-Mizzou coordinator gets Oklahoma State offer

By John TaylorDec 12, 2012, 12:57 PM EST

Nine days after stepping down as Missouri’s offensive coordinator for “personal reasons,” David Yost could find himself lifted from the ranks of the unemployed in very short order.

Dave Matter of the Columbia Daily Tribune is reporting that Yost has been offered the offensive coordinator position at Oklahoma State. Matter reports that Yost and OSU head coach Mike Gundy have forged a relationship over the past year or so, with the Cowboys’ coaching staff spending time in Columbia last winter sharing spread offense ideas.

While the opportunity is apparently there, the report states “it’s unclear if Yost is strongly considering Gundy’s offer.”

Yost had been on Pinkel’s staff at Mizzou since the coach came to Columbia in 2001, serving first as quarterbacks coach before being promoted to coordinator in 2009. The bloom, though, fell off that particular offensive rose in 2012.

Following Mizzou’s move from the Big 12 to the SEC, the Tigers saw a precipitous drop in production on the offensive side of the ball. After finishing 30th in the country at 32.8 points per game, the Tigers somehow lost a touchdown and an extra point on their way to a new conference, dipping to 81st nationally at 25.7 ppg. They lost nearly a quarter of their total offense, going from 12th nationally (475.5 yards per game) to an alarming 96th.

If Yost, or anyone else for that matter, were to accept the job, he would be replacing Todd Monken. Earlier this week, Monken was announced as Southern Miss’ new head coach.

Arizona State will likely be without Merlin Robertson for Las Vegas Bowl

Getty Images

By John TaylorDec 14, 2018, 10:35 AM EST

Report: FIU RB Shawndarrius Phillips played entire 2018 season while being wanted on domestic violence warrant

Getty Images

By John TaylorDec 14, 2018, 8:58 AM EST

2 Comments

This isn’t a good look for Butch Davis or his Florida International football program — or law enforcement. At all.

According to the Miami Herald, FIU running back Shawndarrius Phillips was arrested Wednesday for domestic battery by strangulation. The arrest stemmed from a June incident involving an ex-girlfriend, for which an arrest warrant was issued Aug. 24 by a Broward County court.

WSVN-TV in Miami writes that “Phillips was set to leave for the Bahamas for a bowl game with the team when officers picked him up on an outstanding warrant.”

Phillips saw action in 11 of the Panthers’ 12 games this season, which means the true junior played the entire 2018 regular season while being wanted on a domestic violence charge. Other than “we have no comment at this time,” an FIU spokesperson has declined to comment on the report, including whether or not the football program was aware of the situation prior to Wednesday’s arrest.

As noted by the Herald, and as is the case as of Friday morning, Phillips’ name is still listed on FIU’s official online roster.

The newspaper also detailed the events of June 17 that led to Phillips’ arrest this week:

[The ex-girlfriend] said a discussion about who she was dating a month after their breakup turned physical when Phillips, who lists at 5-foot-10 and 225 pounds, began choking her with his right hand.

As she struggled to speak or even breathe, she said, “Phillips got her on her feet and walked her back towards his couch until she fell back on the couch,” according to the affidavit.

Scratching his hand, she said, did no good and he remained atop her. She claimed Phillips got off her, saying, “Don’t you ever speak to me or my family again.” He then ordered her out, saying, “If you don’t leave, I’m going to break your jaw.”

Phillips’ 393 yards and four rushing touchdowns were both third on the Panthers this season. His 117 yards in a 63-24 win over UMass Sept. 15 marked a career-high and was the first time he had passed the century mark in his three seasons.

Gus Malzahn: ‘Was never told I had to change my contract to keep my job’

Getty Images

By John TaylorDec 14, 2018, 7:37 AM EST

1 Comment

So much for that particular storyline.

Late last month, it was reported that Gus Malzahn would be forced to accept a reduced buyout — $32 million per his contract — to remain for his seventh season as Auburn’s head football coach. That report came just a day or so after Bob Stoops‘ name was attached to the job, which the retired former Oklahoma head coach vehemently pushed back against.

In his first meeting in front of the media since that speculation surfaced, Malzahn addressed the talk head-on and left no gray area as to his view of his situation on The Plains.

“A couple things I wanted to clear up that are out there,” the head coach said by way of al.com. “First of all, my contract has not changed one bit. I was never told I had to change my contract to keep my job. I have the support of our athletic director and president. There’s nobody hamstringing me from doing our job.”

In early November, athletic director Allan Greene publicly stated that Malzahn would be the Tigers’ head coach in 2019; this past Monday, in his first public comments since the reports surfaced, Greene reaffirmed his support.

“To confirm, Coach Malzahn is dedicated to this program and he has my support as we work together to move forward,” the AD said in a letter published on the school’s official athletics website. “Our discussions are ongoing, and we will focus on evolving in all facets of the program to achieve better and more consistent results.”

In six seasons at Auburn, Malzahn has posted a 52-27 record overall and a 28-20 mark in SEC play. After making it to the BCS championship game in his first season, the Tigers have reached double-digits in wins just one season (10-4 in 2017). After entering this year ranked in the Top 10, AU ended the regular season at 7-5.

Florida, USF tweak future series to move game at Raymond James Stadium up to 2021

Getty Images

By Bryan FischerDec 13, 2018, 7:52 PM EST

1 Comment

While we came awfully close to seeing Florida play an in-state squad from the AAC (ahem, UCF) this postseason, we’re guaranteed just such a matchup down the road when the Gators hook up with USF for a previously scheduled three-game series. While that 2-for-1 was put on the books back in May, it was just announced by the schools that they’re making a change already.

According to a release, the single game that USF is responsible for at Raymond James Stadium has been shifted up to 2021 instead of the 2023 date originally agreed upon. The pair of games at the Swamp in Gainesville will remain on the docket for 2022 and 2025 so this is just a slight tweak to the series.

The moves help the Gators fill out their (more near-term) future schedules a bit more as they have just a single opening in 2021 after the Bulls adjusted their end of the series. In-state foes USF and Florida State are, however, all that’s on the docket for Florida starting in 2022 and beyond so AD Scott Strickland has some work to do over the coming months and years on that front.

The flip side is that USF has quite the slate of difficult opponents in 2021, with the home-game in Tampa against Florida sandwiched between trips to BYU and N.C. State in the same season. The team does have one more non-conference opening that year, which you would assume would wind up being a lower-level school at home.