Late last night, it was reported that Temple had narrowed its search for a new head coach to a pair of finalists: current Miami defensive coordinator Mark D’Onofrio (pictured) and current New York Giants assistant Matt Rhule.
Reportedly, that grouping has been pared down even further.
According to multiple media outlets, D’Onofrio has decided to withdraw his name from consideration for the Owls opening. D’Onofrio had previously interviewed with athletic director Bill Bradshaw, and was scheduled to meet with the school’s incoming president today.
The reason behind D’Onofrio’s decision to stay at Miami is unknown, although it could be as simple as some tea-leave reading led him to believe that Rhule was in fact the front-runner.
Both finalists were on Al Golden‘s staff at Temple. Golden, now the Miami head coach, has reportedly been pushing for D’Onofrio, his Hurricanes coordinator, to land the job as the replacement for Steve Addazio. Addazio left to become the head coach at Boston College.
The move by D’Onofrio presumably clears the path for Rhule, who interviewed with both the AD and president in recent days, to take over the Owls. An announcement on a new head coach was expected Monday, although the D’Onofrio development could speed up that timeframe.
UPDATED 3:29 p.m. ET: CFT can confirm that Rhule has been offered the Temple job. If as expected he accepts, he will be introduced at a press conference Monday.