Got a feeling its gonna be

[PonyFanBCLA]

Gary Crowton.
I'm not much on heresay or rumors, as terribly exciting as they have been, but just assume for a moment that there has been a hint of truth in some recurring themes we have heard or read in recent days/weeks.

1. We are looking for (some say, for whatever reason, that we must require) a coach with a certain level of success as a D-1 HC.
2. We have a targeted coach-in-waiting who has a game(s) left to play this season.
3. Orsini likes to make a splash and has a tendency for hiring coaches on the rebound.

Gary Crowton fits the bill on all of those. If Miles goes to Michigan and Pelini to Nebraska - both more in the probable column than in the possible column now - many on the LSU staff now will either be joining those two or looking to catch on with the new LSU regime. Crowton will likely be an odd man out as his pass happy offense isnt going to Husker Nation and he will have zero future to be HC at Michigan. He also is not likely to be a candidate for the LSU job as they will most certainly go after a top tier HC (Spurrier, Stoops, Meyer) or look to bring back a recently departed assistant (Muschamp, Fisher).

That leaves the door open for Crowton to move back into a HC position and he would likely want to do that where he feels he can have a decent chance at being successful. He would see great tools here for his offense to hit the ground running, er passing. And he likely would be a lifer instead of looking for the next big gig. He's 50 and he has somewhat of a sour taste in his mouth for the cutthroat nature that comes with being a "big-time" D-1 HC. If he can come here and win he will be a hero and not have to worry about anything else.

He did well at La Tech, 21-13 in 3 years (with no losing seasons) playing a brutal schedule as a I-A Independent mid-major. His LaTech teams had a penchant for knocking off bigger SEC, PAC-10, and Big 12 teams. He was the Mountain West Coach of the Year his first year @ BYU - later dismissed because he wasn't the second coming of LaVell Edwards the Youngians had hoped he was, and has guided high powered offenses in the NFL in addition to Oregon and LSU as OC.

I wont say he's a "wow" coach - that would belong to a Butch Davis or Jimmy Johnson, Greg Schiano type hire - but he would definitely make a splash as his human highlight reel offense came to Dallas - read "cheeks in seats". He also is a rebound coach as he would be getting another HC shot after being banished to coordinator land when he failed to live up to the legend of his predecessor at BYU.

What may be most important is what he has done with his players. He would be a great mentor for Sanders, Mapps and Willis. As head coach he has coached a Doak Walker winner, a Biletnikoff winner, and has had two QBs finish in the top 10 in Heisman voting. His offenses, both NFL and NCAA have been ranked in the top 10 in passing and total offense in most every season he has been an OC or HC.

Like everyone else - its pure speculation but, reading the tea leaves, he could easily be on the "short-list."