TCU football isn’t naming names but the D-line coach search has a common theme
TCU football is in the process of interviewing candidates for its defensive line coach opening this week, a source said, but the program is being tight-lipped on potential candidate names.
But a source said there are four candidates lined up for interviews this week to take the place of Chidera Uzo-Diribe, who bolted for a spot on Georgia’s staff. All of the candidates have one thing in common — ties to the state of Texas.
TCU coach Sonny Dykes has made it no secret that recruiting the state of Texas will be a priority during his tenure and the way he’s assembled his staff has showcased that mindset. He kept three assistants from Gary Patterson’s staff who have years of experience in the state with Malcolm Kelly, Paul Gonzales and Doug Meacham. At defensive coordinator, Dykes’ most important hire, he brought in Joe Gillespie from Tulsa to run a 3-3-5 scheme.
Gillespie has deep Texas roots as a longtime coach at Stephenville.
So it makes sense that the next defensive line coach will have ties to the state, too. Even though TCU is being tight-lipped, that doesn’t mean we can’t speculate on a couple of potential candidates.
Common sense would point to a guy like Jermial Ashley being on the short list. Ashley, a Fort Worth native who played at Keller Fossil Ridge, coached at Arkansas last season after spending the previous six seasons at Tulsa. He and Gillespie were on the same defensive staff at Tulsa from 2015-20.
Another name being mentioned is Buddy Wyatt, a former TCU player who is now coaching defensive ends at Kansas State. However, sources indicate that Wyatt doesn’t appear to be a strong candidate at this point. He has a no-compete clause in his contract that precludes him from taking a job with another Big 12 school. Those clauses are always subject to negotiation, of course, but that could make it more difficult for TCU to target Wyatt.
At the end of the day, this is not expected to be a long process. TCU has already narrowed its list to four and could have its next D-line coach in place by the end of the week.
Uzo-Diribe followed Dykes from SMU to TCU, and helped on the recruiting front in his short time. The Frogs tried to keep Uzo-Diribe in place, but the appeal of joining the staff of the reigning national champions was simply too much to pass.
Uzo-Diribe will coach outside linebackers at Georgia, which had an opening with Dan Lanning becoming Oregon’s head coach.
Uzo-Diribe joined Dykes’ staff at SMU in 2021 after spending two seasons as the outside linebackers coach at Kansas. Uzo-Diribe played college football at Colorado, which is also where he started his college coaching career.
This story was originally published February 7, 2022 at 6:09 PM.
