Associated Press
The college notebook …
KANSAS CITY, Mo. ó Buffalo’s Turner Gill has agreed to become Kansas’ new coach, a person close to the situation told The Associated Press on Saturday night.
The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the school hadn’t announced the move.
Gill, who was 20-30 in four years with the Bulls, becomes Kansas’ first black head football coach. He takes over for Mark Mangino, who resigned Dec. 3 after a two-week investigation into his treatment of players.
Yahoo! Sports was the first to report Gill’s hiring.
Gill’s best season at Buffalo was 2008 when the Bulls won the MAC championship and went to their first bowl in half a century.
A native of Fort Worth, Texas, Gill is best known in the Midwest as a great option quarterback at Nebraska from 1980-83, a time when the Cornhuskers annually pounded a down-and-out Jayhawks program. During Gill’s four years, Nebraska beat Kansas 54-0, 31-15, 52-0 and 67-13.
TENNESSEEKNOXVILLE, Tenn. ó Tennessee football coach Lane Kiffin says he takes investigations of the school’s recruiting practices as a compliment.
“I think when it comes to recruiting, we’re at the highest level, and I think that people really want to know what we’re doing,” Kiffin said after practice Saturday. “They want to know how are we able to get interest from so many great players, and sign so many great players, so I think you have a lot of people coming at us.”
Kiffin says the strength of Tennessee’s recruiting class, ranked by most analysts near the top nationally, has caused the unusual amount of interest in the Volunteers’ methods, which are under investigation by the NCAA and the SEC.
STOOPS TO FLORIDA STATE
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. ó Florida State has its new defensive coordinator ó Arizona’s Mark Stoops.
A university official familiar with the agreement told The Associated Press on Saturday that Stoops has agreed to join new Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher in early January after both schools’ bowl games.
The official spoke on condition of anonymity because neither Stoops or Fisher has signed new contracts yet.
Stoops, 42, is Arizona’s defensive coordinator. He is the younger brother of Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops and Arizona coach Mike Stoops.
Mark Stoops inherits a Seminole defense that ranked 110th nationally in 2009, surrendering 444.3 yards and 30.8 points a game. He succeeds Mickey Andrews, who is retiring after 26 seasons as Florida State’s defensive coordinator.
Arizona’s defense ranks 21st nationally, giving up 315 yards a game a game.
SUMLIN WON’T INTERVIEW
HOUSTON ó University of Houston head football coach Kevin Sumlin says he has declined to interview for the head coaching vacancy at the University of Cincinnati.
That vacancy arose with Bearcats coach Brian Kelly’s departure for the Notre Dame top job.
Sumlin said he had spoken with University of Cincinnati representatives yesterday and today, but “declined an interview.”