Associated Press
The college football notebook …
CHARLOTTEó The Carolina Panthers arenít the only ones looking for a football coach in Charlotte.
The Charlotte 49ers officially posted the opening for the first coach in school history on Monday, the same day John Fox worked his last day for the Panthers. The Charlotte program will begin play in the Football Championship Subdivision level in 2013.
Athletic director Judy Rose says the plan to have a coach in place by the spring. The 49ers will start recruiting a redshirt class for 2012-13 as ground is broken on an on-campus stadium.
The 49ersí first game will be Aug. 31, 2013, against Campbell at home.
CLEMSON
COLUMBIA, S.C. ó Two days after concluding its first losing season in more than a decade, Clemson coach Dabo Swinney took steps to try to change the Tigers’ offensive problems.
The Tigers head coach said Sunday that offensive coordinator Billy Napier and running backs coach Andre Powell won’t return to the team next season.
FLORIDA
GAINESVILLE, Fla. ó Florida’s coaching staff is nearly complete.
The Gators confirmed Monday that former Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis will be Will Muschamp’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. Muschamp also hired Seattle Seahawks defensive line coach Dan Quinn as defensive coordinator and line coach. Quinn spent the past 10 years in the NFL and has seven years of college experience.
EDSALL TO TERPS
BALTIMORE ó Randy Edsall, who diligently worked to build the Connecticut football program into a winner, has been hired to pull off a similar feat at Maryland.
Edsall was picked Sunday to replace Ralph Friedgen, who was fired after a 10-year run at his alma mater.
Edsall spent 12 years at Connecticut. He guided the Huskies out of Division I-AA (now FCS) and into the Big East, where he won a pair of conference titles and earned postseason appearances in each of the last four years.
Connecticut lost to Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl on Saturday night.
The 52-year-old Edsall emerged as a surprise candidate for the job over the weekend. He beat out former Texas Tech coach Mike Leach, who was considered the favorite when the search began on Dec. 20.
Edsall, the 2010 Big East coach of the year, led the Huskies to eight or more wins in each of the last four seasons. He finished with a 74-70 record at UConn.
UCONN
HARTFORD, Conn.ó Connecticut has named Hank Hughes as its interim head coach while it seeks a replacement for Randy Edsall. Hughes has been UConn’s assistant head coach for defense the last six seasons.
PITTSBURGH
PITTSBURGH ó Pitt no longer has its new coach or its old coach.
Dave Wannstedt, ousted as Pittsburgh’s football coach last month, announced Monday he won’t be on the sideline for the Compass Bowl against Kentucky on Saturday.
Defensive coordinator Phil Bennett, the former SMU head coach, will serve as the interim coach for a program that soon will have its third coach in two months.
RUTGERS
PISCATAWAY, N.J.ó Greg Schiano didn’t have to look hard to find a new offensive coordinator. He just simply looked inside his own conference.
Schiano on Monday hired Pittsburgh assistant Frank Cignetti to be the Scarlet Knights offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. Cignetti spent the previous two seasons at Pittsburgh in the same capacity under recently ousted coach Dave Wannstedt.
Cignetti spent 2008 as the offensive coordinator at North Carolina (2006).
RIDLEY TO PLAY
BATON ROUGE, La. ó LSU coach Les Miles says running back Stevan Ridley has been cleared to play against Texas A&M in the Cotton Bowl.
Ridley led the Tigers in rushing with 1,042 yards and 14 touchdowns during the regular season.
LSU (10-2) meets the Aggies (9-3) in Cowboys Stadium on Friday night.
Ridley’s eligibility had been in doubt since Miles said on Dec. 22 that the running back could miss the game because of an unspecified “one-time” academic violation.
MICHIGAN
ANN ARBOR, Mich. ó Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez returned to work Monday, two days after a bowl game loss that heightened speculation about his future with the Wolverines.
Michigan athletic director Dave Brandon plans to meet with Rodriguez soon and expects to have something to say about the situation later this week.