Herb Hand left from Tulsa to Vanderbilt, so Tulsa head coach Todd Graham was quick to find a replacement in North Texas OL coach Spencer Leftwich. The coaching tree has come up with four potential replacements:
Keith Uperesa is going into his first year as the OL coach at Nicholls State. He spent the last five years at UNLV. He spent twelve years at Snow College, his last four as head coach. Eight of his seasons at Snow College, he coached with current North Texas offensive coordinator Mike Canales. Uperesa and Canales were also graduate assistants together at BYU in 1985 and '86.
Mike Simmonds returned to his alma mater, Indiana State, as offensive line coach after four years at South Florida. Three of his years at USF were spent with Mike Canales. This seems like it would be a perfect hire, a step up for Simmonds and the comfortability factor for Canales coming into his first year at North Texas. The one snag may be that Simmonds wouldn't want to leave his alma mater hanging, especially so close to the start of the season.
Other than a short stint as a high school coach, Larry Scott has spent his entire career at South Florida. He played offensive line for the Bulls in the late 90s, and after four years coaching in high school, he returned to USF in 2005 as director of high school relations. He became a graduate assistant in '06, and then became tight ends coach the following year. He was promoted to offensive line coach last season, but was named TE coach as part of Skip Holtz' staff. It seems that Scott is very loyal to his alma mater and will stay put, but the chance to coach offensive line under Mike Canales again may be a reason to leave.
Jeff Bryant is currently the offensive line coach at Fort Hays State. He played offensive line at Tulsa from 2004-06, where his position coach was Spencer Leftwich. He was a graduate assistant at North Texas in 2008, working with the offensive line and tight ends. Bryant doesn't have a lot of experience, but don't be surprised if he gets this job because of the timing of Leftwich's departure. If Todd Dodge is unable to find a quality, experienced replacement in the next day or two, expect Bryant to take over the position.
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