My first choice, Ron English, is out. He is rumored to be pursuing the San Diego State job and with the weather here (and lack of indoor practice facility in Ypsilanti) I don't blame him. That and he's from Cali anyway so that's the end of the Ron English idea.
From what I've heard there is mutual disinterest between the university and Wayne State Coach Paul Winters.
My very close to the program source has told me that it is most likely going to be Michigan Running Backs coach Fred Jackson. Fred Jackson is known for being a tremendous recruiter and great position coach. He was promoted to offensive coordinator in 95 and held that post for two seasons so he at least knows how to call a game (JG was never a coordinator at any level and could most of the time be seen on the sidelines without as much as a piece of paper, let alone a call sheet). He's been at Michigan since the Gary Moeller years, and was also a graduate assistant there, getting his masters from The U in 1975. The Fred Jackson bio can be found here.
On the whole, I think Fred Jackson would be a good hire for Eastern Michigan. As I've said, he's a great recruiter and has coached some of the best backs in Michigan history (Perry, Thomas, Biakabutuka, Hart, the list goes on). Having coached at one of the greatest football programs for so long gives him the type of coaching pedigree that we need to see here at Eastern.
Now...IF I'm wrong...there are more candidates to still talk about...
Scott Loeffler, Michigan guy, currently coaching the quarterbacks for the Detroit Lions so he'll probably need a job pretty soon.
Stan Parrish is still on the board but falling slightly with the Fred Jackson talk.
Chuck Martin is still on the board as well but he's taken the seat as the "probably not" guy.
If it is in fact going to be Jackson, you can expect an official announcement from EMU as early as Monday.
That's all for me today as Masten and the boys are all back in town and since tonight is the biggest bar night of the year (next to my personal favorite, St. Patrick's Day) we will be hammering down some brews, shots, and gin and tonics starting in about 5 minutes or so. Be safe out there and enjoy your Thanksgiving. We really do have a lot to be thankful for...like the Lions not being blacked out.
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