Texas football coach Steve Sarkisian is hitting the ground running on Monday to find a replacement for former Longhorn safeties coach Blake Gideon.
According to my sources, Notre Dame DBs coach Mike Mickens, Pitt Assistant Head Coach (Secondary/Safeties) Cory Sanders, and Rutgers cornerbacks coach Mark Orphey are the top three candidates on Sarkisian’s list. It is unclear when the interviews will take place, but I would not be surprised if they occur this week.
Here is a recap of Ketch’s breakdown of Mickens and Sanders in our recent War Room:
* Mickens is viewed as a rising star in the coaching industry. One source called him a defensive version of Tashard Choice. "He's someone that I could easily see being a head coach," the source said. "He's probably one job away from the big job. He might need one more job and maybe he needs to do it away from (Marcus) Freeman. All he knows is that area. He's a Midwest guy." Sure enough, if you look at when his coaching career began in 2011, he's only spent one season (2013 in Idaho) outside of the states of Ohio or Indiana.
* Sanders might be the biggest wild card of the four names we believe are on Sarkisian's shortlist. Other than working with safeties at Pittsburgh since 2018, he doesn't have a lot of big-time experience or coaching pedigree. He was a small-school head coach in Indiana before moving to West Florida and then Western Michigan. Sanders has a reputation for being a very good teacher and for being incredibly popular with his peers and players.
According to Orphey’s bio, “Mark Orphey (or-fay) is in his third season as the Rutgers cornerbacks coach in 2024. The Houston native has helped the Scarlet Knights to one of the top passing defenses nationally while developing players for the NFL. He arrived in Piscataway after spending the 2021 season as a senior defensive analyst for national runner-up Alabama. Orphey has been part of six bowl games and the FCS playoffs, in addition to the College Football Playoff National Championship Game.”
I will keep you updated.
According to my sources, Notre Dame DBs coach Mike Mickens, Pitt Assistant Head Coach (Secondary/Safeties) Cory Sanders, and Rutgers cornerbacks coach Mark Orphey are the top three candidates on Sarkisian’s list. It is unclear when the interviews will take place, but I would not be surprised if they occur this week.
Here is a recap of Ketch’s breakdown of Mickens and Sanders in our recent War Room:
* Mickens is viewed as a rising star in the coaching industry. One source called him a defensive version of Tashard Choice. "He's someone that I could easily see being a head coach," the source said. "He's probably one job away from the big job. He might need one more job and maybe he needs to do it away from (Marcus) Freeman. All he knows is that area. He's a Midwest guy." Sure enough, if you look at when his coaching career began in 2011, he's only spent one season (2013 in Idaho) outside of the states of Ohio or Indiana.
* Sanders might be the biggest wild card of the four names we believe are on Sarkisian's shortlist. Other than working with safeties at Pittsburgh since 2018, he doesn't have a lot of big-time experience or coaching pedigree. He was a small-school head coach in Indiana before moving to West Florida and then Western Michigan. Sanders has a reputation for being a very good teacher and for being incredibly popular with his peers and players.
According to Orphey’s bio, “Mark Orphey (or-fay) is in his third season as the Rutgers cornerbacks coach in 2024. The Houston native has helped the Scarlet Knights to one of the top passing defenses nationally while developing players for the NFL. He arrived in Piscataway after spending the 2021 season as a senior defensive analyst for national runner-up Alabama. Orphey has been part of six bowl games and the FCS playoffs, in addition to the College Football Playoff National Championship Game.”
I will keep you updated.
