Some thoughts on coaching search

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, I would anticipate that Yale's new football coach will be hosting some recruits at this point next week.

Yale has interviewed former Yale assistant coaches Don Brown and Tony Reno as well as Georgetown head coach Kevin Kelly and Lehigh offensive coordinator Dave Cecchini.

Kelly had an outstanding interview according to sources and he certainly fit the criteria of having previous head coaching experience. Earlier today I heard from somebody close to the process that former Yale coach Carm Cozza was in Brown's corner in a major way. While that doesn't guarantee that Brown will get the job, if I were to pick the one person at Yale to have on my side during this process it would be the legendary Cozza.

Brown certainly has all the prerequisites for the job. He's been successful at three different stops as a head coach and obviously has previous Ivy League experience as a member of Cozza's staff from 1987-92 and held the same position at Dartmouth from 1984-86 and Brown in 1996 and 1997. Everything I've heard about Brown's tenure at Yale has been positive as he was a well-respected member of Cozza's staff and is still a popular man in Yale football circles. If there is a red flag about Brown it is that this would be his fourth job in the last five years if he is offered and accepts the Yale gig. If Brown was able to convince the committee that he was in this for the long haul, it would be hard to argue with the choice.

Reno will also have some support from Yale as he was a popular coach with his players during his six years on Jack Siedlecki's staff . Kelly has done a remarkable job building the Georgetown program up after a rugged start while Cecchini is a former offensive coordinator at Harvard who called the plays for a Lehigh offense which at one point during the 2011 season  led all Football Championship Subdivision teams in total offense.

The process, which began in mid November when Yale began an investigation into then coach Tom Williams' claims of being a Rhodes Scholarship candidate, seems to be nearing its conclusion. I was hearing that a coach could be in place by the middle of the next week which would be good because they will need to get to work immediately during a pivotal recruiting period.