From Palm Beach Post
GAINESVILLE — Within minutes of Urban Meyer's resignation this week, speculation about potential successors swept Gator Nation and beyond.
Since he stepped down Wednesday as Florida coach, no credible media outlet has reported progress in the search, but two names that circulated most prominently on message boards and Twitter were Oklahoma's Bob Stoops and Boise State's Chris Petersen.
While those are nothing more than rumors, they are logical choices. Both are in the prime of their coaching careers and already are proven winners.
Mississippi State coach Dan Mullen also is seen as a potential successor - he was Meyer's offensive coordinator at Florida for four seasons - but Friday he said he is "absolutely" committed to his current job.
"It's kind of annoying because I have to answer a lot of questions that don't pertain to our football team," said Mullen, who is preparing to face Michigan in the Gator Bowl on Jan. 1. "I haven't even considered or spent one second thinking about (Florida)."
As popular as Mullen's name has been in recent coaching searches - including Miami's - the Gators could be aiming for a more accomplished prospect. With the Bulldogs, he is 13-11 in his only two seasons as a head coach.
By contrast, in 12 seasons with the Sooners, Stoops is 128-71 with seven Big 12 titles and a national championship. Prior to signing with Oklahoma, he was Steve Spurrier's defensive coordinator at Florida from 1996 through '98.
Stoops, 50, turned down an offer from Florida Athletic Director Jeremy Foley in 2002 (the Gators hired Ron Zook) and in 2004. Stoops was the third-highest-paid college football coach in the country this season at $4.4 million.
"He may be settled in with Oklahoma," said Dwyer High School coach Jack Daniels, who is friends with the Stoops family. "He's been there so long.
"He's got everything. Now that Nebraska's moving out of the conference, they've got a shot to win the conference every year."
Stoops' younger brother, Mark, is Florida State's defensive coordinator. Another brother, Mike, is Arizona's head coach.
Mark Stoops, attending the Dwyer playoff game Friday at Seffner-Armwood, grinned and shook his head when asked about his brother's interest in returning to Gainesville.
"No, I'm not going there," he said. "That's not for me to talk about."
Petersen, 46, has not had the sustained success of Bob Stoops, but launched his stardom by knocking out Stoops and Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl after the 2006 season, when Boise State finished 13-0.
The Broncos went undefeated again last season and finished by beating TCU in the Fiesta Bowl.
This year, Boise State was No. 4 in the BCS standings and had a chance at the Rose Bowl or the national championship game before losing to Nevada on Thanksgiving weekend. The Broncos will face Utah in the MAACO Bowl on Dec. 22 in Las Vegas.
Foley said he would not mind if the new coach stayed with his current team for a bowl game. Meyer is committed to coaching Florida in the Outback Bowl against Penn State on Jan. 1.
Petersen is 60-5 in five seasons at Boise State and, like Meyer, has a reputation as an innovator. He began his collegiate career as an assistant at UC-Davis, Pittsburgh, Portland State and Oregon.
Petersen has turned down several jobs in the past few years to stay in Boise, but an offer from Florida would give him a chance to compete in America's premier conference and could at least double his current salary of $1.5 million per season. Meyer made $4 million each year.
Neither Petersen nor Stoops has commented publicly about the Florida job.
Boise State Athletic Director Gene Bleymaier did not return a message seeking comment.
Foley said will not confirm or deny any names. As of Thursday night, he said he had yet to determine his preferred candidate. He gave few specifics about his criteria for a new coach or the scope of his search, and said he would not comment again until he makes a hire.
