Tulane, Duke DC’s Among Six Candidates Interviewing to Replace Glenn Spencer

Oklahoma State’s search for a defensive coordinator to replace Glenn Spencer has rolled over from last week into this week with few details.

However on Monday we learned that defensive analyst and former Notre Dame and Atlanta Falcons DC Brian VanGorder was likely to be elevated to the 10th assistant on OSU’s staff but not as the new DC. And finally on Tuesday, ESPN’s Jake Trotter delivered the goods with names who have been interviewing for the vacancy.

Oklahoma State’s ongoing search for a defensive coordinator has included talks with six candidates, including Tulane defensive coordinator Jack Curtis, South Carolina assistant head coach Lance Thompson, Duke defensive coordinator Jim Knowles and Troy defensive coordinator Vic Koenning, according to sources. Two additional candidates are in play, as well, including a name from the FCS. [ESPN]

So with concrete names and a shortlist in front of us, let’s run through each candidate and detail their experience.

Tulane defensive coordinator Jack Curtis

A close friend of Jeff Monken who worked together on the Georgia Southern staff together, Curtis just finished his second season as the Tulane DC and safeties coach. In his first season, Tulane ranked second in fumble recoveries with 15, 10th in turnovers gained with 27 and 13th in turnover margin at +9. Before Tulane, he spent five years on the Georgia Southern staff.

Last season, Tulane gave up 436 yards per game which ranked 98th nationally. Curtis’ defense also gave up, on average, 29.2 points per game which ranked 84th — one spot ahead of Oklahoma State.

South Carolina assistant head coach Lance Thompson

Like Curtis, Thompson is also wrapping up his second year at his job. And he’s been a winner at every stop he’s made, including on national championship staffs at Alabama, Georgia Tech and LSU.

In 2014, Thompson was ranked as the No. 1 recruiter in the nation when coaching at Alabama by ESPN. Rivals named him the recruiter of the year in 2008.

In 2017, South Carolina’s stingy defense ranked 44th in total defense, 25th in scoring defense, and perhaps best of all, 76th in 3rd down defense with an allowed conversion rate of 39.8 percent.

Duke defensive coordinator Jim Knowles

Duke DC Jim Knowles is name from completely outside of the Gundy coaching tree and with no visible ties to Oklahoma or the Big 12. He’s been the DC since 2010 with various designations as a position coach as well as holding the title of assistant head coach to Mike Gundy’s national title game buddy, David Cutcliffe.

Knowles’ only other stop as a coordinator was at Western Michigan. Again he has no apparent ties to this recruiting area and he’s 52 years old. How that affects recruiting would remain to be seen. Duke was 22nd in defensive points per drive last year but that was the only year his defense ranked higher than 35th during his tenure.

Troy defensive coordinator Vic Koenning

Vic Koenning has Oklahoma and old Big 8 ties. He’s an Owasso native who played for Kansas State back in the late 1970s. His coaching career spans over 30 years including holding DC positions at Wyoming, Troy (twice), Clemson and Illinois. He’s been the DC at Troy since 2015. He also spent a year as the co-Defensive Coordinator/ DBs coach at K-State in 2009.

During his first year at Troy (in the most recent stint), the Trojans were 78th in scoring defense. In Year 2, they made the climb to T21st and in 2017 they were T11th. In 2017, Troy was 28th in adjusted defensive efficiency and 11th in defensive points per drive per BCF Toys. He was also once the head coach at Wyoming.

Kyle Cox contributed to this report.