ESPN is reporting that Mike Leach has pulled out of the running. Not sure if it was by his own volition or UW found someone they liked better. From what we heard his interview wasn't a home run.
It looks like it is down to two well regarded assistant coaches. Steve Sarkisian the OC at USC and Brent Venables the DC at Oklahoma. I will be reporting back as soon as we find something out but they are about out of known candidates to speculate about.
Update
According to what I am hearing the UW decided to put Leach on hold rather than make a decision on him. Like I said above the interview wasn't a home run and UW officials didn't feel comfortable with him. The guy is a genius but he also dances to the beat of a different drummer and it would be pretty hard to control what comes out of his mouth in most cases.
So I wouldn't say Leach dropped UW it was more the other way around. They liked the results on the field but they had reservations about working with him. Was it a good choice? Only time will tell. As we all know Washington can't screw this one up and they are being very careful about who they bring in.
As far as Pat Hill goes don't buy the story that he isn't coming because of any deadline. IF UW calls next week he would be on the next plane even though he has told people he is staying at Fresno. Hill is a very solid coach and would have put together a great staff but the mediocre results this year and a lack of sizzle put an end to that.
So who does UW turn to now? Venables or Sarkisian? I have to think they are trying to work Tedford or Petersen before opting to go the assistant coach route. Phil Fulmer and Tommy Tuberville are available and interested too so maybe they go in that direction.