KSU Ramps Up Football Coaching Search

Less than a month after announcing the addition of varsity football, Kennesaw State is working fast to have its first head coach in place.

Multiple media reports indicate that KSU athletics director Vaughn Williams could make make the hire by the end of March, enabling him to assemble a staff and begin recruiting players to make up the first team that will take the field in 2015.

The Marietta Daily Journal earlier this week quoted Williams as saying that "our short list of candidates is formulating very quickly."

The newspaper speculated on a number of possible candidates, including former Marietta High School quarterback Andy McCollum, currently an assistant coach at Georgia Tech; former University of Georgia, Atlanta Falcons and Auburn University defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder; and former Pebblebrook High School standout Giff Smith.

Williams told Patch at the KSU football unveiling in February that the preference for a head coach would be a candidate with ties to football in the state of Georgia.

Another candidate mentioned by the MDJ is David Dean of Valdosta State, which won last season's NCAA Division II national championship. The Valdosta Daily Times indicated last week that any announcement at KSU likely wouldn't come until after Saturday, the day of VSU's spring game.

On the SB Nation sports blog network, Atlanta-based writer Jason Kirk, a KSU graduate, unveiled his wish list for the job that includes some of those names, with Dean at the top.   

He is a native of the Atlanta area and has been on the Valdosta State staff for the last 17 years. 

Reports in Tennessee indicate that McCollum is among the finalists for the head coaching position at Austin Peay. He is a previous head coach at Middle Tennessee State.

KSU will be playing in the NCAA's Football Championship Series subdivision, a rung above Division II and below the Bowl Championship Series that includes Georgia and Georgia Tech.   

The update on the coaching search coincided with the launch of the KSU football website on Monday.