Busy day in the “dirt” field! Here’s “Daily Dirt” #2 for today….

I mentioned in the earlier “Daily Dirt” that Minnesota assistant Ron Jirsa was in the final three for the Northwood (WI) job. I’ve heard that the other two candidates are Iowa Enegry (NBDL) assistant Bruce Wilson and former Minnesota State Moorhead head coach Stu Engen. Before joining the NBDL ranks, Wilson spent 25 seasons as the head coach at Simpson (IA) College where he won 341 games. Engen has also been the head coach at Wisconsin-Lacrosse and Upper Iowa – he has 262 wins in his 18 seasons as a head coach.

The latest candidate to interview at Mississippi State is Valparaiso head coach Bryce Drew. In his first year at the helm of his alma mater, Drew led his squad to a 22-12 season and earned a trip to the NIT. Does anyone in the State of Mississippi remember the 1998 NCAA tourney? A skinny guard from Valpo hit a bomb as time expired to lead #13 Valpo to an upset of #4 Ole Miss. That skinny guard could now be the head coach at in-state rival MSU – what a strange twist! If you haven’t seen the shot, here’s a clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0haGKGiX9qA…

With Scott Sutton out of the way at Tulsa, Kansas assistant Danny Manning’s name has jumped to the top of the pack. It sounds like the job is his to lose (or turn down) at this point. If Manning is not the choice, look for Central Oklahoma head coach Terry Evans to get some serious consideration. The former Oklahoma Sooner has done nothing but win games over the last 10 seasons at COU. Many believe a decision could be made here by Monday.