Busy weekend on the DI front – three big jobs all opened. Jim Boylen was fired at Utah, Paul Hewitt dismissed at Georgia Tech, and John Pelphrey axed at Arkansas. None of them came as a surprise however – many predicted that they would happen this weekend. I’ll post some more in-depth candidate lists as we get more into the week, but here are some of the things I’ve heard so far:

Arkansas: John Pelphrey finished with a four-year record of 69-59 (27-43 SEC). His buyout is believed to be around $1.8m paid over three years. Arkansas is rumored to have interest in Missouri head coach Mike Anderson (a long-time Nolan Richardson assistant at Arkansas), Texas A&M head coach Mark Turgeon, and Former Kentucky head coach Billy Gillispie.

Utah: Jim Boylen was 69-60 (32-32 MWC) in his four seasons at Utah. It is reported that his buyout is $2m. I’ve heard that Utah Valley head coach may be one of the leaders here. He was the interim head coach at Utah in 2001, and served as Rick Majerus’ associate head coach there. He’s had success at UVU (140-91 in 8 seasons) and has 306 career wins as a head coach. Also, he is a Mormon – a big advantage in Utah!

Georgia Tech: Paul Hewitt amassed a 190-162 (72-105 ACC) record in his 11 seasons at GT. He led the Yellow Jackets to the 2004 National Championship game. His buyout has not been disclosed, but it, may be somewhere close to $7m (yes, SEVEN MILLION). Missouri State’s Cuonzo Martin is a hot name here. He has turned around the MSU program (49 wins and counting in the past two years). I’ve also head Vanderbilt’s Kevin Stallings, and Richmond’s Chris Mooney mentioned here.

I will get better candidate lists out as the week progresses and the dust settles on these jobs.