Cignetti's imminent hire
Pat Hill jumped the gun by announcing Saturday that Fresno State offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti Jr. was taking the same position at North Carolina. It wasn't a done deal at the time, and apparently isn't yet.
But Cignetti is expected to be introduced some time this week as successor to Gary Tranquill at UNC. Cignetti, who coached the fifth most productive offense in I-A this year at Fresno, was scheduled to meet with Heels coach John Bunting and AD Dick Baddour on Sunday in Chapel Hill to discuss the OC vacancy, according to the Fresno Bee. It appears to be just a matter of finalizing his contract agreement at this point.
Meanwhile, coaches are falling all around the NFL -- and even at the University of Miami -- today. Losing six games in the last two years, and being woefully unprepared for LSU in the Peach Bowl, cost four Hurricanes assistants their jobs.
Then there are the ACC's early defections to the NFL. Miami's Devin Hester and Maryland TE Vernon Davis are reportedly declaring for the draft. And, as Jim Young reports, N.C. State DE Mario Williams is expected to announce he's NFL-bound at a Tuesday press conference.