Well, well, well, news from someone I can believe: Chick Hernandez. Chick was all over this thing from the beginning and has been correct about multiple things, so it's worth believing this, as opposed to the earlier talk. And it bears good news:
I'm told Maryland AD Kevin Anderson met with Mike Leach, June Jones head coach at SMU, and Gus Malzhan, offensive coordinator at Auburn.
CHICK HERNANDEZ
CHICKatCSN
Leach is more than a little well known around these parts, so I'll save you the trouble of reading about him. This is the first I've heard of Jones as a serious candidate; he was great when he was at Hawaii and has done very well at SMU. He runs an offense similar to Leach, with a lot of passing and big numbers. He's also 57 and, past the aforementioned schools, hasn't been a HC anywhere since the Atlanta Falcons back in 1994.
For a lot of people, Malzahn is the king of candidates not named Leach. He's a very big name who is very well respected around the game. He recruits well and is an offensive genius right along the likes of Leach. Retain Don Brown defensively and let the good times roll. He'd cost a ridiculous amount, though, and just turned down about $3mil from Vanderbilt.
This does not necessarily mean that Sumlin, Edsall, or any of those other names aren't candidates, nor that Rodriguez isn't. But it probably means that these three are, and after days of smokescreens, that's something.
Update: And there were two...publicly-reported-by-reputable-source candidates. Chick says Jones has withdrawn his name. Not a huge surprise; he's getting paid a lot of money at SMU as it is.