Feldman: Randy Shannon Interviewing for Vacant Maryland Defensive Coordinator Spot

I mentioned three potential candidates for Maryland's vacant defensive coordinator spot: Larry Johnson, Darrell Wilson, and Randy Shannon. While all's mum on the first two, the final of the three might be coming through. Via ESPN's Bruce Feldman:

This is very obviously good news. Shannon's been around the block - he was Miami's DC for 7 years and a position coach on defense for much longer - but is still young, at just 44. His defenses at Miami were solid and he was generally well-liked by his players. Oh, and he's been an ACC head coach - albeit a slightly failed one - in the past, which isn't really a negative.

For recruiting, Shannon wouldn't give Maryland the instant local bump that a hire of Johnson or Wilson would, but neither did Don Brown. Brown had connections in Florida, and I imagine that Shannon would blow those connections out of the water. And not to get too un-PC here, but keeping in mind how racially-aware the DC area is, having a well-respected African-American coach could only help matters (it might not be a big boost, but it certainly can't hurt).

And that's all ignoring the best thing: given Shannon's high position and (expectedly) high price tag, a hiring would indicate yet another dedication to football and spending for it. More than anything else, the fact that Maryland's willing and able to hire a big name like that should give you hope.

Given the Leach fiasco, I'd hold off on getting too hyped about matters, but I've hit "cautious optimism."

UPDATE: Whoops, forgot about this little bit via the WaPo: Kevin Lempa has discussed the DC job, and Andre Powell appears to be the frontrunner for RB coach. Powell, the former RB coach at Clemson, is fine by me and was a decent Virginia recruiter for the Tigers. But as for Lempa: that's kind of laughable, considering Lempa wasn't even retained as a position coach. If Edsall doesn't want him to be a position coach, I have a hard time believing he'll be a DC.