Report: SEC school wants Venables to interview for job

TigerNet Staff by

Clemson defensive coordinator Brent Venables is a hot commodity in college football.

Footballscoop.com is reporting on Monday that Venables has been asked by Mississippi State to interview for the vacant head coaching position left by Dan Mullen after he jumped ship for the Florida job.

"Word in the coaching profession is that Jeremy Pruitt remains a strong candidate for the Mississippi State job, but sources tell FootballScoop Brent Venables has been asked to come in and interview, FootballScoop said. "We’ve been told Bulldogs AD John Cohen, formerly Mississippi State’s baseball coach, intends to hire a “ball coach” as his new football coach. Pruitt and Venables both strongly qualify as ball coaches."

According to the Tuscaloosa News, Pruitt has already interviewed for the head coaching job at Mississippi State.

Clemson coach Dabo Swinney was asked about his assistant coaches possibly getting poached with all the vacancies around college football.

"My focus and Brent’s focus are 100% on Miami," Swinney said. "Nobody is sitting around worrying about any of that stuff."

Clemson is currently No. 6 in the nation in scoring defense (283.3 ypg) under the tutelage of Venables. He has coached elite defenses at Clemson since 2012 and was named the nation's top assistant coach last season.

Venable's son Jake has committed to play linebacker at Clemson next season. His other son Tyler that plays quarterback and safety at D.W. Daniel holds an offer from Clemson.