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The Mountain West is used to having its coaches move on to bigger and better programs and the Missouri Tigers is taking a big swing at a trio of coaches. Colorado State's Mike Bobo, Utah State's Matt Wells and Air Force's Troy Calhoun have reportedly interviewed for the vacancy, per Pat Forde of Yahoo Sports. A fourth candidate interviewed outside of the Mountain West which was Cal's Sonny Dykes.
However, there are conflicting reports over if Wells interviewed for the opening, as Sports Illustrated's Pete Thamel is reporting that Wells did not interview.
The reason for the multiple interviews from the Mountain West team is because Missouri athletics director Mack Rhoades has been in Denver this week, so he decided to interview quality candidates in the area.
Air Force's Calhoun is the most interesting name as he is preparing the Falcons for the Mountain West title game against San Diego State. Seeing the Falcons coach in the mix for high profile jobs is nothing new. He was involved in jobs with the Tennessee Volunteers, Denver Broncos and Colorado Buffaloes, and that is because of his NFL experience. In Colorado Springs, Calhoun has a 67-48 record in nine years and has missed a bowl game in just one of those years.
Bobo is in his first year as Colorado State's head coach after previously being the offensive coordinator at Georgia, and he led the Rams to a bowl game in his first year.
It is unclear if Bobo also interviewed for this job as he was out on the recruiting trail, so an in-person interview may not have happened. Also, Rams athletic director Joe Parker has said there has been no contact from other schools about Bobo.
"Mike Bobo is on the road recruiting the next great class of Colorado State Rams," Parker said Tuesday. "I have not been contacted by any school in regards to its head coaching vacancy."
As for Wells, he has a 25-15 record in his third year leading the Utah State program, but his inclusion might be a moot point if Evans reporting is accurate about him not interviewing for the Missouri job.