Coaching carousel going fast in MWC

Down goes Rocky Long at New Mexico.

Down goes Joe Glenn at Wyoming.

Down goes Chuck Long at San Diego State.

Down goes Brent Guy at Utah State.

It's that time of year, when coaches become vagabonds and the name-dropping game begins. University presidents and athletic directors are sifting through a flood of phone calls, text messages and negotiations by surrogates as legitimate and not-so-legitimate candidates seek to turn around fortunes of the unfortunate.

At San Diego State, even a closing win over UNLV at home couldn't save Long from the ax. Names cropping up include BYU defensive coordinator Jaime Hill, a native son of San Diego, who could provide the local touch Long couldn't being from the Midwest.

Hill ultimately wants to return home to San Diego, and he's approaching the same attractive job reviews as current UCLA D-coordinator Dwayne Walker.

Other candidates for the Aztec job include current SDSU faculty member Dennis Green, the former head coach of the NFL's Minnesota Vikings and Arizona Cardinals. Green, who teaches a sports management class on campus, might be the front-runner.

Another name is Terry Bowden, who led Auburn to an 11-0 mark in 1993 before retiring to become a broadcaster and football analyst. Bowden has confirmed with San Diego media his interest in returning to the whistle. Another guy who has been out of coaching but has ties to SDSU's administration is former Minnesota coach Glen Mason.

SDSU sources are mentioning other candidates including former USC offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin, current USC coordinator Steve Sarkisian, Oklahoma associate head coach Brent Venables and former Cal and NFL coach Steve Mariucci.

Rocky Long, who left the Lobos for myriad reasons, including hitting a perceived glass ceiling in recruiting against TCU, BYU and Utah, is rumored to have been offered the SDSU job before Chuck Long. But for Rocky Long, making a move inside the league for another head job doesn't make sense. He's received feelers from Fresno State, Oregon State (where he has coached previously) and San Jose State for a job coordinating their defenses.

Bronco Mendenhall has called Rocky twice, but the word on the street is it's more of a friend-to-friend chat than job talk in Provo. If Hill leaves BYU for a head coaching job, or even if Green asked him to coordinate his defense if he got the call, BYU would be looking for a replacement on its staff, and that would be interesting indeed.

Rocky Long would be a long, very long shot at BYU.