FINDING LEACH'S REPLACEMENT: THE SOONER THE BETTER

Texas Tech athletic director Gerald Myers said he believes the process to hire a new head football coach will be a "fairly fast process."

Myers said Saturday night after Tech's 41-31 victory over Michigan State in the Alamo Bowl, that he and the Tech administration will begin meeting Sunday to narrow a list of candidates. Myers said defensive coordinator Ruffin McNeill, who took over as interim head coach after the university fired Mike Leach on Wednesday, would be given a fair shot at the job.

"Ruff has done a good job. He mentioned earlier in the week that he would be auditioning for the job tonight and I think he had a pretty good performance. He did a great job," Myers said. "These players love Ruffin, our fans love Ruffin. He certainly will get a lot of strong consideration. We’re not opposed to hiring coordinators. We’re going to take a look at it. We've got to meet with our administration and go from there. The sooner the better is all I can say."

McNeill, whose defense came up with key fourth-quarter stops to ensure the win, said he'd be honored to assume control of the program. Players doused McNeill with a bucket of Gatorade and then he individually embracd players, clearly showing the exhaustion and mental toll the past few days had taken.

"This was the most challenging week I've had in my 29 years of coaching," Ruffin said. "It was a fun challenge though and this is the most rewarding night I've had in my coaching career. I love those players and this is the most rewarding night of my life."

Former Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville has publicly stated his interest in the position. Baylor coach Art Briles, who served under Leach at Tech from 2000-02, said in a statement that he is committed to the Bears. Other candidates could include Houston coach Kevin Sumlin, who runs a spread offense and whose offensive coordinator is former longtime Leach assistant Dana Holgerson. Southern Mississippi coach Larry Fedora could also be in the mix.

Tech Players voiced strong support for Ruffin after Saturday's game.

"To the world outside of Tech football it was chaotic, but inside Tech football, everybody knew Ruff had this team," running back Baron Batch said. "Ruff's a great coach and we have full confidence in him. We love to play for Ruff, we love to play for our coaches and I would love nothing more for him to be the coach next year. He handled this week just awesome, better than awesome. There's not a word to describe how well he handled this week."

Story courtesy of www.espn.go.com/dallas