Florida A&M wants to have a new football coach in place by January.
Athletic director Kellen Winslow said this week he hopes the school will be somewhat close to making a decision on its next football coach around the Florida Classic with plans to name that person in January 2015.
Last week, Winslow abruptly fired Earl Holmes just days before FAMU’s homecoming game against Norfolk State.
Holmes, 41, went 6-16 in two years following the retirement of longtime head coach Joe Taylor.
A nine-member advisory committee will be chaired by John Wooten, chairman of the Fritz Pollard Alliance, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to equal opportunity in the hiring of coaches, front office executives, and scouting staff throughout the NFL.
Wooten played in the NFL for the Cleveland Browns and Washington.
Winslow said he is “looking for the best coach I can find.”
Key members of the search committee include:
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Ty Willingham, former head football coach at Stanford, Notre Dame, and the University of Washington
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Tommy Mitchell, two-time president of the FAMU National Alumni Association, who played three years with the Harlem Globetrotters.
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Dr. Ebenezer Oriaku, professor in the FAMU College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences and faculty athletic representative.
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Natalie White, a member of the President’s Alumni Advisory Board for Athletics, who helped the FAMU Rattlerettes win two regular season Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference titles, and is a member of the FAMU Sports Hall of Fame.
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Herb Reinhard, the athletic director at Valdosta State University and a member of the FAMU Sports Hall of Fame; Reinhard previously served as associate athletic director for marketing and development at FAMU
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Nelson Townsend, a member of the President’s Alumni Advisory Board for Athletics, who served two terms as athletic director of at FAMU. Townsend also served as athletic director at Maryland Eastern Shore University and the University of Buffalo.
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Jamey Shouppe, FAMU’s head baseball coach who previously served as a coach with USA baseball and as pitching coordinator for 18-up Summer.
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Ronnie Mackey Jr., the vice president of the FAMU Student Government Association. Mackey is a broadcast journalism student and plans to pursue a master’s degree in sports administration.
