A little bird told me Shannon likes Danny Langsdorf

Who knows how much weight to put into the rumor, but I've been told that Randy Shannon is high on Danny Langsdorf.

Langsdorf is currently the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Oregon State. He's been with the Beavers since 2004 and before that, spent some time in the CFL and with the New Orleans Saints. During his tenure at OSU, the Beavers have ranked in the top ten in teh nation for passing yardage each year.

This talk of Langsdorf goes against the 'inside scoop' so many others are reporting, with all their signs pointing to an NFL assistant as the next Miami OC.

Personally, I don't know much about Langsdorf but I did watch Oregon State's offense stick it to Southern Cal earlier this year.

I also watched them muster up a 3-0 win over Pittsburgh in this year's Sun Bowl, though in fairness all everything tailback Jacquizz Rodgers - the hero in the upset of the top-ranked Trojans - was sidelined.

Rodgers also missed the season-ending showdown with Oregon, where OSU lost and played their way right out of a Rose Bowl berth.

Langsdorf used a healthy dose of the run and the pass in the few Beavers games I watched this year and could be a good addition to The U, if this is the direction Shannon goes.

There are a few schools of though regarding the hiring of an offensive coordinator.

First is to go out and hire a big name or up and comer. Someone like Gus Malzhan, who Auburn threw some big cash at to lure away from Tulsa. The plus, you're getting what looks like a solid OC. The negative, you're getting a guy who will quickly climb the coaching ladder and probably won't stick around too long.

When an assistant coach gets "hot" he's like the prettiest girl in the bar. Everyone is in pursuit and it makes it hard to settle on just one suitor, with so many offers.

These guys are usually in the college game as NFL up and comers aren't coming back down to the college game for anything less than a head coaching gig, i.e. Rob Chudzinski. No way the Cleveland Browns offensive coordinator takes a pay decrease and step back career-wise to return to his alma mater. Only way Chud is back at The U is the day Shannon is out.

Second option is to find a retread. Someone who has bounced around. Former collegiate head coaches who wind up as NFL assistants and are still putting in their work as a #2 guy so the can someday work their way back to the top. Some of these guys are damaged goods, while others simply caught some bad breaks.

Dirk Koetter fits this mold, as do a few other NFL assistants who have had their names tossed around as of late.

Third is to find that diamond in the rough. An up and comer before he's earned the title, 'up and comer'. Basically, a Malzhan-type a few years back before he became a household name.

Could Langsdorf be that guy? Oregon State has quietly put together a few 9-4 seasons, while mustering up enough to go toe-to-toe with Southern Cal, beating them two of their past three meetings.

If not Langsdorf, is there another up and comer out there that Shannon can spot, before all the big money, big time programs find him and make him a financial offer he can't refuse?

In the end, no one knows what Randy is going to do. This is just a name I heard, so I'll pass it along. I'm not pretending to have any "scoop" and I'm not saying I'm hearing this from "many sources".

I know a few guys in the know and I respect what they tell me. Sometimes they're spot on and other times they're way off. That said, this is what one of them told me today, so I'm telling U.