News on the Penn State coaching search to replace Ed DeChellis is coming fast and furious now. Earlier in the day, we learned that Penn State had hired former college coach Eddie Fogler to consult on the search for a new coach. If you haven't read our own Adam Collyer's post on him, make sure to check it out. Now, ESPN.com's Andy Katz is reporting Penn State might have its first serious candidate.
According to multiple sources, Penn State will consider East Carolina coach Jeff Lebo, who is from Carlisle, Pa. Lebo was also recruited to play at North Carolina by Fogler when he was an assistant to then coach Dean Smith. Lebo's father, Dave, was a longtime coach at Carlisle High.
Lebo was fired at Auburn but hired at East Carolina last year and led the Pirates to an 8-8 record in Conference USA and an 18-16 record overall, losing to Jacksonville in overtime in the CIT tournament.
Katz also reports Duquesne coach Ron Everhart would entertain overtures from Penn State, and that Milwaukee's Rob Jeter and Drexel's Bruiser Flint remain in the mix. More on Lebo after the jump.
Lebo has coached stints at Chattanooga and Auburn and now holds the head coaching position at East Carolina after being fired by the Tigers in 2010. He has yet to appear in the NCAA Tournament in his career and has one 20-win season, a 24-12 campaign in 2009, in his nine seasons between the schools. Click here for his coaching resume at kenpom.com.
As our own NGameDay11 pointed out on Twitter Lebo has ties to Fogler.
%20#1A1B1F;padding:20px;%7D%20p.bbpTweet%7Bbackground:#fff;padding:10px%2012px%2010px%2012px;margin:0;min-height:48px;color:#000;font-size:18px%20!important;line-height:22px;-moz-border-radius:5px;-webkit-border-radius:5px%7D%20p.bbpTweet%20span.metadata%7Bdisplay:block;width:100%;clear:both;margin-top:8px;padding-top:12px;height:40px;border-top:1px%20solid%20#fff;border-top:1px%20solid%20#e6e6e6%7D%20p.bbpTweet%20span.metadata%20span.author%7Bline-height:19px%7D%20p.bbpTweet%20span.metadata%20span.author%20img%7Bfloat:left;margin:0%207px%200%200px;width:38px;height:38px%7D%20p.bbpTweet%20a:hover%7Btext-decoration:underline%7Dp.bbpTweet%20span.timestamp%7Bfont-size:12px;display:block%7D</style>%20<div%20class='bbpBox73551073331261440'><p%20class='bbpTweet'>Jeff%20Lebo%20is%20close%20friends%20with%20Fogler%20on%20personal%20and%20business%20levels.%20Fogler%20helped%20find%20Lebo's%20replacement%20after%20being%20fired%20from%20Auburn<span%20class='timestamp'><a%20title='Thu%20May%2026%2000:48:37%20+0000%202011'%20href='http://twitter.com/#!/Ben_Jones88/status/73551073331261440'>less%20than%20a%20minute%20ago</a>%20via%20<a%20href=%22http://www.tweetdeck.com%22%20rel=%22nofollow%22>TweetDeck</a>%20<a%20href='http://twitter.com/intent/favorite?tweet_id=73551073331261440'><img%20src=){kind=link}
Jeff Lebo is close friends with Fogler on personal and business levels. Fogler helped find Lebo's replacement after being fired from Auburnless than a minute ago via TweetDeck 
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Ben Jones
Ben_Jones88
It'll be interesting to see if the Fogler connection invited anyone else into the Penn State fray. Given Penn State already has interest in Lebo, a guy who slipped under the radar of most trying to put together early lists of potential candidates, it's possible we'll see a few more guys with ties to Fogler in the coming days.