Kevin Sumlin Offered ASU Head Coaching Job. Or Not. But Yes? Hold On.

Kevin Sumlin has been officially offered Arizona State's head coaching job.

Wait, no he hasn't. In fact, he's not even been contacted by the school.

Hold on, a deal is imminent.

Huh?

Such is life in today's newscycle, and with a high-profile school courting a high-profile candidate, the rumors are coming in fast and furious fashion.

The craziness began earlier today when Doug Haller, the outstanding ASU writer for The Arizona Republic, tweeted "Source: Arizona State has officially offered its football job to Houston coach Kevin Sumlin."

This immediately set the Twittersphere ablaze, but a bucket of cold water was dumped on the enthusiasm within minutes by Sports By Brooks, who replied "I can confirm Arizona State has had zero official contact with Sumlin. Let alone offered him the job."

Such immediate countering is nothing new to the Internet news world, and what followed were variations bridging the two reports from several outlets, including CBS' Craig Morgan who tweeted "Source with connections to #ASU program: ASU has offered Kevin Sumlin a contract, hire 'almost a done deal.'"

The initial offer report raised some eyebrows as Sumlin is currently preparing his 12-0 Houston Cougar team for Saturday's Conference USA championship game, where they will face ASU's other top candidate in Larry Fedora and his Southern Mississippi squad.

While no official communication has taken place, back channel and third party communication certainly has been taking place.

So what does it all mean?

With Sumlin's connections to Arizona State, current offensive coordinator Noel Mazzone and the contract offer ASU is likely to make, a hire still seems likely. The most plausible scenario, as of now, is an official offer to come early next after the conference title game. With other schools, possibly Texas A&M being fierce competitors, ASU will need to act fast, and these reports indicate that ASU is working hard behind the scenes.

For more in-depth info on Kevin Sumlin and the ASU coaching search, check out the new episode of Speak of the Devils podcast.