UPDATE: (12:00AM ET): Don Williams of the LUBBOCK AVALANCHE-JOURNAL reports Tuberville will interview Wednesday.

Last night I Tweeted that I thought Texas Tech would hire Tommy Tuberville in less than two weeks. In the past 48 hours I’ve heard from two college football sources that he’s the likely hire. As late as early today though, Tuberville had confirmed that he’d not yet been contacted about the job.

But Lubbock radio and TV personality Chris Level reports this afternoon that, “Tech is going to talk to Tuberville next and after talking to Tommy earlier he’s more than ready for the phone call when it comes.”

Level is also the proprietor of RedRaiderSports.com.

Dwain Price of the FORT WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM reports that earlier today Ruffin McNeill had an informal visit with the same folks who jettisoned Michael Leach from the school:

Interim Texas Tech football coach Ruffin McNeill had an informal interview Monday morning with school president Guy Bailey and chancellor Kent Hance.

Pete Christy of KCBD-TV in Lubbock also reports that McNeill talked to the Tech admin, and that chat included Athletic Director Gerald Myers.

So besides Tuberville and McNeill, who else is in the mix, and who isn’t?

I’ve been told that Baylor’s Art Briles is not a candidate for the job because of a prohibitive buyout (between $3-4M).

Arizona Offensive Coordinator Sonny Dykes, son of former Tech head football coach Spike Dykes, may get a courtesy call because of ties to the school, but he won’t be a prime candidate. Arizona getting shutout and embarrassed in its bowl game the same day Leach was fired certainly didn’t help his cause.

Houston Coach Kevin Sumlin I’ve been told is not interested in the job. He’s waiting on an opportunity from a school with better facilities and resources (money).

Those are the only four names I’ve heard from my sources who could be in the mix for the job.

Tuberville is the likely hire because he’s a big name, has some (however vague) West Texas ties and will probably come relatively cheap.

McNeill still has to be formally interviewed because of the momentum behind his coaching job in the Alamo Bowl, but don’t look for him to get the gig.

Meanwhile, the media is getting behind the thought of Mike Leach to the Oakland Raiders. I’ve seen nor heard anything solid on that just yet.

But at first blush, I’d say there’s no chance of that happening. Knowing Leach’s personality, I think he’d rather throw in with a crummy, 2nd-tier program as emperor than compromise to Al Davis’ whims.