Predicting FBS head coaching hires — or where Alabama’s coordinators land?
By Chris Wright
Published:
Everybody, it seems, wants Tom Herman as its next coach … including Houston, which just increased his annual pay to $3 million.
Will Lane Kiffin slide back into a big seat? What about Butch Davis?
Scanning the Internet in an attempt to sort fact from fiction as it relates to matching coaches with FBC vacancies (in alphabetical order):
Central Florida: Two former SEC head coaches turned coordinators, Will Muschamp and Gene Chizik, reportedly are interested. Chizik has done wonders in making over UNC’s defense, and he’d bring a big name to Orlando.
The Orlando Sentinel reported that new AD Danny White is looking for a coach with long-term aspirations to build the program, not a 3-year layover on the way to a bigger job. In that case, it’s easier to understand the Knights’ reported interest in Nevada head coach Brian Polian. Polian spent one season as UCF’s running backs coach in 2004.
Hawaii: It’ll never happen, but can you imagine Larry Fedora in Hawaii? UNC’s coach certainly looks the part.
This is OUR 6-pack! #goheels #sixpack #dontlookoklook http://t.co/np3x4rBrtQ
— CLT Carolina Club (@charlotteheels) August 7, 2014
Illinois: Illinois has bigger hires to make, including an athletic director who will want to choose its next football coach. There has been virtually no movement since Tim Beckman was fired just days before the season opener. Virginia Tech defensive coordinator Bud Foster has been mentioned as a candidate, though interim coach Bill Cubit obviously would provide stability.
Iowa State: Iowa State might be the least appealing opening in the country, which certainly will impact the candidate pool. One advantage: Its new facilities far outpace its pedestrian football past. Navy’s Ken Niumatalolo is the new hot name on this list. For good reason. Paul Johnson created headaches in the ACC with his impossible-to-prepare for triple option. Niumatalolo could do the same for the Cyclones.
La.-Monroe: There might not be a more perfect marriage than Coach O and the Warhawks. (Well, other than Fedora and Hawaii.)
Maryland: Lane Kiffin will get another head coaching job, it’s just a matter of when and where. He reportedly interviewed for the Maryland job. Maryland would be hard pressed to lure a bigger name.
Miami: Butch Davis should have never left Miami for the NFL. His return makes too much sense for the Hurricanes to take a chance on Mario Cristobal. “I would love to see Butch Davis go back to Miami,” ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit said. “It’d be sweet.” Of course, the Hurricanes would be interested in Les Miles if he is available.
Missouri: Tom Herman reportedly is on the Tigers’ short list — isn’t he on almost everybody’s? — but the belief is Missouri will promote from within and hire defensive coordinator Barry Odom.
Odom just missed playing for Gary Pinkel at Missouri but obviously coached under him. This has a Pat Fitzgerald/Northwestern feel, and that worked out extremely well.
North Texas: Auburn RB coach Tim Horton reportedly is interested. Oklahoma OC Lincoln Riley interviewed but said he was not a candidate. Not sure why. Texas A&M OC Jake Spavital is frequently linked to this job, as are TCU co-OCs Doug Meacham and Sonnie Cumbie, and Houston OC Major Applewhite, according to the Denton (Texas) Record.
South Carolina: Sought-after candidate Tom Herman reportedly has withdrawn his name from consideration, significantly increasing the odds that the Gamecocks hire Alabama DC Kirby Smart.
SOURCE: #Alabama DC Kirby Smart emerging as a front runner for #SouthCarolina vacancy: https://t.co/YbepogBcCP
— Bruce Feldman (@BruceFeldmanCFB) November 25, 2015
Southern California: There is no apparent frontrunner on the college level, and with Chip Kelly’s seat growing hotter by the punt in Philadelphia, Kelly’s eventual return to college, specifically to the Trojans, makes as much sense as anything on Nov. 26. SI’s Andy Staples prefers another current NFL coach: Bill O’Brien.
Syracuse: Scott Frost appears to be the frontrunner. Former Orange defensive line coach Ed Orgeron certainly is interested.
Virginia Tech: It seems everybody with access to Twitter has typed in Memphis coach Justin Fuente as Frank Beamer’s replacement. Pat Forde was the latest to do so, which prompted a response from Fuente.
“I don’t know Pat Forde,” Fuente told reporters Tuesday. “As always, I stand by what we’ve said since we’ve been here. If there’s something that comes along and there’s mutual interest, then we’ll have those discussions.“
Managing Editor
A 30-time APSE award-winning editor with previous stints at the Miami Herald, The Indianapolis Star and News & Observer, Executive Editor Chris Wright oversees editorial operations for Saturday Down South.
