And then there\u2019s the splash guy of this cycle, Lane Kiffin, who was fired as head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders and USC before he was 40. He has Ole Miss sprinting toward the College Football Playoff and will attract several of these programs.<\/p>\n
So here we are with 13 openings. We\u2019ve got different buckets when it comes to potential matches. First, to be clear, the absence of \u201cslam-dunk\u201d candidates for these jobs does not mean there\u2019s a shortage of good candidates. Given the trends, it might actually (and accidentally) result in more successful hires.<\/p>\n
Sitting Power 4 head coaches who may be enticed to move:<\/strong> Kiffin, Arizona State\u2019s Kenny Dillingham, Cal\u2019s Justin Wilcox, Cincinnati\u2019s Scott Satterfield, Duke\u2019s Manny Diaz, Georgia Tech\u2019s Brent Key, Houston\u2019s Willie Fritz, Iowa State\u2019s Matt Campbell, Louisville\u2019s Jeff Brohm, Missouri\u2019s Eli Drinkwitz, Nebraska\u2019s Matt Rhule, SMU\u2019s Rhett Lashlee, Vanderbilt\u2019s Clark Lea, Washington\u2019s Jedd Fisch<\/p>\n If Oklahoma were one of our hypothetical openings, Tennessee\u2019s Josh Heupel would be on here, too.<\/p>\n Group of 5 head coaches:<\/strong> Army\u2019s Jeff Monken, James Madison\u2019s Bob Chesney, Memphis\u2019 Ryan Silverfield, North Texas\u2019 Eric Morris, San Jose State\u2019s Ken Niumatalolo, South Florida\u2019s Alex Golesh, Texas State\u2019s GJ Kinne, Tulane\u2019s Jon Sumrall, UNLV\u2019s Dan Mullen, UTSA\u2019s Jeff Traylor<\/p>\n Just-fired (or hypothetically fired for this exercise) head coaches:<\/strong> Kelly, Luke Fickell, James Franklin, Hugh Freeze, Billy Napier, Mike Norvell, Jonathan Smith, Mark Stoops<\/p>\n We can\u2019t consider Sam Pittman, Mike Gundy, DeShaun Foster or Brent Pry as viable Power 4 candidates at this point.<\/p>\n Hot coordinators<\/strong>: Georgia Tech OC Buster Faulkner, Miami OC Shannon Dawson, Ohio State OC Brian Hartline, Oklahoma OC Ben Arbuckle, Oregon OC Will Stein, Atlanta Falcons OC Zac Robinson, Baltimore Ravens OC Todd Monken, Buffalo Bills OC Joe Brady, Cleveland Browns OC Tommy Rees, Denver Broncos defensive pass game coordinator Jim Leonhard, Detroit Lions DC Kelvin Sheppard<\/p>\n Other:<\/strong> Pat Fitzgerald, Jon Gruden, Urban Meyer<\/p>\n That\u2019s 46 coaches for 13 jobs. Other names could be in the mix, but I\u2019ll bet the actual 2026 possessors of those jobs are among the 46. Also, we\u2019re going to create more Power 4 openings as we go, and we\u2019ll fill those too. Let\u2019s get to matchmaking, in order of job attractiveness.<\/p>\n LSU: Lane Kiffin<\/p>\n The failed Kelly tenure should do nothing to diminish what this job is. It\u2019s still the place where the three coaches before Kelly \u2014 Nick Saban, Les Miles and Ed Orgeron \u2014 won it all. This failure is about Kelly. Spend all the money you want, but if your coach can\u2019t bring people together, it\u2019s not going to work. Kelly does not bring people together; he yells at them. He\u2019s a good coach, not a great one. He should hang it up, but that doesn\u2019t mean he will. As for Kiffin, he\u2019s the belle of this ball. It would be another satisfying commentary on today\u2019s game to see him stay at Ole Miss, but the LSU job is too sweet. Too sweet for Kiffin to stay put, too sweet for him to become Steve Spurrier Part Deux at Florida.<\/p>\n \n Lane Kiffin is one of the more splashy hires a school can make this offseason. (Kevin Jairaj \/ Imagn Images)<\/p>\n Florida: Eli Drinkwitz<\/p>\n Nothing has worked at Florida since Urban Meyer\u2019s reign, and it\u2019s tried every model: the successful G5 coach (Napier, Jim McElwain), the established P4 coach (Mullen), the hot assistant (Will Muschamp). After Napier, it\u2019s time to look a level higher and pluck a guy who has done tremendous things at Missouri. If you\u2019re Drinkwitz, you\u2019re looking at a place that finally seems to have figured out what a coach needs to return to winning national championships. This won\u2019t thrill Florida fans, but they\u2019ll already be mad about losing Kiffin to LSU anyway.<\/p>\n Kelly\u2019s pitch for the job<\/strong>: \u201cPick me and I do declare, we\u2019ll never lose to those rapscallion LSU Tigers again.\u201d<\/p>\n Penn State: Bob Chesney<\/p>\n Indiana quickly shut the door on Cignetti by giving him a massive extension right after Franklin was fired, so the presumption has been that AD Pat Kraft will hire close friend and former Penn State linebacker Rhule away from Nebraska. \u201cFit\u201d is the big selling point there despite Rhule\u2019s underwhelming Nebraska tenure. He did flip things at Baylor and Temple, but Penn State would be wiser to go after Vanderbilt\u2019s Clark Lea. I don\u2019t think Lea would leave his alma mater for Penn State, as crazy as that may sound to some. So go for the coach who succeeded Cignetti at JMU, a Pennsylvania guy who is just 48 and has won big at four stops.<\/p>\n Kelly\u2019s pitch:<\/strong> \u201cYinz guys need someone with experience. Yinz guys say \u2018yinz\u2019 in State College, right?\u201d<\/p>\n Auburn: Alex Golesh<\/p>\n The Tigers failed in their attempt to regain prominence with someone who had seen his best days as a coach. Now it\u2019s time to grab someone on the way up, while installing one of the most effective versions of the Art Briles offense to set Auburn apart. More important than the scheming, Golesh is an inspiring leader who proved at South Florida that he can build a strong team culture in the player-movement era.<\/p>\n Kelly\u2019s pitch:<\/strong> \u201cY\u2019all listen here now, I took down Coach Saban in 2022 and you\u2019ll see a lot more of that from my Auburn pro-grum against those Bammers. War Dayum Eagle.\u201d<\/p>\n Florida State: Will Stein<\/p>\n The first coordinator hire for us and a young one at 36. That\u2019s the same age Stein\u2019s boss, Dan Lanning, when Oregon took a chance on him as the coordinator of Georgia\u2019s elite defense. It\u2019s worked out pretty well for Oregon, in large part because of Stein\u2019s creative mind and player development.<\/p>\n Kelly\u2019s pitch:<\/strong> \u201cTomahawk chop? I was doing that in the crib.\u201d<\/p>\n Wisconsin: Jeff Monken<\/p>\n Leonhard will be a sentimental choice, but the alma mater thing is overdone and generally underdelivers. The dissipation of physical domination and power football is a primary complaint of the Fickell era, so why not bring back a Midwestern guy whose teams generally pulverize opponents? Some Wisconsin fans will find the triple option too gimmicky, but it works. It can also be tweaked as Monken\u2019s recruiting landscape widens.<\/p>\n Kelly\u2019s pitch:<\/strong> \u201cOpe, you betcha we\u2019ll get back on track at Wiscaaaaansin. I\u2019ve beaten Michigan multiple times, for cripes\u2019 sake.\u201d<\/p>\n Michigan State: Pat Fitzgerald<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/USATSI_27417816.jpg\")
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