I'm going to keep this updated, so if you have any suggestions for coaches or pro/con, post them. These are listed alphabetically rather than any kind of ranking/preference order. Let's stick to realistic candidates. Also, the purpose of this thread isn't to debate whether or not we should keep Dan. Let's just keep this from the perspective of who do we hire
if we need a new coach for 2017. Each listed coach has a Wikipedia link.
Dave Aranda , DC LSU
- 40 years old
- DC at Utah State in 2012, the best season in school history. Had the 15th best Total Defense in the FBS.
- In 3 years as DC at Wisconsin (2013-15), had top 10 defenses each season.
- Retained by Ed Orgeron after he fired some of the other assistants.
Kendal Briles, OC Baylor
- Kept Baylor's offense rolling after Montgomery left for Tulsa
- Young - only 33, but if he inherited his father's knack for building winners out of historically bad programs, we could get a steal
- No indication that he was involved in the Briles scandal, but we'd have to be 100% sure of that before we hired him.
- Might bring Art Briles with him as an OC.
- Might bring Art Briles with him as an OC.
Jeff Brohm, HC Western Ketucky
- 23-9 in his third year at Western Kentucky
- Beat undefeated and ranked Marshall on the road in 2014.
- Averaged 535 and 526 YPG in his first two seasons at WKU.
Mario Cristobal, OL Alabama
- Was head coach of Florida International, where he went 27-47 and was fired
- However, winning seasons in years 4 and 5 were the first winning seasons in school history. (Interesting side note: Wesley Carroll was the QB those two years.)
- Fired after going 3-9 in year 6. However, most national media members were very surprised at the firing and thought it was a dumb move. FIU hasn't had a winning season since then either.
- By all accounts very good at his current job at Alabama.
Sonny Cumbie, OC TCU
- Played QB under Mike Leach at Texas Tech.
- 35 years old
- TCU had a tough transition to the Big 12 - first they were 7-6, then 4-8 (in year 13). Then Sonny Cumbie arrives as OC and overnight they turn into an amazing offense and their nobody QB Trevone Boykin becomes a star. From 4-8 in 2013 to #3 in the final poll for 2014, thanks to Cumbie and his offense
Larry Fedora, HC North Carolina
- 34-19 at Southern Miss and even had them ranked his last season there
- 36-22 at North Carolina and seems to have them really rolling now. Won the ACC Coastal in 2015.
- Could we really steal a coach from North Carolina?
PJ Fleck, HC Western Michigan
- After a bad first year, has gone 6-2 twice in the MAC and is 6-0 this year.
- Has defeated Northwestern and Illinois this year.
- Never coached in the South
- Probably going to get a Big 10 job this offseason, but it couldn't hurt to call him.
- Reputation for being a good recruiter in the MAC, which may or may not translate in the SEC.
Willie Fritz, HC Tulane
- A consistent winner. Previously was 97-47 at Central Missouri, 40-15 at Sam Houston State, and 17-7 at Georgia Southern. Has only ever had 2 losing seasons, and both of those were 5-6.
- Played in the FCS national championship game twice at Sam Houston State, losing to North Dakota State. Defeated FBS team in New Mexico once.
- Runs a triple-option offense, but out of the shotgun with spread concepts mixed in. Would be a great fit for Fitz and our young RBs.
- Actually a defensive guy, so he may not really even be committed to the triple option. Would probably hire an OC and let him run whatever he wants.
Scott Frost, HC Central Florida
- Was WR coach, QB coach, and OC at Oregon
- Developed Marcus Mariota
- Leaves Oregon and suddenly Oregon sucks
- Has Oregon 3-2 this year so far, his first year, after they were 0-12 last year.
Lane Kiffin, OC Alabama
- Mediocre at Tennessee, and then left for USC after a year
- Mediocre at USC and then was fired
- Actually has been very good as OC at Alabama - without Kiffin, Alabama doesn't win the national championship in 2014 (and we do? - we probably at least win the SEC)
- Some personal life issues may make him a less desirable hire
Chris Klieman, HC North Dakota State
- Formerly the DB coach and then DC at North Dakota State
- Craig Bohl, not Klieman, is who built NDSU as a program. Note how Bohl has sucked since he left for Wyoming.
- However, Currently 33-3 at North Dakota State in his third season, with 2 FCS national championships
- Wins over FBS P5 teams Iowa State and Iowa
- Never coached in the South
- Only coached in FBS football for 1 season, as the DC for Kansas in 1997
Lance Leipold, HC Buffalo
- Went 109-6 (!) and won six national titles (!) in 8 years at Wisconsin-Whitewater.
- Only 6-11 so far at Buffalo
- Never coached in the South
Mike MacIntyre , HC Colorado
- Bad record overall (30-50), but turned San Jose State from a terrible program into a good one.
- Colorado had 5 straight losing seasons before he got there, including 1-11 the year before. Only won 10 games in MacIntyre's first three seasons, but appears to have Colorado decent this year.
- Only makes $2,500,000, so we could probably raise his salary enough to get him, if no one else is trying to outbid us.
- Has SEC experience, playing at Vanderbilt and coaching at Georgia and Ole Miss.
Les Miles, former HC LSU
- 113-34 in 11+ years at LSU, including 1 national title, 2 SEC titles, and 3 West championships.
- Finished 6-2 or better in the SEC six times.
- Seemed to have a knack for pulling out games in crazy ways.
- In 11+ years at LSU, only ever lost one non-conference game (Wisconsin this year) other than bowl games.
- Reputation as being a great recruiter. Though was that because of Miles, or just because selling LSU is easy? Would it translate to recruiting well at MSU?
- Reputation for being horrendous at clock management.
Philip Montgomery, HC Tulsa
- Former QB coach and OC at Houston and Baylor under Art Briles
- Developed Kevin Kolb, Case Keenum, Robert Griffin III, and Bryce Petty, all 4 of whom are very different styles of QB.
- Baylor's offenses averaged 572 or more yards per game his last 4 years there. Tulsa had its second-best season in yardage in school history his first year there and is averaging 472 this year.
- Tulsa was 3-9 and 2-10 the two years before he got there. In year 1, Montgomery had them in a bowl and is now 4-1 this year.
- No indication that he was involved in the Briles scandal, but we'd have to be 100% sure of that before we hired him.
- Might bring Art Briles with him as an OC.
- Might bring Art Briles with him as an OC.
Todd Monken, OC Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Head coach of Southern Miss from 2013-2015. Took him a while to get going in the wake of Ellis Johnson, but in year 3 went 9-5 (7-1 CUSA) and won the CUSA West
- Previously at Oklahoma State, where he developed Brandon Wheeden and had one of the top offenses in the country
- Left his job to become an NFL coordinator. (maybe this bullet should be red?)
Chad Morris, HC SMU
- Former OC at Clemson under Dabo, where he was generally considered to be one of the best assistants in the country. Was named the AFCA Assistant Coach of the Year.
- Hasn't had a lot of success at SMU yet, but they are at least competitive this year.
Ken Niumatalolo, HC Navy
- Consistent winner: 72-38 in his ninth season at Navy
- Triple option guy
- Mormon, which shouldn't matter, but will be used against him in recruiting
Mike Norvell, HC Memphis
- Former OC at Arizona State, where the Sun Devils averaged in the 440-480 range in yards per game.
- Note: Did not develop Brock Osweiler, who left ASU before Norvell got there.
Ed Orgeron, interm HC LSU
- Fired by Ole Miss after going 10-25 (3-21 SEC)
- However was 6-2 at USC and 1-0 so far at LSU
- Considered to be one of the best recruiters in America
- Very familiar with the SEC.
Lincoln Riley, OC Oklahoma
- Played QB under Mike Leach at Texas Tech.
- 32 years old
- As OC of East Carolina, routinely had them in the top 10 in total offense and scoring.
- Won Broyles Award in 2015, his first year at Oklahoma, where he was again top 10 in yards and scoring.
Willie Taggart, HC South Florida
- Has eventually been successful everywhere he's coached. Elevated Western Kentucky from awful to respectable, and successors Bobby Petrino and Jeff Brohm have kept it going.
- While coaching WKU, won at Kentucky.
Brent Venables, DC Clemson
- Generally considered to be one of the best DCs in America, and has been considered for many P5 jobs.
Kyle Whittingham, HC Utah
- No reason to think he would want the job, other than the word of a few posters claiming inside knowledge.
- Very successful at Utah: 100-47 over 12 seasons. Finished ranked in the final AP Poll 5 times in 11 completed seasons.
- Defeated Alabama in the Sugar Bowl after the 2008 season. Beat a top 10 Stanford team in 2013 and dismantled a good Oregon team last year.
- Home losses include 3-9 Colorado (2011), in-state non-P5 Utah State (2012) and 3-9 Washington State (2014)
- Went 5-7 in year 8 and year 9
- Never coached in the South
- Only makes $2,500,000, so we could probably raise his salary enough to get him, if no one else is trying to outbid us.
- Mormon, which shouldn't matter, but will be used against him in recruiting
Throw out other suggestions and I'll update.
