As we are knee deep in the coaching chaos of college football, some names are going to pop up for several of the openings. We aren’t going to try to match the coach and the school for the perfect fit. That would be sportswriting suicide. What we are going to do is take a look at the names whose agents are already getting calls. When you see the list, you may, as we did, realize that there are more high-level jobs out there than there are elite-level coaches ready to move. To be sure, there are plenty of good coaches. But is “good” good enough for your school to hire?
As of the publishing of this article, Arkansas, Colorado State, Florida, LSU, Oklahoma State, Oregon State, Penn State, Stanford, UAB, UCLA, and VA Tech have vacancies at the head coaching position. There is surely more to come as we enter the final month of the regular season, but that is another article for another time.
Clearly, a pecking order can be created from that list. The recently opened LSU job would seem like the cream of the crop. But the governor of Louisiana just announced that he is not going to allow the athletic director to name the next head coach. Maybe that was just bluster. But the historic ties between LSU football and the governor’s mansion go back to the 1930s and Huey Long. We should not assume it is just an inane threat right now. If you are a coaching candidate, you have to ask yourself if you want to have your weekly meetings in the office of a lame duck athletic director or in the governor’s mansion.
At this point, the Penn State job feels like it opened so long ago.
The list of names is not in any particular order in terms of the quality of candidates. That is for each fan base and each school to determine. It is a compilation of names who are having conversations with their agents.
Kenny Dillingham
Head coach at Arizona State; He is in year three as head coach of the Sun Devils. His name shot up the desirable list after an 11-3 season in 2024, and a first-place Big 12 finish. It’s his first head coaching job, and it is at his alma mater. He may be tough to pull away.
James Franklin
Currently unemployed; Franklin’s sin at Penn State was not losing to Ohio State and Michigan on a regular basis, although that became tiresome to Nittany Lions fans. It was adding Oregon to the list of yearly losses and then dropping games to UCLA and Northwestern. Still with an overall record of 128-60 over 14 ½ years at Vanderbilt and Penn State, his super-agent Jimmy Sexton is going to be fielding some calls.
John Gruden
We’re not sure why his name pops up on the wish list of fan blogs everywhere. He hasn’t been a coach at the college level in 36 years (tight ends coach at Pacific in 1989). And his baggage is large. But fan bases seem enamored with the idea, so here he is. Currently working for Barstool Sports.
John Sumrall
Head coach at Tulane; Has turned Tulane into a highly competitive team in just his second year. Two successful years at Troy prior to that. Only 43 years old and recruits the south and southeast very well.
Clark Lea
Head coach at Vanderbilt; In his fifth year on the job. With new resources from the school, he has turned Vandy into a winner. He is 23-34 overall but 14-7 in the last year-and-a-half. He is young (43) and has assistant coaching experience all over the country (UCLA, Syracuse, Wake Forest, Notre Dame). His agent? Jimmy Sexton.
Mike Elko
Head coach at Texas A&M; We are violating our own rules about not tying coaches to specific jobs. We say Penn State reaches out to his agent, Clint Dowdle. Not sure if Elko leaves A&M. He had a good two-year run at Duke, and in year two at A&M, he has the Aggies undefeated. He is in a good spot.
Tony White
Defensive coordinator at Florida State; Has long been seen as a head coach in the making. Has been an assistant at San Diego State, Arizona State, Syracuse, and Nebraska prior to this, his first year in Tallahassee. FSU is drowning again, but the defense has improved.
Lane Kiffin
Head coach at Ole Miss; He is at the top of several wish lists, including Florida and LSU. After stints at Tennessee, USC, the Raiders, and a lifeline at Alabama prior to Ole Miss, it feels like he has been around forever. But he is only 50 years old. He can have his pick. But his professional and personal lives seem to have settled in Oxford. Would it be so bad if he stayed and rode out his current success some more? He is 51-16 in year six at Ole Miss. By the way, he is also a client of Jimmy Sexton
Jake Dickert
Head coach at Wake Forest; Again, a violation of our own rules. His name is here for one reason. He was 23-20 at Washington State, including his interim job. He is 5-2 in year one at Wake. If he gets two or three more wins and the Wisconsin job opens up, the subject of him having a chance to go back to where he was born and raised is going to come up on Badgers media boards.
Bob Chesney
Head coach at James Madison; In his second year following Curt Cignetti at JMU. He is 16-5. Chesney was at Holy Cross for six years before that 44-21 record. He is well-regarded in the mid-Atlantic and southern recruiting areas.
Eli Drinkwitz
Head coach at Missouri; Well-liked by the media for his glib interviews. Liked much less by some of his CFB coaching colleagues for that same glibness. In year six at Missouri, he is 44-26. Had one year at App State before that and went 12-1. The Tigers have gone from SEC bottom dwellers to a program that can make a decent bowl game most years.
Jedd Fisch
Head coach at Washington; UCLA had a shot at him twice and passed both times. Probably regrets in Westwood still. He is in year five as a head, including three years at Arizona. He is 29-31 overall but seen as a top name for a few of the jobs listed.
Alex Golesh
Head coach at South Florida; He is in year three of his first head coaching job after assistant jobs at Tennessee, UCF, Iowa State, Illinois, and Toledo. He is 20-14 at USF and will have options now and/or in the future.
The list is thorough but likely not complete. But these are the names we will hear about the most for the next month-plus. And when you see on social media outlets over the next couple of weeks that one of them has interviewed somewhere, you know it is likely untrue. Most of them have jobs and are not going to be known to have met with other schools while the season is ongoing. Gruden and Franklin are the only ones currently free to interview. For everyone else, the schools will be reaching out to the agents, who will then convey the early specifics to their clients. If the coach has interest, the full vetting process begins, no matter who they are. And then a rush of interviews should be happening around the end of the regular season in late November.
Main Image: Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union
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