turbanicusgt
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So what names could get in the mix?
It may have seemed a long shot a few years ago, but Deion Sanders would be an intriguing name for this job. He’s 18-5 at Jackson State, including an 11-2 record and SWAC championship last year and a 3-0 start this year. He recruited a top-75 Class of 2022 to an FCS school, including signing the No. 1 player Travis Hunter, flipping him from Florida State. Sanders had conversations with TCU and Arkansas about their openings, although the talks didn’t go far. His continued success is going to get him more Power 5 interest, and coaching in Atlanta, where he played for the Falcons and Braves, could be a fit. But what about that academic bar? Sanders’ history with a failed prep school is something still brought up by administrators when discussing his candidacy.
Georgia offensive coordinator Todd Monken has done a tremendous job in two-plus seasons. UGA finished ninth nationally in scoring in 2021 en route to a national championship, and quarterback Stetson Bennett could be a Heisman Trophy contender this year as the Dawgs look creative and versatile on offense. In his one stint as a head coach, Monken inherited a 0-12 Southern Miss program in 2013 and produced a 9-5 season by 2015 with a division championship before leaving for an NFL coordinator job. The 56-year-old knows the state of Georgia and how to run a program in the Saban/Smart mold.
Another Georgia assistant, running backs coach Dell McGee, could be a name to watch as well. A former Georgia high school coach at Carver-Columbus, McGee spent two years at Georgia Southern and has been at UGA since 2016. Running backs like Nick Chubb, Sony Michel and D’Andre Swift are among his pupils. He is well-respected throughout the state and has played an integral role in Kirby Smart turning the Dawgs into a machine.
Alabama offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien spent eight years as a Georgia Tech assistant from 1995 to 2002. He has been in the mix for other jobs, though some in the industry believe he wants to get back to the NFL. In his one stint as a college head coach, O’Brien handled the Penn State job admirably coming out of the Jerry Sandusky scandal and NCAA penalties, going 15-9 in two years as head coach there before leaving for the Houston Texans head coaching job. At Alabama, Bryce Young won the Heisman Trophy last year under O’Brien’s direction, one season after Alabama lost one of the greatest classes of skill players ever.
Coastal Carolina head coach Jamey Chadwell is 26-3 in the past two-plus years, and he has won almost everywhere he’s been as a head coach, starting in the Division II ranks. That includes seven seasons with at least eight wins in 12 years as a head coach. At Coastal, he has developed star players like quarterback Grayson McCall and tight end Isaiah Likely. His spread-option offense has been lethal with the right quarterback, but he has never coached or recruited at the Power 5 level.
Former Florida head coach Dan Mullen has spent this season at ESPN but would love to get back into a head coaching job. He is 103-61 as a head coach, including an impressive 69-46 over nine years at Mississippi State, reaching No. 1 in the polls at one point in 2014. He went 34-15 at Florida and got fired amid a 5-6 season, but he reached a New Year’s Six bowl in each of the previous three seasons. He’s a smart offensive mind, he knows the region and he wouldn’t have to recruit a top-10 class at Georgia Tech.
Former Virginia and BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall has experience winning at places with high or unique standards. He’s 135-81 as a head coach, including 34-28 in his final five years at UVA. He’s a defensive coach, but Virginia had one of the most explosive passing offenses in the country in his final years. The 56-year-old Mendenhall stepped away from Virginia on his own but made sure to say it wasn’t a retirement. His Virginia tenure is his only experience in the Eastern time zone. Could he work in the Southeast?
Former Texas head coach Tom Herman wasn’t too interested in returning to the college game after getting fired by Texas and moving into the NFL. But he’s spending this season as a CBS college analyst. He’s 54-22 as a head coach and never had a losing season at Texas, finishing in the Top 25 in each of his last three years.
Carolina Panthers head coach Matt Rhule is a potential option for a lot of college jobs if he gets fired before the end of the NFL season. Rhule is 11-25 in two-plus seasons with Carolina and is squarely on the hot seat. Rhule went 47-43 as a college coach, taking Temple from 2-10 to AAC champion over four years and taking Baylor from 1-11 to 11-3 in three years. He’ll have a lot of college suitors if he’s available. He’s also a longtime friend of Collins.
Oklahoma offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby has produced some of the best offenses in the country at Ole Miss and UCF. The 38-year-old helped develop Matt Corral into an NFL Draft pick and may do the same with Dillon Gabriel.
Miami (Fla.) offensive coordinator Josh Gattis won the Broyles Award as the nation’s top assistant coach at Michigan last year as the Wolverines won the Big Ten for the first time since 2004 and reached the College Football Playoff. He has worked under Nick Saban, Jim Harbaugh and James Franklin, including two years at Vanderbilt, though the start to this season has not gone as planned for the Hurricanes.
Los Angeles Rams tight ends/assistant head coach Thomas Brown is from the Atlanta area and is a former UGA player and assistant coach. He has spent the past three seasons with the Rams, earning a Super Bowl ring last year as the running backs coach. In 2014, Brown was Wisconsin’s running backs coach as Melvin Gordon rushed for a Big Ten-record 2,587 yards and was a Heisman finalist. Brown, who is also known as a strong recruiter, was Miami’s offensive coordinator from 2016 to 2018.
It may have seemed a long shot a few years ago, but Deion Sanders would be an intriguing name for this job. He’s 18-5 at Jackson State, including an 11-2 record and SWAC championship last year and a 3-0 start this year. He recruited a top-75 Class of 2022 to an FCS school, including signing the No. 1 player Travis Hunter, flipping him from Florida State. Sanders had conversations with TCU and Arkansas about their openings, although the talks didn’t go far. His continued success is going to get him more Power 5 interest, and coaching in Atlanta, where he played for the Falcons and Braves, could be a fit. But what about that academic bar? Sanders’ history with a failed prep school is something still brought up by administrators when discussing his candidacy.
Georgia offensive coordinator Todd Monken has done a tremendous job in two-plus seasons. UGA finished ninth nationally in scoring in 2021 en route to a national championship, and quarterback Stetson Bennett could be a Heisman Trophy contender this year as the Dawgs look creative and versatile on offense. In his one stint as a head coach, Monken inherited a 0-12 Southern Miss program in 2013 and produced a 9-5 season by 2015 with a division championship before leaving for an NFL coordinator job. The 56-year-old knows the state of Georgia and how to run a program in the Saban/Smart mold.
Another Georgia assistant, running backs coach Dell McGee, could be a name to watch as well. A former Georgia high school coach at Carver-Columbus, McGee spent two years at Georgia Southern and has been at UGA since 2016. Running backs like Nick Chubb, Sony Michel and D’Andre Swift are among his pupils. He is well-respected throughout the state and has played an integral role in Kirby Smart turning the Dawgs into a machine.
Alabama offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien spent eight years as a Georgia Tech assistant from 1995 to 2002. He has been in the mix for other jobs, though some in the industry believe he wants to get back to the NFL. In his one stint as a college head coach, O’Brien handled the Penn State job admirably coming out of the Jerry Sandusky scandal and NCAA penalties, going 15-9 in two years as head coach there before leaving for the Houston Texans head coaching job. At Alabama, Bryce Young won the Heisman Trophy last year under O’Brien’s direction, one season after Alabama lost one of the greatest classes of skill players ever.
Coastal Carolina head coach Jamey Chadwell is 26-3 in the past two-plus years, and he has won almost everywhere he’s been as a head coach, starting in the Division II ranks. That includes seven seasons with at least eight wins in 12 years as a head coach. At Coastal, he has developed star players like quarterback Grayson McCall and tight end Isaiah Likely. His spread-option offense has been lethal with the right quarterback, but he has never coached or recruited at the Power 5 level.
Former Florida head coach Dan Mullen has spent this season at ESPN but would love to get back into a head coaching job. He is 103-61 as a head coach, including an impressive 69-46 over nine years at Mississippi State, reaching No. 1 in the polls at one point in 2014. He went 34-15 at Florida and got fired amid a 5-6 season, but he reached a New Year’s Six bowl in each of the previous three seasons. He’s a smart offensive mind, he knows the region and he wouldn’t have to recruit a top-10 class at Georgia Tech.
Former Virginia and BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall has experience winning at places with high or unique standards. He’s 135-81 as a head coach, including 34-28 in his final five years at UVA. He’s a defensive coach, but Virginia had one of the most explosive passing offenses in the country in his final years. The 56-year-old Mendenhall stepped away from Virginia on his own but made sure to say it wasn’t a retirement. His Virginia tenure is his only experience in the Eastern time zone. Could he work in the Southeast?
Former Texas head coach Tom Herman wasn’t too interested in returning to the college game after getting fired by Texas and moving into the NFL. But he’s spending this season as a CBS college analyst. He’s 54-22 as a head coach and never had a losing season at Texas, finishing in the Top 25 in each of his last three years.
Carolina Panthers head coach Matt Rhule is a potential option for a lot of college jobs if he gets fired before the end of the NFL season. Rhule is 11-25 in two-plus seasons with Carolina and is squarely on the hot seat. Rhule went 47-43 as a college coach, taking Temple from 2-10 to AAC champion over four years and taking Baylor from 1-11 to 11-3 in three years. He’ll have a lot of college suitors if he’s available. He’s also a longtime friend of Collins.
Oklahoma offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby has produced some of the best offenses in the country at Ole Miss and UCF. The 38-year-old helped develop Matt Corral into an NFL Draft pick and may do the same with Dillon Gabriel.
Miami (Fla.) offensive coordinator Josh Gattis won the Broyles Award as the nation’s top assistant coach at Michigan last year as the Wolverines won the Big Ten for the first time since 2004 and reached the College Football Playoff. He has worked under Nick Saban, Jim Harbaugh and James Franklin, including two years at Vanderbilt, though the start to this season has not gone as planned for the Hurricanes.
Los Angeles Rams tight ends/assistant head coach Thomas Brown is from the Atlanta area and is a former UGA player and assistant coach. He has spent the past three seasons with the Rams, earning a Super Bowl ring last year as the running backs coach. In 2014, Brown was Wisconsin’s running backs coach as Melvin Gordon rushed for a Big Ten-record 2,587 yards and was a Heisman finalist. Brown, who is also known as a strong recruiter, was Miami’s offensive coordinator from 2016 to 2018.