Closing Comment: Nebraska would certainly tell everyone where they stand in the Big Ten pecking order by poaching the dynamic head coach of a division rival, who also happens to be one of the best recruiters in the conference. Closing Comment: This is who you hire if you want championships. He got all that and then some at USF, and good lord, what a disaster. A coach could conceivably come in and use the opportunity to take a step up the coaching rung toward a head coaching job in the near future. Gruden hasnt even sniffed, let alone showed interest, in a college head coaching job in his entire career, but that wont stop people from pounding the table for him. A steady decline in play resulted in losses piling up and he got the boot. The resume is admittedly solid. At the end of each candidate I include a Closing Comment, which is basically my personal take on what I think of the candidate. Nebraska Book Co. in Lincoln shutting down; 114 to lose jobs; In a van outside OUs Lloyd Noble Center, Doc Sadler lives out another season in 45 years of coaching Could he follow NCAA rules? Weve seen him be an aggressive recruiter and theres no reason to think that would not continue if he were the head coach. So it seems like hes got the head coaching chops, and his coordinator experience at LSU and Wisconsin make him very familiar with how big programs operate. But his most impressive feat is going an insane 83-9 (54-4 in conference) as Ohio States head coach, during which he won 3 Big Ten titles and 1 national championship. Why It Might Work: Strong was a top candidate at Texas for a reason. His stints at Toledo (where he succeeded Tim Beckman) and Iowa State have been impressive relative to their place in the college football pecking order. Why It Might Work: Theres no doubt in Bohls ability to coach and win. The former Auburn head coach known for taking them to the last ever BCS championship game, Malzahn got run out of town after a few mediocre seasons by their standards and is now at UCF. Hes now at Wyoming, where his record is more mediocre. He also has a fiery disposition like a certain former coach and Husker fans find that generally off-putting. While his program has yet to reach the level of Georgia or Alabama, hes built them to be competitive in the SEC, which is saying a lot, since Kentucky is generally considered a basketball school. Theres a reason it isnt in vogue anymore. Finally, aside from Bowling Green and Utah, hes mostly been at places with an advantage for success thats practically built-in. Closing Comment: The appeal of hiring a coach with the achievement of his second season aside, this doesnt seem like a great fit on the surface. And would he stick around, even if things go well? Does Nebraska really want to take a chance on someone with that kind of baggage? Hes a Penn State grad with strong Midwest recruiting ties, and was considered for the job in State College. Id be over the moon if Nebraska hired him. He is still a huge name that will be brought up with every vacancy at a major college football program. Like Venables at Clemson, Leonhard has to be figuring he has a better job right now. Stoops has produced double-digit win seasons, has his program regularly vying for an upper spot in the SEC East, and has sent multiple players to the NFL drafts early rounds. Its hard to say if hed consider Nebraska a destination. His connections in SEC land make him very unlikely to stay at a program like Nebraska, even if he somehow found success. Why It Might Work: Surprisingly Martin is only 54 and has stayed at the same spot for going on eight years. Jon Hale. After taking over the sturdy foundation built by Jerry Kill, P.J. What would he do with the offensive players recruited to a drastically different system? A program looking for energy could really benefit from that. He was BYU's head coach from 2005 to 2015, going 99-43, and so it was a surprise when he left that job for a flailing Virginia program, which he promptly turned around and had them going to bowl games. Hed be an obvious bridge coach who would have to do a lot to win over the skeptics. His head coaching record is an impressive 87-42, but that wasnt enough to satisfy championship-hungry Auburn boosters. That cost Meyer a three-game suspension at the beginning of the 2018 season, his last with the Buckeyes. Creightons a lot younger but it might be tough to shake off the similarities. An Air Force grad who is coaching Air Force, Calhoun is in his 16th season there and has a record of 111-75 after 15 of them. Wilsons biggest knock might be his personality. The former Washington head coach who led the Huskies to their only CFP appearance and who also built Boise State one of the Group of Fives top level programs, Petersen is currently retired and seems happy to be so. WebCandidates must have either current Nebraska licensure or NDE certification and be available 3-5 days per week to serve students in a variety of settings. And yes, hes from the Stoops family and is an Iowa alumnus. 2004-2023 CBS Interactive. His record going into 2022 was 90-54, having coached at a couple spots at the FCS level. Closing Comment: Mendenhall is a really good candidate on paper. On the other hand, theres a case to be made that maybe Nebraska should go that way. All eyes across the country would be tuning in to watch how he does with the Huskersand it could work. Then he went to Kansas and did the same as every coach who went to Kansas after Mark Mangino. Would he be up to it? Patterson knows Nebraska and its culture; he would come out of the box blazing on the recruiting trail. As a former Husker, he should receive the slack Mike Riley wasnt given. Some argue that he left BYU for Virginia to prove he could coach and win outside the Mormon comfort of Provo, but even at the time it felt odd. Why It Might Not: Lincoln might be outside his comfort zone. Why It Might Not: Kentucky demonstrated tremendous patience through his early years developing the program, when his record was 12-24 (4-20 in conference) after 3 seasons. How quickly can they learn his style and become competitive? Why It Might Work: It only took Urban Meyer two seasons to coach Utah to an undefeated season. Could it be interesting? Some might find this hire head-scratching since these days the option is only run by service academies. Yeah, remember him? If youre looking for consistency, this might not be the best choice. Needless to say, from top to bottom, hed be a massive upgrade over Scott Frost, and has a better resume than either Mike Riley or Bo Pelini when they were each hired. Here are some coaches who could be a fit at Nebraska, listed in alphabetical order. And hes bred for the South. Kill has decades of experience as a head Why It Might Work: The jobs he did at Temple and Baylor were nothing short of spectacular. Strong was quickly given a chance to redeem himself after Texas, and it could not have gone worse. His next gig has to be the absolute right fit. He also has head coaching experience from FCS Fordham and Mississippi State. When you hire an FCS coach, even one of the leagues best, youre rolling the dice. Frost studied under coaching legends, knew the Nebraska program inside and out, had two years of head coaching experience, and still failed. Stoops may be even better than that without the baggage. Why It Might Not: A longtime coordinator who turned heads with a special season in year two as a head coach, including a Sugar Bowl win over an SEC opponent? Also, could Nebraska convince him to leave Baylor? Nebraska coaching candidates Mark Stoops, Kentucky coach: Stoops has spent a decade methodically developing the Wildcats into an above-average, competent Moving within the division to suddenly chase his old boss, Paul Chryst, and alma mater doesn't seem like an ideal move. The former was a perennial bottom feeder which he transformed into a conference champion, and the latter was reeling from the Art Briles scandal. Kentucky had no expectations when they hired him. Like many coaches of SEC blue bloods, he got run out of town when the results started to taper off. After Mike Riley was fired in 2017, Bill Moos had one target that lined up with the consensus and all he had to do was get him. Fickell famously turned down Michigan State to stay at Cincinnati, where he has pilfered their best recruit targets over the last half-decade. Narduzzi seems comfortable where he is and it would take a hefty offer to make him pack his bags for Lincoln. Klieman went 69-6 with the Bison and was hired by Kansas State in Dec 2018. Nebraska can turn its program around quickly; it just hasn't done so as of late. Scott Frost, offensive coordinator, Oregon. He produced Dak Prescott for the Dallas Cowboys and his first three seasons at Florida were very good. He also lacks significant regional ties and seems more geared for the Pacific Northwest and Utah-Colorado areas. Leonhard is a brilliant defensive mind, but does Nebraska want to put all its eggs in the basket of a hot assistant who had never assembled a staff or been responsible for recruiting? Twice since 2018 he has won 10 games, perhaps prompting his angry comeback recently when John Calipari suggested Kentucky is far more focused on basketball success. We know who he is. ), he was the Big 12 offensive player of the year in 2006. The headlines would be juicy. He struggled (to put it mildly) to develop a quarterback. He had an up-and-down career thats been mostly down, at least at the head coaching level. Taking on the Nebraska job would place him squarely in the limelight. He would have to go a long way to earn the trust of the players, fans, and boosters. Nebraska coaching candidates to replace Scott Frost, Report: Big 12 in recent contact with Pac-12 schools, Rules committee proposes change to speed up games, Saban unhappy over proposed permanent rivals, USC coach Lincoln Riley builds the perfect QB. But now, Frost is done, and we have no idea what direction Nebraskas going to go. Closing Comment: I could get on board with this, if not be super excited, and honestly, itd be an excellent hire. Why It Might Not: Hokes failure at Michigan was widely publicized, and though he generally seemed to run a tight ship, theres been a fair amount of off-the-field controversy, which he is also dealing with now at San Diego State. 225 Nebraska Union Lincoln, NE 68588-0451 402-472-3145 careerservices@unl.edu His best season was 2016 when he went 12-2 and lost to Georgia in the CFP. Once considered a paltry candidate after floundering to 6-7 as Ohio States interim head coach in 2011, Fickell has since proven to have massive coaching chops by quietly building Cincinnati into one of the G5s powerhouses and crashing the CFP as the first non-Power Five program to do s If fans could get over the personality hang-ups, this might be the answer. Mike Locksley, Lane Kiffin, and Luke Fickell all got another chance after doing some "rehab" at a successful program. February 26, 2023 4:11 pm ET. Hes known as an offensive mastermind and stands among college footballs brainiest schemers. Closing Comment: Given all the candidates out there with head coaching experience, even the flawed retreads, it would almost seem disappointing to pick an unproven coordinator instead. Why It Might Work: Doeren runs the ball Big Ten style at NC State, and theyre very good at it. Nebraska football has a new head coach and heading into the 2023 season, here are three breakout candidates for the Huskers. He was one of the Big Tens most underrated offensive coordinators, running a unique pro-style system that confused defenses with several motions. Why It Might Work: Hes got a lot of energy for someone in his late sixties. Many believe he was one of the original architects of the spread offense.
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