If O gets fired, it’ll be due to title ix. If woody can’t pin O for cause, then O is our coach next season.

I’m not saying all these guys are good, just that this is the list of coaches we could look at hiring. No coordinators really stuck out to me to consider aside from Sark and Venables.

Here is the list:

*****caveats:
* Urban is not coming here. You obviously make him say no, but he isn’t coming.
* Guys with some kind of history regarding women or racism won’t be hired either. This includes Gundy, Freeze, Franklin, and Briles.

1. Matt Campbell.
He is innovative, has won everywhere he has been, and is competent on both sides of the ball. His defense has changed how the big 12 plays defense. He only has 1 regular season loss by more than 14 points (this year’s loss in a covid season in the first game) and has competed and shown he can beat the big boys too. Pretty impressive since ISU has got to be a hard place to attract talent to.

2. Brian Kelly
I know some of you will scoff, but he has been very consistent considering the Academic restrictions and recruiting disadvantage ND has. He knows offense well and has hired some pretty good assistants who have gotten poached by OSU and TAMU. That’s the reason he may leave. ND tends to not give him a huge budget for assistants and the lower academic restrictions on recruiting will be attractive here.

3. Billy Napier
Laugh all you want, but this guy can recruit, has coached under Saban and Dabo, and already has relationships in the state. He also has shown he is a winner at ULL. He has been on the big stage at bama, so no worries there.

4. Mario Cristobal
Doubt he leaves Oregon, but he rebuilt them nicely and has big time experience and recruiting ties to Florida. Could be a solid hire. Seems hungry.

5. Joe Brady
Not sure why he is everyone’s first choice, because I know another former LSU coach where a qb made his career and everybody thought he was a god (Hudson Hallman). But joe has proven to be decent in the nfl, and maybe he can bring some magic back here. I think he holds out for an nfl job though, so I doubt we have much of a chance here.

6. Pat Fitzgerald
Model of consistency and wins where it is hard to win. But he is an alumnus and probably won’t leave NW.

7. Luke Fickell
Midwest guy, but maybe some new blood is needed. What he has done at Cincy is damn impressive. I have some worries about hiring these mid major coaches because guys like Norvell and Fuentes suuuuck. But, unlike those guys both fickell and Napier have big time experience at the big programs.

8. Tom Allen
Some sec experience as an assistant under Freeze. Has done really well at Indiana considering the recruiting and talent disadvantages they have. Maybe an up and comer?

9. mark Stoops
Has not gotten over the hump at UK, but has them more consistent than they’ve ever been in history. With more talent, perhaps he can win. He would certainly improve the defense.

10. Jamey Chadwell
Great season at coastal so far. Only main Worry is his lack of experience. But I like his youth and competitiveness. Although one season could be a one hit wonder. Probably better for a program like Vandy.

11. PJ Fleck
Struggling lately, but has rebuilt 2 separate programs. Gotta give him credit for that. His rah rah shite could get old though.

12. Eli Drinkwitz
Decent resume and has done a fairly good job at Missouri so far. Perhaps he could be a young guy we can poach.

13. Manny Diaz
Miami is known for being cheap. He has good experience and has led Miami to a decent record each year. Not an exciting choice, but his work at Miami this year is impressive.

14. David Shaw
He has shown he can win, even at a tough school like Stanford. But his offense scares the hell out of me that we would be back in the Les miles era.

15. Jeff Monken
Has done a great job at Army. Won’t run the option elsewhere but obviously has to at army. Not a top choice, but if it’s between him or staying in house, I choose new blood.

16. Dave Doeren
Good work at N. Illinois but a little underwhelming at NC state, though he has been a fairly consistent winner. You just gotta wonder if he can get it done given a bigger stage and more talent/budget.

17. Pat Narduzzi
Incredible defensive mind, but can’t get over the 8-5 jump at Pitt. Gotta wonder if he can’t recruit or if his offensive style is stuck in the 90s, because he has some absolute beasts on defense this year. He has upset Dabo.

18. Dave Aranda
No real proof he would be a good HC yet. Struggling at Baylor. Did do well here for the most part.

19. Steve Sarkisian
Don’t know if he sucks or not because his tenure at usc was cut short due to a drug/drinking problem, but he has been effective at bama- albeit with superior talent. His stint at Washington was fairly successful considering how bad they were.

20. Brent Venables
Defense has been nasty, but again he had superior talent. Also, supposedly he doesn’t interview well.

This post was edited on 12/9/20 at 10:49 am