I’ll be the first to admit that I’ve been big on 1. Riley and 2. Napier and still believe both would have great success. However, the more I research these candidates, I can’t help but like what both Fickell and Campbell have to offer.

More importantly, I’m getting over the notion of “culture fit” as an element of our coaching search. And the reason for this is the success that our two previous coaches, before O, had at this program.

Both Saban and Miles were not from here nor did they have recruiting or coaching ties to the region. Yet both got top 5 classes every year and competed for championships.

This, along with the Jay Johnson hire (no connection to the region), has made me rethink my position on the coaching hire. I know Campbell and Fickell’s names have cooled in our circles of late but that doesn’t mean Scott isn’t still targeting them.

The case for them to leave is simple. Both have most likely realized that they have peaked with their current school. Iowa St having a somewhat disappointing year and losing most of its top talent after the season and Cincinnati being 9-0 and no where near sniffing the CFP. This combined with the fact that the big jobs they really want, Michigan and Ohio St, probably aren’t coming open anytime soon.

Giving their ages (Campbell, 41 and Fickell, 48) I think either could be here along time. Also, as we’ve seen, once you get down here and experience all that Louisiana has to offer from a sports and hospitality standpoint, coaches rarely, if ever, see anywhere else as greener pastures. Saban only left for the NFL and has over the years made several comments about him regretting leaving. Miles never took his “dream job” at his alma mater because he knew how much better he had it here. Dave Aranda is another example. West coast guy, never coached in the region. He didn’t expect to like it or stay more than a year (Moscona loves telling the “hanging the tv on the wall story”) but him and his family absolutely loved it here. The point is, if we get one of these guys, they’re not leaving us for a Big 10 job, even if it’s their “dream job”.

So with all that said, I’m hoping that Fickell is the guy Woodward can land us. Great reputation as a recruiter, was DC and interim HC at OSU so he knows how a big time program should run. Program builder as we’ve all seen at Cincinnati. Knows the X’s and O’s of one side of the ball and as many have pointed out, a HC with defensive expertise is much harder to come by. Honestly, the only two I can think of are currently ranked 1 and 2 in the CFP rankings.

There’s other candidates I’d be happy with but I gotta think this would be the best hire.