Eight Power 4 jobs are open right now. Seven are up for grabs because of in-season firings, and one will be because Stanford is doing the Frank Reich thing for a year. More are coming, perhaps some or all of these five among them: Auburn, Kentucky, Florida State, Michigan State and Wisconsin.
Since this is all so much fun — agents schooling schools on these contracts, schools quickly giving up on coaches and paying enormous sums for them to go away, then hitting up the donors for even more to help pay off the last coach and give the new coach a better shot at winning — let’s just go with the baker’s dozen and match 13 jobs with 13 ideal new coaches.
As The Athletic’s Seth Emerson pointed out in the wake of LSU’s firing of Brian Kelly, the splash hires — such as Scott Woodward luring Kelly from Notre Dame after previously saddling Texas A&M with Jimbo Fisher — aren’t working so well lately. Of the top-10 teams in the current AP poll, six coaches got their jobs without head coaching experience. Curt Cignetti came to Indiana from James Madison. Mike Elko came to Texas A&M from Duke. Kalen DeBoer made a big jump to Alabama from Washington.
And then there’s the splash guy of this cycle, Lane Kiffin, who was fired as head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders and USC before he was 40. He has Ole Miss sprinting toward the College Football Playoff and will attract several of these programs.
So here we are with 13 openings. We’ve got different buckets when it comes to potential matches. First, to be clear, the absence of “slam-dunk” candidates for these jobs does not mean there’s a shortage of good candidates. Given the trends, it might actually (and accidentally) result in more successful hires.
Sitting Power 4 head coaches who may be enticed to move: Kiffin, Arizona State’s Kenny Dillingham, Cal’s Justin Wilcox, Cincinnati’s Scott Satterfield, Duke’s Manny Diaz, Georgia Tech’s Brent Key, Houston’s Willie Fritz, Iowa State’s Matt Campbell, Louisville’s Jeff Brohm, Missouri’s Eli Drinkwitz, Nebraska’s Matt Rhule, SMU’s Rhett Lashlee, Vanderbilt’s Clark Lea, Washington’s Jedd Fisch
If Oklahoma were one of our hypothetical openings, Tennessee’s Josh Heupel would be on here, too.
Group of 5 head coaches: Army’s Jeff Monken, James Madison’s Bob Chesney, Memphis’ Ryan Silverfield, North Texas’ Eric Morris, San Jose State’s Ken Niumatalolo, South Florida’s Alex Golesh, Texas State’s GJ Kinne, Tulane’s Jon Sumrall, UNLV’s Dan Mullen, UTSA’s Jeff Traylor
Just-fired (or hypothetically fired for this exercise) head coaches: Kelly, Luke Fickell, James Franklin, Hugh Freeze, Billy Napier, Mike Norvell, Jonathan Smith, Mark Stoops
We can’t consider Sam Pittman, Mike Gundy, DeShaun Foster or Brent Pry as viable Power 4 candidates at this point.
Hot coordinators: Georgia Tech OC Buster Faulkner, Miami OC Shannon Dawson, Ohio State OC Brian Hartline, Oklahoma OC Ben Arbuckle, Oregon OC Will Stein, Atlanta Falcons OC Zac Robinson, Baltimore Ravens OC Todd Monken, Buffalo Bills OC Joe Brady, Cleveland Browns OC Tommy Rees, Denver Broncos defensive pass game coordinator Jim Leonhard, Detroit Lions DC Kelvin Sheppard
Other: Pat Fitzgerald, Jon Gruden, Urban Meyer
That’s 46 coaches for 13 jobs. Other names could be in the mix, but I’ll bet the actual 2026 possessors of those jobs are among the 46. Also, we’re going to create more Power 4 openings as we go, and we’ll fill those too. Let’s get to matchmaking, in order of job attractiveness.
LSU: Lane Kiffin
The failed Kelly tenure should do nothing to diminish what this job is. It’s still the place where the three coaches before Kelly — Nick Saban, Les Miles and Ed Orgeron — won it all. This failure is about Kelly. Spend all the money you want, but if your coach can’t bring people together, it’s not going to work. Kelly does not bring people together; he yells at them. He’s a good coach, not a great one. He should hang it up, but that doesn’t mean he will. As for Kiffin, he’s the belle of this ball. It would be another satisfying commentary on today’s game to see him stay at Ole Miss, but the LSU job is too sweet. Too sweet for Kiffin to stay put, too sweet for him to become Steve Spurrier Part Deux at Florida.
Lane Kiffin is one of the more splashy hires a school can make this offseason. (Kevin Jairaj / Imagn Images)
Florida: Eli Drinkwitz
Nothing has worked at Florida since Urban Meyer’s reign, and it’s tried every model: the successful G5 coach (Napier, Jim McElwain), the established P4 coach (Mullen), the hot assistant (Will Muschamp). After Napier, it’s time to look a level higher and pluck a guy who has done tremendous things at Missouri. If you’re Drinkwitz, you’re looking at a place that finally seems to have figured out what a coach needs to return to winning national championships. This won’t thrill Florida fans, but they’ll already be mad about losing Kiffin to LSU anyway.
Kelly’s pitch for the job: “Pick me and I do declare, we’ll never lose to those rapscallion LSU Tigers again.”
Penn State: Bob Chesney
Indiana quickly shut the door on Cignetti by giving him a massive extension right after Franklin was fired, so the presumption has been that AD Pat Kraft will hire close friend and former Penn State linebacker Rhule away from Nebraska. “Fit” is the big selling point there despite Rhule’s underwhelming Nebraska tenure. He did flip things at Baylor and Temple, but Penn State would be wiser to go after Vanderbilt’s Clark Lea. I don’t think Lea would leave his alma mater for Penn State, as crazy as that may sound to some. So go for the coach who succeeded Cignetti at JMU, a Pennsylvania guy who is just 48 and has won big at four stops.
Kelly’s pitch: “Yinz guys need someone with experience. Yinz guys say ‘yinz’ in State College, right?”
Auburn: Alex Golesh
The Tigers failed in their attempt to regain prominence with someone who had seen his best days as a coach. Now it’s time to grab someone on the way up, while installing one of the most effective versions of the Art Briles offense to set Auburn apart. More important than the scheming, Golesh is an inspiring leader who proved at South Florida that he can build a strong team culture in the player-movement era.
Kelly’s pitch: “Y’all listen here now, I took down Coach Saban in 2022 and you’ll see a lot more of that from my Auburn pro-grum against those Bammers. War Dayum Eagle.”
Florida State: Will Stein
The first coordinator hire for us and a young one at 36. That’s the same age Stein’s boss, Dan Lanning, when Oregon took a chance on him as the coordinator of Georgia’s elite defense. It’s worked out pretty well for Oregon, in large part because of Stein’s creative mind and player development.
Kelly’s pitch: “Tomahawk chop? I was doing that in the crib.”
Wisconsin: Jeff Monken
Leonhard will be a sentimental choice, but the alma mater thing is overdone and generally underdelivers. The dissipation of physical domination and power football is a primary complaint of the Fickell era, so why not bring back a Midwestern guy whose teams generally pulverize opponents? Some Wisconsin fans will find the triple option too gimmicky, but it works. It can also be tweaked as Monken’s recruiting landscape widens.
Kelly’s pitch: “Ope, you betcha we’ll get back on track at Wiscaaaaansin. I’ve beaten Michigan multiple times, for cripes’ sake.”
Michigan State: Pat Fitzgerald
The prevailing theme here is to get coaches on an ascent rather than a descent. Fitzgerald has been out of the game since Northwestern fired him in 2023 following a hazing scandal, and he went 4-20 in his final two years with the Wildcats. But the scandal wasn’t a career-ender. He’s just 50, and he fits at Michigan State. His personality fits the model of the coach who — with proper resources — can flourish in this era.
Kelly’s pitch: “Remember when you picked Mark Dantonio over me in 2006? Let’s make it right. Look, I can show you where East Lansing is on the palm of my hand.”
Ole Miss: Dan Mullen
One good year at UNLV and back in the SEC? Willing to live life on the other side of the Egg Bowl after going 3-6 against the Rebels while at Mississippi State? Mullen should be attracted to a program that Kiffin is about to put in the Playoff. Ole Miss would get a proven winner here and infuriate its rival, providing some solace after losing Kiffin.
Kelly’s pitch: “Good lord willing and the creek don’t rise, I reckon we can be finer than frog’s hair together.”
Arkansas: Ryan Silverfield
Put the Grumors to rest and go get a guy who beat your team this season, who just beat Golesh and USF, who has taken Memphis to a new level for the past three seasons and is just 45 years old. He’s been nearby since joining Memphis as offensive line coach in 2016. It makes too much sense.
Kelly’s pitch: “Woooooooo … Piiiiiiggggggg …. Sooooooieeeee. Razorbacks! I bet John Calipari’s never done that for you.”
Virginia Tech: James Franklin
This is a dream scenario for the Hokies, as laid out by colleague Grace Raynor. The question is whether Franklin can get a better job. Auburn? Wisconsin? Michigan State? Better leagues, yes. But Franklin gets donors motivated and things done, he already has strong Virginia connections and there are no real bogeymen in the ACC anymore. It’s actually perfect.
Kelly’s pitch: “Huge Metallica guy here.”
Missouri: Mike Norvell
There are questions to be asked about his wild swings at Florida State, but the highs were pretty high: 23-4 combined in 2022-23. Norvell is a 44-year-old coach with room to grow. This is an effective pivot from losing Drinkwitz, a credit to what Drinkwitz did at Mizzou.
Kelly’s pitch: “Yeah, I’m from the ‘Show Me State.’ Show me the money, baby.”
While Florida State has had a down past two seasons, Mike Norvell showed a strong peak with the Seminoles from 2022-2023. (Robert Myers / Imagn Images)
Kentucky: Jon Sumrall
Remember all that stuff about avoiding alumnus/alma mater reunions? Here’s a blatant breaking of that rule. The problem for Kentucky is that plenty of other schools have interest in Sumrall, a former UK linebacker who has been excellent at Tulane and Troy before that. Stoops did a lot to make this a more attractive job but simply lost momentum. Let’s have a homecoming.
Kelly’s pitch: “We’ll win, place and show if you give me a shot. That’s good, right?”
UCLA: Eric Morris
As with several of the programs on here, some obvious advice: Go after Lea. Also: Don’t get your hopes up. Morris is another G5 coach with impressive early returns, a former Mike Leach receiver at Texas Tech who is breaking through with North Texas in his third season. He’s had two stints at Washington State, so he knows that coast, for as much as that matters anymore.
Kelly’s pitch: “Bruh, I’m like, so stoked.”
Oklahoma State: Zac Robinson
Another homecoming, after ripping homecomings? Yes. But Oklahoma State just saw the end of one of the most successful tenures of a former player as head coach. Would Robinson have misgivings about replacing Gundy, his coach at OSU? Or would he see it as extending that era in a way? He knows he can’t have the same philosophy on using the portal.
Kelly’s pitch: “Seriously? I have to pitch myself for Oklahoma State?”
Stanford: Todd Monken
We got Jeff Monken — Todd’s cousin — into the Big Ten, so let’s put Todd in the ACC. The longtime OC, who has done great things with the Ravens and previously at Georgia, has three years of head coaching experience, turning a terrible Southern Miss program into a winner in his final season. Andrew Luck and an NFL guy would seem to make sense.
Kelly’s pitch: “I’m basically an irascible Jim Harbaugh.”
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