Eight Names That Could Be Your Team's Next Head Coach
The coaching carousel is spinning fast. Hop on if you dare.
Through the first 10 weeks of the season, 12 FBS coaches have lost their jobs, and there’s a possibility that number continues to rise as the games roll by. According to CBS Sports, as many as 40 jobs could come open by the time everything is said and done. It’s been an unprecedented occurrence. Never before in my lifetime have I seen such chaos and turnover at the head coaching position within college football.
Here are the schools that have moved on from their current staffs. Remember, this list is only going to grow.
Stanford (currently filled with interim head coach Frank Reich)
UCLA
Virginia Tech
Oklahoma State
Oregon State
Arkansas
Penn State
UAB
Florida
Colorado State
LSU
Auburn
With so many jobs open, there are endless possibilities for how this next coaching carousel turns out. Could we see some big-time splashes from schools like Florida and LSU? Where will Penn State turn after letting go of James Franklin? What about Auburn — how big of a catch are the Tigers, really? And then there are schools like Arkansas and Oklahoma State, which could either turn their programs around in one fell swoop or continue down a path of irrelevancy.
What intrigues me more than the schools themselves is the candidate pool. As each job has opened up, a new hot board of names pops up. The same names make up the majority of these lists, and that’s who I’m going to write about today. Because while some of them are well-known — like Lane Kiffin — others are more obscure, and the casual college football fan might not be aware of who they are. My goal here is to educate everyone on where head coaching candidates might end up — and who they are in the first place.
This is not an exhaustive list — if it were, this piece would be 100,000 words long. No, this is just a simple repository of eight names that I’ve seen floating around as potential new head coaches for the schools that have decided to search for greener grass.
Some of these names are obvious, and some might surprise you. For the ones that are shocking, please give me time to explain — because trust me, there are a couple on here that might knock your socks off.
Note: This list is in no particular order. The order is based on vibes alone, which shouldn’t be surprising to you if you’re a longtime reader of SethStack. Also, only current or former head coaches are a part of this list. To all the offensive and defensive coordinators out there, I’m sorry.
Lane Kiffin
There’s no other way to start this than with the most obvious slam-dunk candidate for most of the big-time jobs that are open. Kiffin’s done wonders for Ole Miss in his six seasons in Oxford, and any school that hires him would get a coach who’s been a surefire winner in the renaissance era of his career. That’s all well and good, but if you’re LSU, Florida, or even Auburn, there’s really only one question that matters: Can you lure him away?
On paper, that answer is simple. Of course Kiffin should jump ship if LSU or Florida offer him the job. After all, aren’t those schools better equipped to compete for a national championship? If this were 2015, the answer would no doubt be yes. But this is 2025 — an era where talent acquisition is more spread out across the board, which by proxy makes it possible to win big pretty much anywhere, Ole Miss included.
At the end of the day, it comes down to what Kiffin wants. If he believes he can win a national championship at Ole Miss — and I believe he can (heck, he’s going to make the College Football Playoff this season) — then staying at a place that’s received him with open arms the entire time he’s been there is the easy choice. But if he wants to live in Gainesville or revive LSU and bring it back to glory, then he’s going to walk out the door.
My gut tells me he’s going to stay with the Rebels, though he hasn’t outright committed to that yet. That might just be Kiffin keeping his cards close to his chest, or it could be a sign that his eyes are drifting. No matter the scenario, wherever Kiffin lands will be getting a coach who’s going to command a pretty penny — and in this day and age, where coaching buyouts are reaching numbers never thought possible, that might not be the wisest decision.
What do I know, though? Money isn’t real in college football. Kiffin could ask for $100 million, and they might give it to him. (I’m not joking.)
Jon Sumrall
The second that Auburn let go of Hugh Freeze this past Sunday, the first name everybody pegged as a perfect fit for the job was Tulane head coach Jon Sumrall. I agree.
Sumrall, a former linebacker at Kentucky in the early 2000s, has won everywhere he’s been. In his two seasons at Troy from 2022–23, he won double-digit games both years and claimed two Sun Belt championships in the process. He then took over Tulane after Willie Fritz departed for Houston and continued to build upon the foundation his predecessor laid. He won nine games a season ago, and at 6–2 so far this season, he’s got the Green Wave in the thick of the American Conference race.
Anybody who’s ingrained in college football will tell you that winning consistently at Troy and Tulane is a difficult endeavor, yet Sumrall has defied the odds in both instances. He’s a bona fide winner — and sometimes that’s the best direction to go when making a hire.
Although he was born in Texarkana, Texas, Sumrall lived most of his life in Huntsville, Alabama. Pair that with his success at Troy (which is in Alabama, if you weren’t aware), and that makes him the perfect fit at Auburn. If I were the athletic director at Auburn, I would’ve sent over the paperwork already.
If Auburn decides to go in a different direction, Sumrall is still an attractive option elsewhere. LSU makes sense, since Sumrall is currently at Tulane in New Orleans. He obviously knows what it takes to win in Louisiana — and that’s one of the most critical parts of being the head coach at LSU. However, the internal politics surrounding the hiring of a coach from an in-state school could make that possibility difficult.
Auburn, just hire this man. I swear you won’t regret it.
Jimbo Fisher
OK, before you start yelling, hear me out.
Actually, feel free to yell — because the fact that Jimbo Fisher’s name is even on a list like this is absolutely insane!
Fisher’s exit from Texas A&M has been beaten to death thousands of times. Everybody knows the Aggies paid him $77 million to not coach for them anymore, and I’d venture to guess they’d call that money well spent given how their season is going at the moment. Still, that ludicrous figure shows just how much of a failure he was in College Station. While he did a good job of assembling a roster filled with talented players, he had no idea what to do with them once they stepped on the field.
The signs that Fisher didn’t have it anymore were apparent to anyone watching his latter days at Florida State — where he did win a national championship in 2013. His offensive system was outdated, his coaching philosophy no longer worked, and he didn’t realize either of those things until it was far too late. All it takes is one look at his ridiculously long collection of plays that he was perusing through every down.
Now Fisher works as an analyst for the ACC Network, but recent reports have signaled that he’s extremely interested in getting back into coaching. There’s also some smoke that prominent people within Auburn would be interested in giving Fisher a look — which, while crazy to the general public, isn’t as wild as you might think when you remember the turbulent entity that is Auburn University.
You and I both know that hiring Fisher to Auburn, or anywhere else for that matter, would result in disaster. Despite amassing the best recruiting class college football had ever seen in 2021, Fisher failed to win more than nine games in a season during his time in College Station.
Don’t do it, Auburn. Don’t do it, Virginia Tech. Don’t hire Jimbo Fisher! (Nothing against Jimbo as a person — I just don’t think he’s a very good football coach anymore.)
Marcus Freeman
If anybody can figure out how to pry Marcus Freeman out of Notre Dame’s cold, dead hands, they’ll be a hero for generations.
Just like with Kiffin — albeit to a lesser degree — Freeman’s name has frequently popped up for some of the bigger SEC jobs, particularly LSU. Again, if this were 2015, leaving Notre Dame for LSU would be a much easier decision. Heck, if this were 2021, it’d be simple — Brian Kelly did the exact same thing I’m proposing here, darting away from South Bend for Baton Rouge, claiming it’d be easier to win with the Tigers than the Fighting Irish. The last several seasons have told us that’s certainly not true.
From the outside looking in, it appears Freeman’s made quite the home at Notre Dame. He was the in-house hire following Kelly’s departure, and the program has embraced him unlike many others in the country. And he’s winning, which makes him an attractive candidate for other jobs.
I’ll just say this: if LSU comes calling, Freeman would be a fool not to at least consider it. Now, I wouldn’t actually leave, but if the offer is enticing, there’s a chance it could happen. Is it likely? No. Is it possible? Definitely.
Mike Elko
This one’s pretty simple: Mike Elko is not going to leave Texas A&M for any other job.
“Then why include him on this list, Seth? Only a dumbo would put someone who’s not actually a candidate for other head coaching positions on a list about people who could become head coaches somewhere else.”
First of all, that’s really rude of you to say. Secondly, Elko’s name did come up after Penn State opened up — and despite what Texas A&M fans might tell you, it made perfect sense. Elko’s from New Jersey, and that’s one of Penn State’s key recruiting areas. It could also be argued that the path to a national championship is easier at Penn State than it is with the Aggies.
OK, now allow me the opportunity to refute those two points. Elko’s New Jersey heritage has nothing to do with where he’d “fit” best. He’s fitting in just fine at Texas A&M, and he has that team competing at its highest level in years. On the second point, I’ll grant you that Penn State doesn’t have to go through the grueling SEC schedule every year — but is the Big Ten really any easier? Would you leave a place that’s willing to build you a statue if you win 10 games? The answer is no to both counts, which means Elko would be a fool to leave.
Ryan Silverfield
Now that the heavy hitters are out of the way, let’s get to some of the lesser-known commodities who might have just as much success at new gigs as the people listed above.
Ryan Silverfield’s been the head coach at Memphis since 2020, and just like Jon Sumrall, all he’s done is win — especially in recent years. The seasons post-COVID weren’t fantastic — the Tigers finished 6–6 in 2021 and 7–6 in 2022 — but the success has been plentiful since then.
Since 2023, Silverfield’s Tigers are a combined 29-6, including an 8–1 mark to start this season. The team is in the thick of the College Football Playoff race, and at a Group of 6 school like Memphis that’s usually spending above the rest of the pack, that’s really all you can ask for.
Silverfield’s name has popped up in a good chunk of the coaching searches in the South, particularly Arkansas. In fact, there was a false report that came out yesterday claiming Silverfield had signed a contract to become the next head coach of the Razorbacks — a report that was shot down as quickly as it went up.
I’m not certain he’d be the first choice for some of the bigger jobs on the market, but with how many openings there are — and a pool of candidates getting slimmer by the day — there could be an avenue for Silverfield to level up regardless. While it wouldn’t be a flashy hire, it’d be one filled with sound logic. Silverfield’s a proven winner — and isn’t that the goal of this whole operation anyway? Let’s not win press conferences. Let’s win football games.
Eric Morris
Get Eric Morris to Fayetteville as soon as possible. This man is a quarterback wizard, and he’d do wonders for the Arkansas Razorbacks.
North Texas is not a football school. Denton is filled with music nerds — I say that respectfully, of course — and students who don’t care much about the blood, sweat, and tears necessary to win on the gridiron. That is, until Morris showed up on the scene with a walk-on quarterback named Drew Mestemaker. Those two have uplifted the Mean Green to a season not seen in many years in Denton, as the team is 8–1 and on the precipice of competing for not only a conference championship but also a spot in the CFP.
His prowess at developing quarterbacks doesn’t stop with Mestemaker. Morris’ first major position was as offensive coordinator at Texas Tech, where he called an offense that ranked second in the country in both total yardage and scoring. Oh, and the quarterback leading the charge for the Red Raiders while Morris was there was none other than Patrick Mahomes. I’m sure you know how that story turned out.
Following his success in Lubbock, Morris became the head coach at FCS Incarnate Word in San Antonio. His crowning achievement there was unearthing the gem that became Cam Ward. After Morris took the offensive coordinator job at Washington State, Ward followed, and after an amazing season in Pullman, transferred to Miami and eventually became the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.
Morris had another quarterback find in his bag while at Washington State. Tapping into his Texas roots, he found John Mateer — a relatively unknown commodity from Little Elm — and helped develop him into a bona fide dude. Mateer is now the quarterback at Oklahoma and has led the Sooners to a wonderful start to their season.
Have I made a good enough case yet? This man can coach an elite offense, and he’s deserving of a chance to prove it at the highest level. Whether that’s at Arkansas, Oklahoma State, Auburn, or anywhere else in the country, Eric Morris will score points — and isn’t that what everybody wants?
