The college football season is winding down, but that means the coaching carousel is about to start spinning in a big way. One piece of subtext here is that athletic directors, not just coaches, are leaving and trading places. Jeff Long of Arkansas was pushed out as athletic director earlier this week, which virtually guarantees that Arkansas head coach Bret Bielema is sure to get fired. This adds Arkansas to the list of jobs which will open up for head coaches in the coming days and weeks. Among the many people who will be coveted for these open jobs, here are the four top names being discussed around the country:
Chip Kelly
The former Oregon and Philadelphia Eagle coach (who had a pit stop with the San Francisco 49ers) is always mentioned when a big vacancy comes up. Whether it’s UCLA or Tennessee or Florida, Kelly will be a part of the conversation. That’s simply the reality of the situation as it stands. Kelly has been especially linked to Florida, which suggests at least some involvement, but whether Kelly wants this for its own sake or to generate leverage with NFL teams (if he wants to be in the NFL again) is the real question. Kelly’s offense can probably do better in college than in the NFL, but Kelly might be impatient with college recruiting and prefer the NFL game as a place for his vision to come alive once again. It is uncertain if he wants to stand on one side of the fence or not.
The latest rumors have him being tied to the Florida Gators. They’ve begun the vetting process and he’s now the favorite to end up there.
Jon Gruden
The man who doesn’t have interest in many college jobs, but who once mentioned the University of Tennessee, has a constant hold on the Volunteer job in the eyes of a lot of Tennessee fans. Vol backers just can’t get Gruden out of their minds. They have been fixated on him for a long time. Gruden is very well paid as an ESPN NFL broadcaster. He enjoys what he does and therefore has not made sense as a collegiate coaching candidate. If he really wanted to coach in the NFL, he would have quickly returned to the pros years ago after taking just a few seasons off following his run with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Yet, he has chosen a different life path. If he is ever going to go to Tennessee, this is the time. He can’t pass up this chance. That could be why Tennessee fans think this might be real. Yet, Gruden is a case of “believe it when you see it,” and not before.
Dan Mullen
If Chip Kelly doesn’t go to Florida and Scott Frost also doesn’t go to the Gators, Mullen is likely the third choice. The fact that Mullen used to work at Florida as Urban Meyer’s offensive coordinator makes it a lot easier to understand him going to Florida than to Tennessee. However, if Florida gets Kelly or Frost, that’s when Tennessee could come into the picture, and Mullen might want to jump at the chance to go to a program with a lot more resources than Mississippi State.
Scott Frost
He is young, and he is a native of Nebraska, which makes him hard to resist for a Nebraska program which will almost certainly fire Mike Riley at the end of this season. However, Frost might not want to take on his dream job so early in his career. He might want to succeed at Florida so that if he does, Nebraska can then know he will be ready to take over the Huskers (and he will know he can lead the Huskers back to prominence). If Frost has the chance to choose between Florida and Nebraska right now, it will be one of the bigger dramas of the coaching carousel.
If the Cornhuskers don’t go with him, look for them to target Mike Leach, who has done a great job with Washington State.
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