Early hot seat talk and SEC coaching candidates
We didn’t make it to October before the first college football coach was fired a season ago, and it looks like we may be cutting it close again. There are several coaches on the hot seat all around the country. Mike Norvell has been on one for roughly three years it seems, Shane Beamer’s seat is getting very warm at South Carolina, and Mike Locksley’s is as well at Maryland following a 51-point loss at home to UCLA.
Last year there were a record 38 job openings at the FBS level. So, who are some of the top candidates that may take over programs this season? Here’s an early look.
Buster Faulkner, Florida offensive coordinator
The name that will be at the top of the list for any school looking for a new head coach will begin with Faulkner. The offensive mastermind is in Year 3 as a Power Four offensive coordinator, and this season in Gainesville may be his most impressive. The idea that Faulkner was a one trick pony with Haynes King while at Georgia Tech has quickly been dispelled. Through four games Florida (4-0) has averaged 191 yards more per game on offense and the 53.5 ppg is not only 32 points higher than last year’s average ranks second nationally.
Blake Baker, LSU defensive coordinator
Baker’s name floated around last year as well, and at one point he was considered the favorite to land the Tulane head coaching job. Baker has done extremely well as a defensive coordinator at multiple SEC stops and will surely have his name be heavily mentioned for job openings this hiring cycle. Whether he would want to leave is the biggest obstacle for any athletic director trying to steal him away from Baton Rouge.
Jake Dickert, Wake Forest head coach
Dickert has been excellent at Wake Forest. Even before Saturday’s big win against Louisville, his name was being circulated as a potential candidate for multiple jobs. Dickert is a great story. He’s worked his way up from Division III to Division II, Group of Five and now to a Power Four position. He led Wake Forest to a nine-win season in his first year at the helm which was the best debut campaign by any coach in program history. This year the Deacons are 3-1 with their lone loss coming to Miami.
Glenn Schumann, Georgia defensive coordinator
Schumann has taken the same approach that his head coach Kirby Smart took while under Nick Saban. His name has constantly been atop the list of potential candidates for the next big name to go from coordinator to head coach. Schumann has been patient and waited for the right job to come available. That didn’t happen last year with 38 different jobs open, it may happen this year where someone like him will be in even higher demand with less supply of positions available.
Dan Mullen, UNLV head coach
The biggest knock on Mullen, who had two successful stints at SEC schools already, is that he doesn’t like to recruit. Well, in this current state of college football, recruiting isn’t nearly as important as it once was. An Xs and Os coach, with a chip on his shoulder, might be exactly what one former SEC East team needs if their head coaching position becomes available.
