If you play with fire, eventually you’re going to get burnt. Three men learned that the hard way and the ranks of vacant jobs this winter is up to nine. The coaching carousel is in full swing and we’re just at the halfway point of the season.
Welcome to the SID Sports Coaching Shortlists. If you’re new here, here’s a recap of what this is. I’ll break down each job as they come open. In the interests of your inboxes, that means three this week: Penn State, Oregon State and UAB. For each job, I’ll go over the Job itself as well as the top five candidates that I think make sense.
As with all of these articles and shortlists, unless stated otherwise, these pairings are pure speculation. If I have any inside knowledge or am hearing anything from my trusted sources, I’ll let you know in each one.
We’ve got a lot to get into today with not one, but three jobs to cover, so let’s get into it.
The Job - Penn State
Let’s start it off with the big job, shall we?
Penn State did the unthinkable. They actually fired James Franklin.
I alluded to it on Notes and Bluesky in the wake of Penn State’s loss to Northwestern, but after two consecutive losses to teams seen in the dredges of the Big Ten basement, James Franklin is out at Penn State.
The context makes it worse. UCLA had already had their Coaching Shortlist published. I called Northwestern one of the nation’s worst teams. And somehow, the Nittany Lions lost to both in back-to-back weeks.
But it’s not just that three-game stretch, started with a typical Big Game James loss to Oregon in double overtime and punctuated with Northwestern’s improbable win, that sank the Franklin tenure. It’s everything that went on in recent years.
The Big Game James mantra, where he could never win the big one. Franklin departs Happy Valley with a 4-18 record against AP Top 10 teams and an even worse 1-18 mark against in-conference Top 10 foes. That one win? Against Ohio State nearly a decade ago in 2016. In his press conference following Franklin’s firing, Penn State athletic director Pat Kraft said that record was a major part of starting fresh post-Franklin.
But there’s also the off-field things. The constant spats with Penn State faithful. That Franklin and company never really ingrained themselves in the community.
Maybe it’s all revisionist history. Who knows for certain?
What we do know is that one of the 10 or 15 best jobs in college football is open. The university is strongly behind building a football winner, giving Franklin everything he asked for. Shell out the largest contract ever for a top defensive coordinator? Done. Get NIL in order so that you can run it back for a title? Say less. Get the facilities up to par to compete with the best of the best? You’ve got it.
Penn State is shelling out $49 million for James Franklin to sit at home. The $3.1 million annual salary for Jim Knowles hasn’t translated to a better defense. The money is there - Penn State has the second largest athletics endowment in the Big Ten behind only Michigan. Their new deal with Adidas is expected to bring even more cash to Happy Valley. Billions of additional funding is in flux as the Big Ten flirts with private equity firms. And the president and athletic director are committed to football.
This is a university looking to break through. They want more than 10-win seasons. They want a national title.
Is this your Mark Richt fire? Or your Bo Pelini? (more on that tomorrow for those not in the know).
The Candidates
With Franklin gone, it’s clear Penn State is the best job on the market. And it’s clear they’re swinging for the fences. So we’ll probably not see much overlap between this shortlist and some of the others, but some names may be familiar.
Matt Rhule, Nebraska HC: Rhule is the clubhouse leader and option 1A for the Nittany Lions. Rhule and Kraft worked together at Temple and have stayed in touch over the years. By all means, they have a great relationship. Rhule walked on as a linebacker at Penn State. And Rhule has a great reputation on the college side of the world, engineering massive turnarounds at Temple and Baylor in under three seasons, while year three at Nebraska has the Huskers ranked in my latest rankings. A lot of this would depend on how Rhule’s Nebraska finishes out the season, but if he’s already getting asked and not closing the door on the job, conversations have started.
Curt Cignetti, Indiana HC: If Penn State really wants to swing for the fences, presenting a blank check to Cignetti is a great way to do it. While it’s true the 64-year old may not have much game left in him, it certainly doesn’t look that way. To me, he’s on his last major job, though. Indiana is paying him handsomely at $8 million a year. But Cignetti could be swayed to go home. He’s a Pennsylvania native, getting his coaching start in the Keystone State at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, where his dad had an illustrious coaching career. It would cost $10 million to buy Cignetti out of his Indiana contract, but Penn State is already paying the second largest buyout we’ve ever seen. Here’s your 1B next to Rhule.
Manny Diaz, Duke HC: Now that the top two names are out on this, we can step into the backup options and Hail Marys. Diaz is an interesting pick if they want someone with Penn State experience. He was the defensive coordinator under Franklin from 2021-23 with much success before getting plucked away by Duke as their head coach. Diaz has the Blue Devils playing some of their best football in recent memory, with a 9-4 record last year and a 4-2 mark this season. He has previous major head coaching experience at Miami, but was canned so Mario Cristobal could return to his alma mater. It’s probably time for Diaz to get a look for a big-time job like this. Could Penn State, if spurned by their top two options, turn to Diaz?
Matt Campbell, Iowa State HC: First, don’t get tired by Campbell getting listed on every single coaching list. I, for one, think he’s not leaving Iowa State unless a special job comes open. And wouldn’t you know it, here is one. Campbell is an Ohio native and knows the area from his time playing at DIII Mount Union (Ohio) and coaching at Toledo. He’s built Iowa State into a respectable program, but hasn’t quite broken through. This year started promising for the Cyclones, but a rash of long-term defensive injuries have Iowa State reeling now. He’s been a hot coaching name in both college and NFL cycles in the past, but has shown no interest in leaving Ames. Well, except for his noted interest to join a Big Ten power.
Clark Lea, Vanderbilt HC: From one Vandy hire (Franklin) to another? Lea has followed the Franklin template at Vanderbilt and built a program behind star quarterback Diego Pavia. But it’s not all Pavia in Nashville. Lea’s teams are strong in the trenches and able to win through bully ball if need be. If that doesn’t sound like Big Ten football, I don’t know what to tell you. Lea is a strong leader like Penn State seems to gravitate towards and has done a lot with a limited school like Vanderbilt, which values other sports like baseball and academics higher than football.
The Job - Oregon State
We take a step back from the glitz and glamor of the Big Ten to head out west to the remnants of the PAC-12 - soon to be the PAC-St8 plus Gonzaga. Oregon State parted ways with head coach Trent Bray midway through his second season and he leaves with a 5-17 mark and 0-7 start to the 2025 season.
Bray took over in a tough spot after realignment all but killed the Beavers and Jonathan Smith, the alumnus program architect dipped for Michigan State. And the program is still in a tough spot, if we’re being fully honest.
The new PAC-12 media deals are unsettled. The conference will more be in line with a high-level Group of Six league than their previous power conference billing. There’s still outstanding court cases against Oregon State and Washington State due to their poaching of the Mountain West that could cost the schools millions that they don’t have.
All of that is just recent developments on top of the realignment-related struggles that I documented here when the moves were finalized.
And, even worse, the Beavers aren’t good on the field. Their few quality players don’t have eligibility remaining. They rank as a mid-table team in talent composite. There isn’t a lot going right for Oregon State.
So, where can they turn?
The Candidates
Bobby Hauck, Montana HC: The FCS ranks have a lot of strong teams in the Big Sky and Pacific Northwest areas, so you’ll see a lot of coaches like that here. To me, Hauck is a strong candidate. He’s a bit older at 61 and has a previously failed 15-49 stint as a FBS-level head coach at UNLV, but it’s hard to argue with his FCS bonafides: a 7-0 start and No. 4 ranking with the Grizzlies this year, a National Championship appearance in 2023, and three FCS National Championship shots from 2003-2009 before his time with UNLV. Though, he hasn’t won the big one yet. Still, Hauck knows the area and can coach his tail off.
Brett Vigen, Montana State HC: Neither side of the Brawl of the Wild is safe here. Vigen is younger than Hauck, but has his team similarly positioned for success. The Bobcats are 51-12 in Vigen’s tenure with a pair of National Championship appearances of their own. He’s got Montana State at fifth in the FCS. He’s a more long-term option than Hauck, which may be a better fit.
Brian Lindgren, Michigan State OC: Let me preface this first: yes, there are wounds from Lindgren’s departure to Michigan State with Smith. But, by all reporting, the bridge is only burned with Smith, not Lindgren. He was neck-and-neck with Bray to take over for their departed boss two years ago. Could he decide to return to Corvallis to take his crack at bringing the Beavers back to what they were? It’s not the craziest idea, especially as Michigan State’s ship is starting to spring leaks.
Ken Niumatalolo, San Jose State HC: Nobody took a chance on good ol’ Niumatalolo after he was ousted from Navy, and boy has he proved the haters wrong. The former triple-option coach was determined to go in as far an opposite direction as possible, installing a run-n-shoot variant dubbed the “spread and shred” while letting his passers air it out and rack up gaudy receiving totals. He’s one of the nation’s best program builders, something Oregon State would desperately need.
Nick Rolovich, Cal special offensive assistant: If Oregon State can look past his COVID-19 vaccine-related firing from Washington State, Rolovich’s return to head coaching could be an interesting development. He won big at Hawaii and kept the train rolling in Pullman after the departure of Mike Leach. Now, Rolovich is a part of the staff that has California looking hot on offense with a 4-2 start and great play from true freshman gunslinger Jaron Keawe-Sagapolutele. How much of JKS’s development is due to Rolovich is up in the air, but he’s succeeded in the area and in the conference.
The Job - UAB
The Trent Dilfer disaster is finally over.
I had been openly questioning why Dilfer even still had a job, let alone why he was able to keep one throughout the season. But, thankfully, mercifully, gratefully, whatever way you want to call it, UAB is rid of their nightmare.
Dilfer had an all-time bad tenure at UAB. So bad, I’m just going to let you read what
wrote about it because he described it way better than I can.Either way, this is one of the nation’s hardest jobs. UAB falls under the University of Alabama system, which, understandably so, prioritizes their flagship school’s athletics program. You know, Alabama. So the Blazers are left with the scraps.
Their program was cut in the mid-2010s by their apathetic administration, only for it to be revived by Bill Clark, their previous head coach. And Clark immediately positioned the Blazers for success. When he retired for the second and final time, one of his assistants, Bryant Vincent, took over and piloted the Blazers to a solid season in the interim.
But we couldn’t have a competent coach in Birmingham, could we? No way! So Vincent wasn’t retained and Dilfer came in.
9-21 wasn’t enough to keep Dilfer around. And now UAB can try to start anew.
They’ll have to get creative, but this is a place you can win at if you do it right, like Clark and Vincent did.
But, before we get into candidates, let’s address the elephant in the room. Vincent isn’t coming back. Yes, UAB could hypothetically outbid his current posting at Louisiana-Monroe, but I really don’t see Vincent leaving. He’s the interim athletic director for the Warhawks and who knows if he’s in consideration for the full-time gig. So, no, UAB fans, Bryant Vincent is not walking through the door.
The Candidates
But that doesn’t stop us from looking at what may be the most diverse set of candidates yet, does it?
Bill Clark, former UAB HC: Clark is the architect of this program and you bet UAB should make a call to see if he’s interested in dusting off the playbook and making another run. But, for the longterm stability of the program, you can’t always go back to Clark when things go awry.
Ed Orgeron, former LSU HC: Coach O could make his return to the sidelines. Especially now that half of his LSU buyout is heading to his ex-wife after some nasty divorce proceedings. UAB isn’t going to be able to pay much, but this is their chance to try to attract a higher-tier coach than they normally would. Orgeron is well-versed across the college football landscape, with previous head coaching stops at LSU, Ole Miss and USC and a 67-47 all-time record. He was the primary architect of the 2019 LSU National Championship team and roster, but was unable to replicate that success.
Skip Holtz, Birmingham Stallions HC: Holtz is currently with the UFL’s Birmingham Stallions, but the league is in flux with realignment moving the home sites of four of the league’s eight teams. And that’s in addition to the questionable viability of spring leagues as a whole. It’s hard to believe that UAB would be a step up in job security, but here we are. Holtz, like Clark and Orgeron, is a well-versed coach and is well-regarded for his Air Raid style. He was slipping a bit towards the end at Louisiana Tech, but the longtime coach has a 118-98 line throughout his career. Plus, he wouldn’t have to move at all, as the Stallions and UAB share a stadium.
Scott Cochran, West Alabama HC: Lower-level coaches and coordinators are more realistic for the Blazers and Cochran is a super interesting option. He’s in his first season as a head coach with the Tigers, who currently sit at No. 8 in Division II with a 5-0 record. His true bona fides lie in his previous role as a strength and conditioning coach across the SEC, mostly serving as the true right-hand man for Nick Saban and later the special teams coordinator for Kirby Smart’s Georgia. But that all came to a head as Cochran dealt with addiction, which he has beaten and moved past. He’s an intriguing candidate, especially as West Alabama continues to win and compete at a high level.
Neal Brown, Texas special assistant to the HC: Brown is probably best known for his tenure at West Virginia, which didn’t amount to much with a rocky 37-35 record to stand. But his previous tenure leading Troy was very successful, with the Trojans going 35-16 under Brown. He fits the air raid mold that UAB seems to be going after and has had success in the area - Troy is also in Alabama. It might be a solid reclamation project for Brown, who was once one of the nation’s top young offensive minds, to springboard into another Power Four job.
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