Media by Associated Press – Coastal Carolina coach Jamey Chadwell reacts to a call during the first half of the team’s NCAA college football game against Arkansas State on Thursday, Oct. 7, 2021, in Jonesboro, Ark. (AP Photo/Michael Woods)
There are already six Power 5 head coach openings in college football, and that list is likely to grow between now and the end of the season.
Auburn became the latest opening when they fired Bryan Harsin on Monday after 21 games and a 9-12 overall record. The question now for Auburn is the same as the one facing Nebraska, Colorado, Georgia Tech, Wisconsin, and Arizona State. Who’s Next?
Here is a look at four head coaches with experience who could be on the move to one of the above openings or maybe another that opens up in the next month. Like, say, Texas A&M, where despite a rather large buyout, Jimbo Fisher is on the hottest of hot seats.
Hugh Freeze
If Auburn, for example, wanted to bring in a coach that knows how to beat Nick Saban and Alabama, well, they don’t need to look any further than Hugh Freeze.
The current Liberty coach definitely had his issues at Ole Miss with a scandal-plagued tenure, but he also beat Alabama twice. It seems inevitable that Freeze will return to the SEC at some point; maybe that will happen now in Auburn or Texas A&M.
Freeze landed at Liberty after sitting out two seasons amid the violations at Ole Miss. He was 39-25 on the field for the Rebels, but 27 of those wins were subsequently vacated. With the Flames, Freeze is 33-12, including a 7-1 record this season and a 3-0 Bowl record.
Freeze can recruit; there’s no doubt about that. He can bring top-quality players to a Power 5 school, and his offense has put up points at four different collegiate stops.
The 53-year-old just signed a contract extension at Liberty, but that won’t stop big-time schools from buying his services if needed.
Deion Sanders
This one could be electric. Coach Prime, as he wants to be called, has put Jackson State on the college football map with NIL deals and top recruits. Oh, and he’s also won games with a 23-5 overall record and an 8-0 mark so far this season.
Sanders proved he can recruit when he lured top prospect Travis Hunter away from his alma mater Florida State last signing day. And while he hasn’t coached at a Power 5 program, he’s done a great job with the Xs and Os and hired a coaching staff at the HBCU level, and consistently beaten FCS opponents.
The name recognition and energy will fire up any fan base. It seems like just a matter of time before Deion is in Prime Time and coaching in a top-level conference.
Lane Kiffin
This is a strange name to put on this list, given that Kiffin has the Ole Miss Rebels in the Top 25 and competing for the SEC West. However, the Lane Train hasn’t stayed in the same place for more than four seasons since he became a head coach in 2007, and this is year three in Oxford.
One season plus four games with the Oakland Raiders, one season at Tennessee, three seasons plus five games at USC, three seasons as an Alabama assistant, and three seasons at Florida Atlantic is Kiffin’s pre-Mississippi resume.
Kiffin is 23-9 at Ole Miss, 18-4 in his last 22 games, with a 10-3 SEC mark the last two years. However, he was virtually begging fans to come to the game earlier this season and to make more noise to create an atmosphere like the Rebels see on the road. That doesn’t sound like a coach who is content with his surroundings.
Having said that, Kiffin isn’t leaving for just any job. He loves the spotlight and attention, so a job like Wisconsin, Arizona State, or Colorado isn’t going to pry him away from Ole Miss and the SEC. Auburn or Texas A&M, on the other hand? Back up the Brinks truck, and Kiffin is ready to talk.
Jamey Chadwell
Jamey Chadwell has seen success in Division II with North Greenville, in FCS with Charleston Southern, and now in the Sun Belt Conference with Coastal Carolina. In the last three seasons with the Chanticleers, Chadwell is 29-4 with a 18-3 conference record and a 1-1 Bowl record.
The 2020 AP College Football Coach of the Year seems likely to be in line for a big-money job sooner rather than later. A native of Tennessee, Chadwell played at East Tennessee State and has coached and recruited in the southeast for more than 20 years.
An ACC team or SEC team with a job opening could do a lot worse than hiring Chadwell this off-season. Both Georgia Tech and Auburn are possibilities, and there are likely to be more openings in both conferences before the off-season begins.
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