Seth Varnadore’s Officially Unsourced USF Head Coach Hotboard

Alex Golesh has moved on to Auburn and leaves behind what is likely now the best job in the G5. In terms of ability to win and investment, it could be better than some low end P4 jobs. This is a very attractive job and you should be able to attract a great candidate pool.

During the last USF search I released my first official hot board. I’m glad to say I was the only one to include Alex Golesh on my board and hope to keep the trend going this time around. This board is unsourced. I don’t know anybody or talk to anyone that is connected. This would be my starting list if I was to be asked to make a hire. Without further ado, let’s get to Seth Varnadore’s Officially Unsourced USF Head Coach Hotboard™.

First, I want to lay out some parameters for what I would be looking for in a Head Coach. Interestingly they have somewhat changed since the last hire. Below were the “Must Haves” from the previous hiring cycle:

The first and last must haves on that list remain the same. You must be able to identify talented players and show the ability to get them on campus at the lower level. Recruiting at USF is different from recruiting at Alabama. If your recruiting prowess relies on the logo you have on your quarter zip, then you will find it much harder to sustain success at the G5 level.

My instinct during the last search was that USF needed to be unique schematically. The Bulls had not shown the ability to invest and recruit at a high enough level to think that they could win with a conventional scheme. The Bulls under Golesh recruited at a high level, and received unparalleled levels of investment from USF and the fanbase.

Golesh did a good job of using those resources to build and retain an extremely talented G5 roster. The previous staff pulled from the portal and the high school ranks effectively. With the news that USF will be a full revenue share participant, the understanding of modern roster construction is paramount. If you use the money wisely you should have the best roster in the American and likely the entire G5.

While I don’t think you have to be totally unique schematically, I do think there is a specific schematic slant that is needed. Offense seems to win in the American. Defensive performance typically correlates to talent level, and while USF will typically be one of the most talented in the league, they may struggle to win those big out of conference matchups that people love to look at around realignment season.

Below are the updated “Must Haves” for the next USF Head Coach.

With those parameters in mind, let’s take a look at the board. I have this broken up into multiple categories. We’ll take a look at current FBS head coaches, head coaches at lower levels, coordinators that are in the playoff hunt, other coordinators of interest and some names that are out there.

First, let’s begin with FBS coaches.

First up is Bo- *hand to earpiece* Ok, I’m being told that Bob Chesney has finally taken the UCLA job. The hope was that he and his 800k current salary would slip through the cracks, but alas we move on.

Mullen and Lewis both have good offensive track records and have shown the ability to do more with less in the past (Mullen at Miss State, Lewis at Kent State). Lewis does not have a gaudy win-loss record and Mullen’s ouster at Florida could be potential red flags.

Willie Simmons and Jerry Mack have both been at their current jobs for a single season. Simmons won really big at FAMU and had some good offenses. Jerry Mack was a running backs coach at Tennessee previously and would bring some scheme continuity on the offensive side of the ball.

GJ Kinne does not have an elite win-loss record but has had some elite offenses as a head coach. He has really outperformed his talent level even in some of his losses.

Tyson Helton seems to be a candidate that can provide a high floor. They have won 8 games five seasons in a row with multiple Qbs and offensive coordinators. He has done a good job hiring assistants and having a high floor. Maybe not the most exciting name but a solid option.

Jason Eck is seemingly off the board after signing a five year extension at New Mexico. He is an elite offensive playcaller and has won games at Idaho and New Mexico. He will likely be at a big time program one day.

Next, let’s look at the FCS Head Coach Options.

James Madison has been one of the more successful G5 programs in recent years and their last two hires have been successful FCS coaches. If USF wants to follow the “Cignetti model”, here are some names worth investigating.

All the coaches listed have top 15 scoring offenses at the FCS level.

Mike Jacobs played offensive line for Jim Tressel at Ohio State and has a 94-22 record as a head coach at the D2 and FCS levels. Mercer is the 6 seed in the FCS playoffs and boasts one of the best offenses in the country.

Kerwin Bell is the man and will be on every hot board I create until one of us is in the grave. He’s the best offensive coach I have ever been around. He was a missed chip shot field goal away from beating Mercer and winning their conference championship this season. Western Carolina had a top ten scoring offense and the number one passing offense in the country led by quarterback Taron Dickens, who is now in the transfer portal. Kerwin has won a ton of games (124-68) with great offenses including the D2 National Championship at Valdosta State.

Andrew Aurich has been in the Ivy League for much of his life but did have a stint in Tampa as a defensive assistant with the Buccaneers. Aurich also spent some time at Rutgers coaching OL, RB and TEs. Harvard had a top ten passing offense this season and Aurich was the first Harvard coach to ever win the Ivy League in his first season. Harvard lost their first round matchup in the playoffs against Villanova.

Vigen and Carthel are both still alive in the FCS Playoffs. Vigen played at North Dakota State and began his coaching career there as well. He followed Craig Bohl to Wyoming where he recruited and coached Josh Allen. He is currently at Montana State where he is 57-12 and has finished in the top 10 each of his first four seasons, including two runner up finishes.

Carthel’s record at Stephen F Austin hasn’t been elite but he has that program moving in the right direction. Carthel has been nominated for the Eddie Robinsin coach of the year award this season (as have Aurich and Jacobs), and his Lumberjacks are the 7 seed in the FCS playoffs. Before coming to SFA, Carthel won a national championship and had two other top ten finishes at Texas A&M-Commerce.

Third, we can look at what looked last time USF was here.

Everybody likes a winner, so why not go grab a coordinator from a playoff contender? It worked last time when the Bulls grabbed Golesh. Let’s look at some interesting coordinator names that may be competing for a national championship soon.

Brian Hartline is an interesting case. He is the OC at Ohio State, but likely not the playcaller. He is an elite recruiter and is responsible for the assembly line of first round receivers for the Buckeyes. Would be a big risk-big reward type hire.

His fellow Buckeye Matt Patricia will likely elicit a lot of eye rolls, but the dude can coach. Many rolled their eyes in the off-season and he is now calling plays for the best defense in the country.

Both of the Indiana coordinators are mysteries. They are both obviously quite competent but have also been tied to Curt Cignetti their entire careers. There is a distinct possibility that Cignetti is the secret sauce there and not either of those two.

Collin Klein has done a great job calling plays at both Kansas State and Texas A&M. He will likely be a front runner for Kansas State whenever that opens next.

Glenn Schumann is a guy that has been the “next guy up” from the Georgia program for quite some time. He has been very selective, but would the opportunity to win early at USF while getting your first head coaching experience be enticing enough to lure him out of Athens?

Mack Leftwich was at Texas State previously and has not missed a beat since coming over to Texas Tech. He will be a hot commodity if the Red Raiders can make a run.

It is entirely possible that Will Stein is being hired at Kentucky as I type this. If so, good luck brother (editor’s note: as of editing this at 7:47 pm on December 1st, Will Stein did accept the job at Kentucky). If not, Stein would be an intriguing option. He has had great offenses at Oregon with multiple QBs and was really good at UTSA with Frank Harris previously.

Ben Arbuckle was the hot coordinator name coming into the season as he made the move to Oklahoma with his star QB John Mateer. John’s stellar play has not mateer-ialzed (see what I did there?) in the SEC and some of the shine has come off of Arbuckle as a result. A good performance in the post-season will get his name back out there I’m sure.

Ryan Grubb was with Kalen Deboer at Washington and built an offense with unfortunately left-handed Michael Penix that was one of the best in the country. He left for the Seattle Seahawks where he was bounced after one season and reunited with Deboer at Bama. His record without Kalen is a little scary but he has the Tide offense and Ty Simpson humming.

Kane Wommack was 22-16 as the head coach of South Alabama and seen as a name on the rise. He decided more money and less responsibility sounded like a pretty cool idea and took the “demotion” to become Deboer’s DC. Wommack was a name that seemed to have a lot of traction in the Arkansas search before Ryan Silverfield became the head Hog.

Shannon Dawson has created a system at Miami that combines a power run game with some air raid passing staples. He has fielded really good offenses in Coral Gables and will likely be a candidate for multiple American Conference jobs this cycle.

Cont., these guys are winners, just not big winners this year.

Just because your team isn’t in the playoff doesn’t mean you aren’t a good coach. Here are some other coordinator names to ponder.

Kade Bell: See Bell, Kerwin…. Kade has done a great job as a play caller in his young career. He is a really dynamic recruiter and understands Florida kids really well. He recruited Miami better than a lot of the Florida FBS schools when he was at Western Carolina getting multiple players that have followed him to Pitt including 3 star Dez Reid.

Buster Faulkner may be the secret sauce that has helped lead Georgia Tech back to relevance. He has done a masterful job tailoring an offense around QB Haynes King who was unceremoniously run out of some bad Jimbo Fisher (not hot board material) offenses at Texas A&M. He does a great job with motion and deception, getting guys open and creating big running lanes.

Jason Beck has had a hand in some great offenses at multiple stops. He worked for Bronco Mendenhall and was hired this offseason to bring some new life to the Utah offense.

Kirby Moore, brother of Kellen, may be the hire that saved Eli Drinkwitz’s job. Drinkwitz hired Moore and turned playcalling over to him so he could concentrate on being the head coach. The Tigers have taken off since this decision and Moore has had good offenses with multiple QBs.

Blake Baker will be a big time candidate for the Tulane job. If he doesn’t land that one, he would be worth a call. Baker plays an aggressive, attacking style of defense that Bulls fans would love. Pair him with a great OC and you may have something cooking

Finally, let’s get funky.

The final part of this list are off the wall candidates. Just a mix of interesting names and dudes that would be interesting to watch.

Bobby Petrino can do two things really well: 1) Rock a neck brace 2) Coach offense. I don’t know what kind of person he is but the dude can score points.

Bill Clark would be a nice hire if you want to make sure you have an adult in the room. USF is on an upward trajectory and maybe you don’t want to take a high risk swing to mess that up. Clark was great at UAB and likely would give you a great floor to work from if he wants to get back into coaching.

Desean Jackson is a really out there candidate but he spent some time in Tampa with the Bucs and went 8-4 in his first season at Delaware State. He has been nominated for the Eddie Robinson coach of the year award and is off to a great start in his coaching career.

The final candidate is a really fun one. Tony Annese has won 5 national championships as a college head coach and runs a really cool shotgun triple option type offense. Trinidad Chambliss played for him before transferring to Ole Miss. The offense is so fun to watch and would be beautiful to see with Florida athletes.

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