With several big name programs now officially on the hunt for a new era of Head Coaching to begin, UCF has announced that their next head coach will come from outside of the program after years of speculation that assistant coach Brent Key would be George O’Leary’s heir apparent. Here is a quick look at likely candidates for the position.
Houston Nutt: Former Head Coach, Ole Miss
Nutt has expressed returning to the head coaching job since leaving the game after the 2011 season at Ole Miss. According to Brett McMurphy of ESPN, the former head coach has “decided interest” in taking the UCF job. Currently a college football analyst on CBS, he has amassed a 135-96 record as a head coach while at Murray State, Boise State, Arkansas and Ole Miss.
Geoff Collins: Defensive Coordinator, University Of Florida
Collins has significant ties to the O’Leary coaching tree, having worked under him at Georgia Tech and coached with him at UCF in 2008-2009. Collins has served as a defensive coordinator at Albright College, Western Carolina, FIU, Mississippi State and UF with significant time spent as a recruiting coordinator throughout his career. His Gators have been a defensive force in 2015, ranking among the NCAA top 20 in almost every defensive category.
Jeff Brohm: Head Coach, Western Kentucky
Widely considered to be one of the most popular up-and-coming head coaching candidates for one of the high profile openings next season, Brohm has done an impressive job at Western Kentucky after taking over for Bobby Petrino. Western Kentucky boasts the nations’ third most prolific passing attack and is 4-0 in Conference USA this season while Brohm has coached them to a 14-7 record as Head Coach.
Steve Spurrier, Jr.: Wide Receivers Coach, South Carolina
Not talked about much but sure to move up within the coaching ranks, Spurrier carries with him a heavy influence of name-recognition. With the Knights’ commitment to $900,000 next year in money for two coaches to not fill the role, Spurrier may be a bargain deal. He has coached the Gamecocks’ receivers for six seasons and spent time with two national championship teams at Oklahoma and UF.
Greg Schiano: Former Head Coach, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Schiano may be more likely a candidate to return to the vacant UM position after sputtering out in the NFL. Even still, only one coach will fill the role and there have been numerous high profile coaches expressing interest in the Miami job – including former UM head coach Butch Davis and safety Ed Reed. Schiano was Miami’s defensive coordinator from 1999-2000 before taking the Head Coaching position at Rutgers from 2001-2011 and leaving with a 68-67 record, though he was 5-1 in bowl games.
Dino Babers: Head Coach, Bowling Green
Babers finds himself in a position akin to Jeff Brohm in that the former Baylor wide receivers’ coach is credited with the nation’s No.1 passing offense; the Falcons are putting up 434.1 yards per game with 29 touchdowns and only three interceptions. Babers has been a head coach since 2012 at both Eastern Illinois and at Bowling Green, recording a respectable 33-15 record in that time.
Danny Barrett: Interim Head Coach, University of Central Florida
Don’t count Barrett out yet. Another potential bargain coach, Barrett has extensive head coaching experience with the Saskatchewan Roughriders and is one of the key developers of the ‘speedway’ offense, a faster pace version of the spread offense. He has publicly stated that Central Florida is his home and where he wants to remain, knows the university well after four years as an assistant under O’Leary, and already has significant recruiting knowledge of the area. Considering himself as an outside candidate because of his coaching experience elsewhere, Barrett may stay in the conversation if he can find a way to turn around UCF’s dumpster fire of a season over the next four games.
