The UCF Knights will begin their coaching search in earnest after hiring a new athletic director. We already have thoughts on who they should reach out to.
With George O’Leary’s year-by-year coaching status taking center stage recently and finally reaching resolution with O’Leary’s resignation and retirement Sunday, there has been no shortage of opportunity for fans, media, and others to speculate on who the future UCF head coach could be. I have even kept a private list that has been the topic of social media conversation throughout the years.
That list sits below with some new updates and expanded commentary:
1. Jay Gruden (age 48) – Washington Redskins head coach
Pros: Orlando name recognition, familiarity with the area and UCF, fiery personality.
Cons: no college coaching experience, currently under contract.
Current salary: $4 million
Synopsis: Despite his struggles in Washington, there is no question Gruden knows offense and could bring excitement on and off the field back to UCF. This is a hiring stretch, but you always take a reach with the first few people you contact.
It is also not a stretch for reasons you may think. I believe if fired by the Redskins, Gruden would jump at the opportunity to return to his Orlando roots at a significantly reduced salary. Outside of his offensive coordinator days with the Cincinnati Bengals, he has almost always run his own programs and I believe he feels most comfortable doing so.
The problem lies more in timing. Under the current framework, we are led to believe the latest UCF will have a new head coach in place is mid-December. That is certainly prior to the end of the NFL season, so Gruden will still likely be unavailable. Still, this has long been a favorite choice of mine and many long-time residents of The City Beautiful, so he had to make the list.
2. Jeremy Pruitt (41) – Georgia defensive coordinator
Pros: young, experienced in the state of Florida, national title experience, Saban tree.
Cons: Only one year in the state, scandal attached to his name.
Salary: $1.3 million
Synopsis: Pruitt is known as one of the best recruiters in college football. The once porous Bulldogs defense ranked 18th in total defense during his first season in Athens and are currently 15th in the nation.
One would think Pruitt’s opportunity to learn under coaches like Nick Saban, Jimbo Fisher and Mark Richt would only be a plus. As with any coordinator that would be in the running for the job, there is a greater level of risk attached since they have never ran their own teams.
Pruitt would inject high-energy into the program and would probably be quite the departure from O’Leary’s tenure. There is a rumor about his abrupt departure after a year at Florida State, but it’s completely unsubstantiated.
3. Mario Cristobal (45) – Alabama OL Coach/assistant head coach
Pros: head coaching experience, lot of Florida/South Florida experience, fiery personality.
Cons: What happened at FIU?
Salary: $500,000 in 2014.
Synopsis: There is no doubt Cristobal can coach, run a program, and recruit at a high-level. The South Florida talent pipeline would be opened and running strong for UCF.
The back-to-back bowl appearances Cristobal turned in at FIU speak to his head coaching chops. Gaining experience with Saban at Alabama following his abrupt firing should only be a plus.
What puzzles many about Cristobal is exactly why he was fired by FIU? Was it just the stunning incompetence of athletic director Pete Garcia or was a deeper issue afoot?
That is a question UCF will have to have answered if they pursue the first Cuban-American to ever be a FBS college football head coach.
4. D.J. Durkin (37) – Michigan defensive coordinator and linebackers coach
Pros: Florida experience, amazing defensive record, young.
Cons: Will Muschamp connection, success could lead to a quick departure.
Salary: $800,000
Synopsis: Durkin is one of the hot coaches of the moment. He has taken his strong record of defensive excellence over to Michigan and the Wolverines recently pulled off a streak of three straight shutouts.
Durkin is regarded as one of the top recruiters in the country and was named 2012 Rivals.com Recruiter of the Year. Transitioning from a 70-year-old coach to a 37-year-old would be quite the change, but potentially just what the doctor ordered.
Durkin got the opportunity to step in for Will Muschamp and be interim head coach last year for Florida’s Birmingham Bowl victory. Some may make a negative association with his Muschamp connection, but Durkin should probably be more attached to Jim Harbaugh, who he also worked for at Stanford.
5. Greg Schiano (49)– Former Bucs/Rutgers head coach, ESPN analyst
Pros: name recognition, year off to study/reflect, has experience recruiting Florida.
Cons: Can he remake his image?
Salary: $2.35 million at Rutgers
Synopsis: Schiano pulled Rutgers out of the doldrums of college football and would have a much easier time doing the same at UCF. He spent time at Miami as defensive coordinator and used those connections to recruit heavily in South Florida even when he was in Piscataway, N.J.
Certainly, his time in the pros was a disaster, but that probably just proves he is really better suited for the college game. It also sounds like he has really worked hard to fix some of his shortcomings and become a better coach.
The main question regarding Schiano is if he will really apply those changes or revert back to a coach that sometimes exhibited a standoffish personality. UCF needs a positive public face leading the football team to retroactively fix one of the main downsides of O’Leary.
Also, Schiano’s name is on the lips of many as the coaching carousel heats up. Could Miami, Maryland or even Rutgers come calling and would that offer outweigh what the Knights could offer?
6. Geoff Collins (44) – Florida defensive coordinator
Pros: UCF ties, fiery personality, O’Leary tree.
Cons: Not a clean break from O’Leary.
Salary: $590,000
Synopsis: Collins has been a fast riser in the coaching ranks, and the Gators defense has not missed a beat this season under his watch. He gained great exposure and respect on the national scene for his four years at Mississippi State.
Many Knights fans are familiar with Collins from his two-year stint in 2008-09 as linebackers coach and recruiting coordinator. Those years laid the groundwork for a team that would eventually win the Fiesta Bowl with players he helped find and develop.
For those that want the next coach to be a total departure from the O’Leary regime, this hire would not fit the bill. In addition to Collins time at UCF, he was a graduate assistant at Georgia Tech from 1999-2001.
7. Dino Babers (54) – Bowling Green head coach
Pros: head coaching experience, exciting offense.
Cons: No Florida experience.
Salary: $400,000 in 2014.
Synopsis: There is an interesting package deal scenario that could help Babers candidacy at UCF to materialize. Current BGSU athletic director Chris Kingston is a UCF alum and thought to be a candidate for the vacant Knights AD position.
Kingston hired Babers to head up the Falcons and perhaps he would bring him down to Orlando as well. The fan base would certainly be excited by his Baylor-esque high-octane spread offense, even if this writer prefers UCF to stick with a pro-style scheme.
Babers has never been a coach in the state, but the Bowling Green roster features several players from the state. If Kingston is hired in early-November, look for him to emerge as a top choice.
8. Matt Campbell (35) – Toledo head coach
Pros: head coaching experience, young.
Cons: no Power 5 coaching experience, young.
Salary: $495,000
Synopsis: Campbell is drawing rave reviews as the Rockets are off to a 7-0 start. A 33-13 record at the helm of Toledo is certainly glitzy as well and proves he is not a one-hit wonder as a head coach.
Like Babers, Campbell does not have any noticeable ties to Florida, but his roster is stocked with Sunshine State players. There was recently a great profile done on the young coach and it detailed what sounds like an old soul approach to program building.
9. Tim Beck (49) – Ohio State co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach
Pros: Urban Meyer tree, UCF ties.
Cons: No Florida recruiting ties.
Salary: $525,000
Synopsis: No prospective coaching list is complete for any school without listing someone from Urban Meyer’s tree. Names like Kyle Wittingham, Dan Mullen, Charlie Strong and now Tom Herman are just some of the coaches who have succeeded in major ways after working for the Ohio State head coach.
Enter Beck, who also has the unique distinction of being a UCF alum. He played two seasons for the Knights and graduated in 1988.
Beck has just begun his partnership with Meyer, but he brought with him great experience from a four-year run as the offensive coordinator at Nebraska. The only downside in this regard is UCF would be going away from their more pro-style offense with this hire.
The main concern regarding Beck is his recruiting base remains in Texas, where he was a head coach on the high school ranks for several years. That can be rectified with hiring a strong staff that has expertise in the important Florida recruiting territories.
10. Ed Orgeron (54) – LSU defensive line coach.
Pros: Ace recruiter, Florida experience, head coaching experience, charismatic personality.
Cons: Not polished, didn’t fare well at Ole Miss.
Salary: $445,000
Synopsis: The last name on our list is a bit of a wild card that could surprisingly be a home run hire. Oregon is perhaps the ultimate risk-reward head-coaching candidate.
He is likely one of the greatest recruiters in college football history and some of his tactics are legendary. Orgeron’s time with the University of Miami during their glory days from 1988-1992 forged his path in the coaching ranks.
The concerns regarding his coaching candidacy would be significant however. He has an abysmal 10-25 record at Ole Miss and just might not exhibit the proper disposition to be a head coach.
Fans who enjoyed O’Leary’s public candor might also embrace Orgeron’s unvarnished persona. He also has had time to grow since his departure from Ole Miss and galvanized the USC roster when he took over on an interim basis in 2013.
10 more names to consider:
- Jeff Brohm (Western Kentucky head coach)
- James Coley (Miami offensive coordinator)
- George Godsey (Houston Texans offensive coordinator)
- Darin Hinshaw (Cincinnati passing game coordinator)
- Mark Hudspeth (Louisiana-Lafayette head coach)
- Rhett Lashlee (Auburn offensive coordinator)
- Bo Pelini (Youngstown State head coach)
- Jake Spavital (Texas A&M offensive coordinator)
- Jeff Tedford (BC Lions head coach)
- Brent Venables (Clemson defensive coordinator)
