Nebraska Football Coaching Search Tracker: Week 6
Now that Week 6 has come and gone, the list of prospective candidates for the head football coach job at Nebraska continues to evolve. It’s important to remember that Athletic Director Trev Alberts has clarified that this will be a national search and that he intends to “reach out to a lot of people.”
When asked for the qualities Alberts will look for in someone to run the program, he stated,
“I don’t know if there is anything specific to how magnified the role is. I certainly think it has to be someone who has a servant leadership mentality that is here to serve young people. Perhaps sees a picture that is bigger than themselves. But I don’t think anything specific. Every single job in college football has challenges. This job has advantages to other jobs and it has some disadvantages. It is the same thing with every job in college football. We have 1.8 million people in this state. That is not going to change. But we have some built in advantages here so if we play to our strengths and build on those. The right type of coach sees this as an opportunity to rebuild and build something special here.”
When asked for a timeline when a hire would be made, Alberts said,
“I do think there’s some benefits in terms of making the decision when we made it. I think this gives us an opportunity to really do the necessary work. We need to dive into a real process, and a detail-oriented process that talks to a lot of people. That’s why I mentioned earlier, you’re gonna hear about a lot of names. That’s good. That means we’re going to talk to a lot of people, because we’re going to clearly define what our values are. And we’re not going to hire coaches who don’t believe in what we believe in. We need to take as long as it takes to find the right leader. So is there an ideal timeline? Sure. You could naturally look at some of these timelines – early signing date – and say it would be really nice to be able to get the person in place by then, because it would allow us to do that. We won’t make decisions or rush things just to get a coach hired. We’re also not going to try to win the press conference. At the end of the day, we need to hire the right leader and the right fit, and that’s a really important thing here, as well.”
Below is a list of the active college football coaches who have been rumored around the head coaching search and then one wildcard who I think should be given a serious look.
Lance Leipold - Kansas (Head Coach)
Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
School: Kansas
Record in 2022: 4-0
Record at School: 7-11
All-Time Record: 153-50
Result on Saturday: vs. TCU (Loss 31-38)
Next Game: @ Oklahoma
Thoughts: From 2007-2014 Leipold won six NCAA Division III Championships before he made the leap to Buffalo in 2015. He has Nebraska ties serving as an assistant under head coach Frank Solich from 2001-2003. Only in his second season at Kansas and coming off a 2-10 first season may give some pause about his candidacy, but a 5-1 start in his second season will get people talking.
Chris Klieman - Kansas State (Head Coach)
Kansas State head coach Chris Klieman
School: Kansas State
Record in 2022: 5-1
Record at School: 25-17
All-Time Record: 97-30
Result on Saturday: @ Iowa State (Win 10-9)
Next Game: @ TCU
Thoughts: Before he arrived in Manhattan Klienman had a legendary run at North Dakota State, where he won four national championships in his five years in charge. He’s won eight games in two of the three seasons at Kansas State. Would he be willing to leave? He’s had a long relationship with his Athletic Director, who he followed from NDSU, and may not be looking to partner with a new AD after so many years. Another tight win at Iowa State keeps the Wildcats perfect in Big 12 play.
Dave Doeren - North Carolina State (Head Coach)
(Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)
Record in 2022: 5-1
Record at School: 69-50
All-Time Record: 92-54
Result on Saturday: vs. FSU (Win 19-17)
Next Game: @ Syracuse
Thoughts: Doren has a winning record in seven of his nine full seasons in Raleigh and currently has the Wolfpack ranked No. 12 overall. He has midwest ties and has coached in the Big Ten (Wisconsin). With the Badger job now open and a big comeback victory over FSU this weekend, I expect to hear his name mentioned in candidate rumors.
Dave Aranda - Baylor (Head Coach)
Chuck Cook-USA TODAY Sports
School: Baylor
Record in 2022: 3-2
Record at School: 17-11
All-Time Record: 17-11
Result on Saturday: vs. Oklahoma State (Loss 25-36)
Next Game: @ West Virginia
Thoughts: In his third year at Baylor Aranda once again has his team ranked in the Top 25. After a 2-7 start in year one, he led the Bears to a No. 6 overall ranking, a conference title, and a 12-2 record in year two. Off to another good start in year three you’re already hearing rumors about Aranda as a possible candidate in Lincoln. He coached at LSU with Mickey Joseph in Bill Busch prior to becoming the Head Coach at Baylor.
Jamey Chadwell - Coastal Carolina (Head Coach)
David Yeazell-USA TODAY Sports
School: Coastal Carolina
Record in 2022: 6-0
Record at School: 36-19
All-Time Record: 96-54
Result on Saturday: @ Louisiana-Monroe (Win 28-21)
Next Game: @ Georgia State
Thoughts: Chadwell has a record of 22-3 in the last two seasons and is off to a 6-0 start in 2022. His imaginative spread option offense has made the Chanticleers one of the more fun teams to watch in college football the last several seasons and could inject some excitement into a program that could desperately use it.
WILDCARD: Tom Herman (Fmr. Texas Coach)
Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
School: Fmr. Texas Coach
Record in 2022: N/A
Record at School: N/A
All-Time Record: 54-22
Result on Saturday: N/A
Next Game: N/A
Thoughts: The former Texas head coach has been mentioned by ESPN as a candidate for the Nebraska head coach job. He hasn’t coached college football since 2020 but has been rumored to be looking to get back into the game. A longshot candidate for sure but still a name to mention.
