Report states Nebraska has ‘wish list’ for head coach
One of the top reporters in college football has filed a new report which says that the Nebraska Cornhuskers have three candidates at the top of their ‘wish list’ for the head football coach vacancy. Bruce Feldman of The Athletic reports that the three candidates Athletic Director Trev Alberts is currently targeting are two college head coaches from the Big 12 and an offensive coordinator in the SEC.
These three names shouldn’t be new to Husker fans as all three have been rumored as potential candidates since the job opened more than ten days ago. We’ve written candidates previously in our Coaching Tracker. Feldman also has reported extensively on what went wrong at Nebraska with Scott Frost, and some of the details are as illuminating as they are infuriating. We’ve attached the comments below.
A look at the wish list can be found below. And let us know what you think. So who should be the next head coach of Nebraska football?
Ten days into Nebraska's coaching search sources tell us that Lance Leipold, Matt Campbell and Bill O'Brien are high on the Huskers list as NU's process begins to unfold: https://t.co/uOUiNXgFhF
— Bruce Feldman (@BruceFeldmanCFB) September 20, 2022
Lance Leipold - Kansas (Head Coach)
Lance Leipold addressing the coaching rumors. #KUfballpic.twitter.com/y7d2n7slJF
— Through The Phog (@ThroughThePhog) September 20, 2022
Our coaching tracker
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 3-0 start in year two will undoubtedly put his name in the mix.
Matt Campbell - Iowa State (Head Coach)
© Nirmalendu Majumdar/Ames Tribune / USA TODAY NETWORK
Our coaching tracker
Campbell will continue to remain an attractive name in Trev Albert’s coaching search. The three-time Big 12 coach of the year is the first head coach in Ames to have a winning percentage over .500 (.553) since Earle Bruce in the mid-70s. How would Campbell do at a school that could give him the proper resources to compete with the top teams in their conference year after year? He’s passed on previous chances to leave but would an offer from a school like Nebraska be enough to make him make the change?
Bill O'Brien - Alabama (Offensive Coordinator)
(AP Photo/Vasha Hunt)
O’Brien has both college and pro head coaching experience. He coached Penn State for two seasons, going 15-9 before going to the NFL to coach in Houston, a job he held for almost seven years. During his time as a head coach in the NFL, he reached the playoffs in four of his six full seasons with a record of 52-48. Feldman also reports that Alberts is a fan of O’Brien and respects his work at Penn State in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky scandal. He’s expressed an interest in being a head coach again, but would he want to take on that responsibility at the college level, or would he be willing to wait and see if a Sunday team would bring him onboard?
Why Frost failed from Bruce Feldman
1) disorganized
2) impulsive coaching
3) listened to the wrong guys (understatement of the year)Has any local media article in the last 4 years ever hinted at this? pic.twitter.com/5XJa215MP8
— Huskers Gameday (@HuskersGameday) September 19, 2022
“They go to Ireland and the head coach doesn’t show up for a staff meeting.” – Bruce Feldman, The Athletic pic.twitter.com/9HcdfBQVCg
— Huskers Gameday (@HuskersGameday) September 19, 2022
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