Instead of updating my old thread from 2022, I have created a new coaching candidate thread.

The lower ranks have been heavily poached over the past 3-4 years and there is not as much to pick from these days as compared to 2022. Cignetti, Rogers (who was light on HC experience before getting hired away from the FCS) and Sumrall are long gone, but thankfully there are some promising candidates.

For lower level guys, I only want those who have high level success: winning multiple conference titles or championships. If' he's done it at multiple stops, that's even better. That's my bar. I don't care if a guy turned a team around from 2 wins to 9, if it's not sustained success or there's no conference title, then he's not a guy I'm looking at. I'm not listing coordinators - only guys who have run a program as a HC.

So, with that said, here is my coaching candidate list.

Brent Vigen (Montana State)
This is the guy we need. Much like I vouched for Cignetti in 2022/2023, I think highly of Vigen. Vigen doesn't have anywhere near the HC experience or success as Cignetti did prior to going to Indiana, but he's done a lot in short order. We need to hire this guy ASAP, because someone is going to wise up and poach him.

PROS
-Spent a lot of time under Craig Bohl of Wyoming
-Recruited and coached Wentz at NDSU. They ran a west coast style, pro-style offense. Power I, fullback usage, a-gap isos.
-He recruited and coached Josh Allen when he was at Wyoming. Wyoming was Allen's only FBS offer, btw. They ran a Power O style offense, downhill lead blocking, QB under center, vertical play action.

-Has pushed Montana St to 3 FCS Championship appearances, with one title win.
So, he can find and develop QBs in a sport that is QB driven and he wins.

CONS
-HC in FCS only. But high level success there lessons the risk.

OTHER
At Montana St, he has shifted to a mix of shotgun and pistol, RPO's and read option.

I'm all in on this guy.


Jeff Traylor (UTSA)

PROS
- Loyalty. Been at UTSA since 2019
- Down years weren't that bad (2024. 2025 were 4-4 in conference)
- 2 Conference titles (2021, 2022)
- Has had same DC since 2020. Is on his 4rd OC since 2019 but only because they were poached. Barry Lunney Jr (tempro) went to Illinois. Will Stein (Aggressive Spread + power Run) went to Oregon. Jeff Burke (kept prior system, with tweaks) went to Kentucky.

CONS
-buyout and pay for his assistants could be an issue
-Seems to enjoy building up UTSA and may not want to move as it's his stamp and signature on the program. Maybe he is legacy building and has little or no intention of leaving UTSA.

I think Traylor is a safe hire.

WILD CARDS

Spencer Danielson (Boise State)
PROS
- Won 3 straight Mountain West championships from 2023-25
- Produced a Heisman finalist RB
- No baggage
-Staff has recruited Texas. Boise St currently has 8-10 players from Texas on the roster.

CONS
- Only experience is at G5 level
- 0-2 in Bowl games vs P4 schools. I'm not weighing that too much bc he has G5 players. But it is a valid concern, as other MWC teams have been able to beat P4 schools in bowl games in the past. Maybe that is now irrelevant with NIL and the portal era.
-Light on HC experience.

OTHER
His OC runs a pro style run first attack. Clock control, long drives, short passes and few deep vertical shots.
His system reminds me of Chryst's Badger teams.

Paul Chryst
PROS
-He ran a pro-style run heavy offense at Wisconsin and had a lot of success doing it.
- He had some good coordinator hires, such as Leonhard, Wilcox (who went on to coach Cal), Aranda and Joe Rudolph.
If he hired the right guys who can recruit Texas, I could see him working out at Baylor. Kind of like a Rhule type of philosophy. Ball control, good defense and inept offense. Ideally Chryst would run something more modern on offense.
-His last name is Chryst, so he gets bonus points at a school like ours.

CONS
Been out of coaching for a while. If I interviewed him, most of my questions would be centered on who he would bring in as coordinators and staff. Does he have the juice to put together an excellent staff?


Frizt (Houston)
-We should have poached him from Tulane, but UH picked him up.
-He's had high level success at multiple stops. That's very important.

CONS
Main concern is his age (66) and he's already at UH. Moving to Baylor seems unlikely and staying in the B12 may not be what he is looking for if he does move.


LUKE WARM ON THESE GUYS

Chadwell (Liberty)
He fits the criteria I mentioned above. He's won multiple conference titles and at different stops, too. But there are a few concerns. His health, the fact he has vacated 18 wins and a conference title at Charleston Southern, a big price tag considering the level he currently coaches at (Liberty is reportedly paying him $6m a year, which is crazy pay for a CUSA gig) offensive philosophies and his reported insistence on bringing almost his entire staff anywhere he goes.

Jason Candle
Coached at Toledo for 11 years. 2 conference titles.
52-28 in conference at Toledo

CONS
-Much of his success can be attributed to his long-time coordinators Mike Hallett and Vince Kehres (DC) and using those connections to recruit Ohio. That's gone now that Candle is at UConn. Kehres went to Syracuse and Hallett went down to D2 after Candle opted to hire a new staff.
He will need some serious success at UConn for me to get on board. If he can put together a winner at UConn, he gets moved up the list. It would also show he can successfully revamp his entire staff.


NEEDS MORE TIME IN THE MINORS

Chennis Berry

PROS
In his first HC stop, finished with Back-to-back Undefeated regular seasons in years 2 and 3 at Benedict College (DII), winning two conference titles in a row
-Moved to South Carolina St and won the MEAC conference 2 years in a row. Now in his 3rd year.
-Is a former OL and he builds his teams from the inside out, with an emphasis on the OL, discipline and focus

CONS
-only has 5 full years of HC experience.
-Only has lower-level experience (D2 and FCS)
-Has only coached at HBCU's, which means his South Carolina St program will rarely be in the FCS playoffs. The reason is that his current school plays in the MEAC and the winner gets an auto bid to the Celebration Bowl. So its very hard to determine just how good his programs are without the FCS playoff data.

I'll keep an eye on him in case he goes to a different school that regularly participates in the FCS playoffs, or moves up to a G5 school.

DESPERATE

Bronco Mendenhall (Utah St)

PROS
-Lot of Success at BYU

CONS
-Went sideways at Virginia. However, Virginia didn't look good before he arrived and looks worse after he left.
-Hasn't looked stellar at Utah St, but he was brought in after a mini scandal.
-If Utah St bounces back in the next year or 2, he'll start popping up on peoples radar again.

If you guys have suggestions, let me know and I will edit the OP. Please give some detail on the coach and why we should hire him.

Youre a clown said:

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There is 0 chance in the world that we get Fritz. I could see him going to A&M if they fire Elko, or possibly some other SEC school, but that ship has sailed. Should've hired him when we had the chance.

The coaches at New Mexico, Western Michigan, Navy, Oregon State, UTSA, Montana State are ones I would look at, but that's certainly not an exhaustive list

I would take a look at Coby Carthel at Stephen F Austin as well. There's risks in hiring an FCS coach, but I like head coaches that have been successful at multiple different schools; the guy is very no nonsense, and his teams play with their hair on fire. Could get him for cheap and use the remainder for NIL

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Carthel is a really good coach with deep coaching roots. His father, Don, was a legend at Division II West Texas A&M.

Youre a clown said:

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The coaches at New Mexico, Western Michigan, Navy, Oregon State, UTSA, Montana State are ones I would look at, but that's certainly not an exhaustive list

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Navy? You want to bring the Wing T to Waco? Hard Pass.

Oregon St? Last year was hist first year as a HC. Hard Pass.

Eck (New Mex) and Taylor (WMU) look promising.

jikespingleton said:

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Youre a clown said:

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The coaches at New Mexico, Western Michigan, Navy, Oregon State, UTSA, Montana State are ones I would look at, but that's certainly not an exhaustive list

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Navy? You want to bring the Wing T to Waco?

Oregon St? Last year was hist first year as a HC.

Eck (New Mex) and Taylor (WMU) look promising.

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I don't think Navy runs the wing T, and even if they do, it's a big assumption that their coach would run the exact same offense here. Personally, I think Baylor needs to be willing to consider thinking outside the box a bit more than we currently are. Most everyone here wanted to run more of a wide open spread offense, then we brought in the offensive coordinator that did that, and he scored a grand total of (checks note)….2 field goals against TCU. So the idea of running the option wouldn't even phase me at this point

We are not getting the hot, slam dunk coach that has an amazing resume and no negatives or unknowns whatsoever. But like I said, every name I've seen thrown out could coach circles around Dave

Youre a clown said:

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jikespingleton said:

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Youre a clown said:

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The coaches at New Mexico, Western Michigan, Navy, Oregon State, UTSA, Montana State are ones I would look at, but that's certainly not an exhaustive list

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Navy? You want to bring the Wing T to Waco? Hard Pass.

Oregon St? Last year was hist first year as a HC. Hard Pass.

Eck (New Mex) and Taylor (WMU) look promising.

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I don't think Navy runs the wing T, and even if they do, it's a big assumption that their coach would run the exact same offense here. Personally, I think Baylor needs to be willing to consider thinking outside the box a bit more than we currently are. Everybody here wanted to run more of a wide open spread offense, then we brought in the offensive coordinator that did that, and he scored a grand total of (checks note) 2 field goals against TCU. So the idea of running the option wouldn't even phase me at this point

We are not getting the hot, slam dunk coach that has an amazing resume and no negatives or unknowns whatsoever. But like I said, every name I've seen thrown out could coach circles around Dave

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Well, it's a hybrid Wing T. Lot off sweeps, gap schemes and misdirection. What makes it hybrid is the spacing, which isn't like the traditional Wing T.

I'm guessing we don't want to throw +$10m down the toilet, which is why Dave is still here. For that reason, we can all hope and wish for change, but that's all it's going to be for now. Hope.

Lincoln Riley

jikespingleton said:

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Youre a clown said:

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jikespingleton said:

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Youre a clown said:

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The coaches at New Mexico, Western Michigan, Navy, Oregon State, UTSA, Montana State are ones I would look at, but that's certainly not an exhaustive list

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Navy? You want to bring the Wing T to Waco?

Oregon St? Last year was hist first year as a HC.

Eck (New Mex) and Taylor (WMU) look promising.

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I don't think Navy runs the wing T, and even if they do, it's a big assumption that their coach would run the exact same offense here. Personally, I think Baylor needs to be willing to consider thinking outside the box a bit more than we currently are. Everybody here wanted to run more of a wide open spread offense, then we brought in the offensive coordinator that did that, and he scored a grand total of (checks note) 2 field goals against TCU. So the idea of running the option wouldn't even phase me at this point

We are not getting the hot, slam dunk coach that has an amazing resume and no negatives or unknowns whatsoever. But like I said, every name I've seen thrown out could coach circles around Dave

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Well, it's a hybrid Wing T. Lot off sweeps, gap schemes and misdirection. What makes it hybrid is the spacing, which isn't like the traditional Wing T.

I'm guessing we don't want to throw +$10m down the toilet, which is why Dave is still here. For that reason, we can all hope and wish for change, but that's all it's going to be for now. Hope.

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Yeah, and I'm not even going to act like I have a favorite candidate or anything. I would prefer somebody that has built up a program at multiple locations

jikespingleton said:

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Youre a clown said:

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The coaches at New Mexico, Western Michigan, Navy, Oregon State, UTSA, Montana State are ones I would look at, but that's certainly not an exhaustive list

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Navy? You want to bring the Wing T to Waco?

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A service academy coach in the NIL/portal era is a non starter. A worse choice than a P4 coordinator.

Realitybites said:

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jikespingleton said:

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Youre a clown said:

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The coaches at New Mexico, Western Michigan, Navy, Oregon State, UTSA, Montana State are ones I would look at, but that's certainly not an exhaustive list

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Navy? You want to bring the Wing T to Waco? Hard Pass.

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A service academy coach in the NIL/portal era is a non starter. A worse choice than a P4 coordinator.

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I agree.

Just like I am passing on a guy with 1 year of HC experience.

Bearfan1998 said:

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Lincoln Riley

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Honestly every coach should want this Baylor job. A high playing job were the final product does effect your employment. Just make sure you keep the arrest and allegations down.

BU82EX said:

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Here's a crazy name: Matt Rhule. Would you want him back now that the NFL itch is gone? I'm not saying he would leave Nebraska, but I've heard rumblings that he has a soft spot for Baylor. Curious as to the backlash this candidate would create among Baylor faithful. Regardless, he did rescued the program once before.

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BU82EX said:

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Here's a crazy name: Matt Rhule. Would you want him back now that the NFL itch is gone? I'm not saying he would leave Nebraska, but I've heard rumblings that he has a soft spot for Baylor. Curious as to the backlash this candidate would create among Baylor faithful. Regardless, he did rescued the program once before.

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We should be so lucky. Boring wins were wonderful. Solid improvement year over year to champtionship was wonderful. He laid the path for our lame duck.

Colby Carthel has a son named Bear. That's who we should target! The Lumberjacks are undefeated this year so far.

BU82EX said:

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Here's a crazy name: Matt Rhule. Would you want him back now that the NFL itch is gone? I'm not saying he would leave Nebraska, but I've heard rumblings that he has a soft spot for Baylor. Curious as to the backlash this candidate would create among Baylor faithful. Regardless, he did rescued the program once before.

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His record against ranked teams says "no."

BU82EX said:

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Here's a crazy name: Matt Rhule. Would you want him back now that the NFL itch is gone? I'm not saying he would leave Nebraska, but I've heard rumblings that he has a soft spot for Baylor. Curious as to the backlash this candidate would create among Baylor faithful. Regardless, he did rescued the program once before.

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He puts dudes in the league. That said, I think Penn State is still his dream job.

BU82EX said:

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Here's a crazy name: Matt Rhule.

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You on bath salts?

Seriously now…

Rhett Lashlee of SMU, currently ranked AP #23, or Jake Dickert at Wake Forest, currently ranked AP #17. Both know that they will end up in a lesser ACC leftover conference after 2030 realignments are announced in 2027/28. So this will be an opportunity to get out before the ACC drops in status along with their funding resources.

BU82EX said:

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Here's a crazy name: Matt Rhule. Would you want him back now that the NFL itch is gone? I'm not saying he would leave Nebraska, but I've heard rumblings that he has a soft spot for Baylor. Curious as to the backlash this candidate would create among Baylor faithful. Regardless, he did rescued the program once before.

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This bunch couldn't survive Oklahoma drills.

monsterbear61 said:

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Sydney Sweeney.

We keep hiring Boobs so we might as well go all-in…

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The team would kill for her if she asked them to.

monsterbear61 said:

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Seriously now…

Rhett Lashlee of SMU, currently ranked AP #23, or Jake Dickert at Wake Forest, currently ranked AP #17. Both know that they will end up in a lesser ACC leftover conference after 2030 realignments are announced in 2027/28. So this will be an opportunity to get out before the ACC drops in status along with their funding resources.

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This program is no longer in a place where it can poach a successful P4 head coach.

So it is going to be a HC from FCS or G6, an OC/DC from P4, or a P4 guy someone else let go. That's pretty much reality.

Our hires since the BOR screwed up the CAB situation have followed this pattern.

So think of names like the Montana State guy, Danielson, Traylor, Kinne, or promoting Klanderman at the end of the season. The list has gotten shorter than it was a year ago and they chose to let Morris go elsewhere.

Matt Campbell is rapidly wearing out his welcome at Penn State.

BellCountyBear said:

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Colby Carthel has a son named Bear. That's who we should target! The Lumberjacks are undefeated this year so far.

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Underrated coach. I believe he was named head coach of the year in two different conferences, albeit at D2 and FCS, but that doesn't happen if you can't coach. We could get him for cheap and then use more money on NIL

Honestly? I'd like us to figure out how to improve Aranda. To be clear, I think he's been abysmal.

Based on your list and Doug's resume, I'm terrified that we will do worse.

Mitch Blood Green said:

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Honestly? I'd like us to figure out how to improve Aranda. To be clear, I think he's been abysmal.

Based on your list and Doug's resume, I'm terrified that we will do worse.

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Why? Is it really that difficult to find a coach that only beats complete and utter dog turd opponents?

monsterbear61 said:

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Seriously now…

Rhett Lashlee of SMU, currently ranked AP #23, or Jake Dickert at Wake Forest, currently ranked AP #17. Both know that they will end up in a lesser ACC leftover conference after 2030 realignments are announced in 2027/28. So this will be an opportunity to get out before the ACC drops in status along with their funding resources.

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Just being ranked is a rather low bar.

I know of Lashlee, but is he a good coach or are they just buying players? I don't know much about Dickert.

Has either won a conference title? Are their teams consistently good?

Youre a clown said:

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Mitch Blood Green said:

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Honestly? I'd like us to figure out how to improve Aranda. To be clear, I think he's been abysmal.

Based on your list and Doug's resume, I'm terrified that we will do worse.

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Why? Is it really that difficult to find a coach that only beats complete and utter dog turd opponents?

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It can be. We see it all the time. Teams fire a coach and get worse. (Teams also get better. I'm no Debbie Downer).

It shouldn't be hard to find a coach that will win two more games than Aranda. It will be to find a coach that competes for championships. The end result rests on who is making the decision.

I'm on record questioning how Doug got this job. The people who hired him will be apart of the coach search. That's all I'm saying. I could be wrong.

No I get it. I'm hoping a blind squirrel can find a nut. If we can just get somebody who has more charisma and has built up a previously failing program as a coach, I will be relatively happy.

Realitybites said:

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monsterbear61 said:

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Seriously now…

Rhett Lashlee of SMU, currently ranked AP #23, or Jake Dickert at Wake Forest, currently ranked AP #17. Both know that they will end up in a lesser ACC leftover conference after 2030 realignments are announced in 2027/28. So this will be an opportunity to get out before the ACC drops in status along with their funding resources.

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This program is no longer in a place where it can poach a successful P4 head coach.

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Have we ever done that, though? Here's our hires going back to 1972.

Aranda - DC
Rhule - HC Temple
Grobe - wasn't a poach
Briles - UH
Morris - Ah. I guess we did "poach" him from Kentucky. But he wasn't successful there. Unless 9-14 is success . He finished 3-5 in conference in his 2nd year when we hired him.
Steele - just...no.
Roberts - OC
Reedy - OC
Teaff - HC at Angelo St

There was the program before the CAB firing and the program now. Going back to 1993 doesn't help. As of 2026, we don't have the ability to get a coach from Houston or SMU.

Ya sorry. I wasn't clear.

I'm thinking that since we have never poached a successful HC from a P4, what is the point of saying we can no longer do it? We have never done it, regardless of the state of the program.

jikespingleton said:

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Ya sorry. I wasn't clear.

I'm thinking that since we have never poached a successful HC from a P4, what is the point of saying we can no longer do it? We have never done it, regardless of the state of the program.

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I wonder how many from P4's have shown no interest if ask if they would come?

Aliceinbubbleland said:

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jikespingleton said:

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Ya sorry. I wasn't clear.

I'm thinking that since we have never poached a successful HC from a P4, what is the point of saying we can no longer do it? We have never done it, regardless of the state of the program.

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I wonder how many from P4's have shown no interest if ask if they would come?

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Based on our hiring history, I doubt we have contacted a current P4 coach.

We target coordinators and lower level coaches. i.e. G5, FCS etc..

That's assuming our AD has the green light (money) to even make it happen,

Yeah. As I understand it, in searching we hire an outside firm and they screen possible candidates and present a list to the AD. I was thinking perhaps the search firm contacted say a P4 HC and said if Baylor called would you be interested?