5 best head coaching options for Baylor Bears in 2017

The Art Briles era has officially come to end with the Baylor Bears, as the university terminated his contract. Here are five coaching candidates for 2017.

Baylor University and former head coach Art Briles decided it was best to part ways on Friday. After Briles attempting to sue the university for wrongful termination following the Baylor sexual assault scandal stemming from actions of players on the football team, Briles and Baylor mutually agreed to terminate their contract on Friday.

While it seems that Baylor doesn’t want the NCAA to institute the egregious Death Penalty, it’s truly the end of an era in Waco for the Baylor Bears football program. From 2008 to 2015, Briles brought this former doormat of a Big 12 program to new heights, winning 10+ games annually, winning the Big 12 in back-to-back years, and bringing a Heisman Trophy to Waco in 2011 thanks to quarterback Robert Griffin, III.

However, winning at a supremely high level doesn’t make up for an embarrassing sexual assault scandal on the Baylor campus. While some Baylor boosters even tried to have Briles reinstated after serving a one-year suspension in 2016 via a clandestine, back-room vote, the divorce seemed inevitable once the NCAA hinted that the Death Penalty could have been put on the table.

Though Baylor has a solid temporary head coach in former Wake Forest Demon Deacons head coach Jim Grobe in 2016, expect Baylor to look for a suitable, long-term replacement for 2017. While it isn’t out of the realm of possibility for Grobe to stay on beyond 2016, here are five head coaching candidates Baylor could look at for the 2017 NCAA season.

Next: 5. Rhett Lashlee.