Kansas coaching search: Les Miles and 5 candidates to replace David Beaty

4. Beau Baldwin, Cal Offensive Coordinator

Baldwin is in his second season as offensive coordinator at Cal, and while the Bears haven’t had an explosive offense his acumen on that side of the ball fits the style of Big 12 football. Simply put, Kansas has to find a way to keep better pace with the best offenses in the conference.

Over nine seasons as head coach at Eastern Washington (2008-2016), Baldwin’s offenses ranked in the top-10 of the FCS in passing and total offense eight times. The Eagles won double-digit games under him five times, with five Big Sky titles, one national title (2010) and three other appearances in an FCS Playoffs semifinal. Baldwin was also named Big Sky Coach of the Year twice.

Baldwin was considered a candidate for the job at Arizona around a year ago before Kevin Sumlin was ultimately hired to permanently replace Rich Rodriguez. His advancement as a candidate for any openings in the upcoming cycle is uncertain, and he’d have to be able to surround himself with proven assistants. But if Long wants to go outside the box to replace Beaty, Baldwin may at least get an opportunity to interview at Kansas.