South Carolina football coaching board: 7 potential hires to succeed Will Muschamp

We are at the list of received finalists for the South Carolina job. These are the guys we know can lead a football program year over year and are ready to take charge at a Power 5 institution like this. The first coach we will touch on of this trio is Billy Napier of the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns. After three years in Lafayette, Napier is more than ready to take his coaching talents to the Power 5.

The Ragin’ Cajuns have been a fixture in the AP Top 25 Poll throughout this season. Getting that big win on the road over the Iowa State Cyclones in the season opener set the tone for the best season Louisiana has arguably ever had. Though Napier is not long for Lafayette, he may only be a finalist for this job. However, he will be a Power 5 head coach by the start of the 2022 season.

The image rehabilitation process on Steve Sarkisian is complete. He was in the mix for a few Power 5 head-coaching jobs last season. While he did not leave his post as the Alabama Crimson Tide offensive coordinator to lead the Arkansas Razorbacks, the Colorado Buffaloes or the Missouri Tigers, one would think he would leave Tuscaloosa if offered the South Carolina gig.

Sarkisian has reinvented himself as a savvy offensive coordinator since it hit the fan with the 2015 USC Trojans. He had two solid years as the Atlanta Falcons offensive coordinator in 2017 and 2018 before returning back to Alabama to replace Mike Locksley as their offensive coordinator on Nick Saban’s staff. If South Carolina is comfortable with hiring him, then the university should.

It would take an excellent opportunity to get Hugh Freeze to leave a great situation leading the Liberty Flames, but the South Carolina post would be a job worth doing it for. Freeze has been successful everywhere he has been a head coach, whether that was at Arkansas State, Ole Miss or now at Liberty. Like Sarkisian, Freeze does carry some baggage, but the juice is worth the squeeze.

This is one of those pairing where it all lines up. South Carolina is the best Freeze can do in this cycle and Freeze is the best South Carolina can do. Neither party would be settling here. In fact, both would be benefiting tremendously from the partnership. Freeze would get back in the SEC, while South Carolina would get a coach who might be able to win the SEC East again one day.

So what does this magnificent seven tell us about South Carolina and their potential candidates to replace Muschamp? While their coaching base is incredibly regional, South Carolina has a wide array of outstanding candidates to choose from. Though they will not get a Jim Harbaugh or even a Matt Campbell this offseason, South Carolina will be able to get a coach who can help them win.

Who should South Carolina hire to be the next head coach of the Gamecocks football team?

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