Who's got next? College football coaches on the rise and who could hire them in 2025

One of the best parts about covering major college football is the upward mobility some of these coaches, and now players, have. While the dawn of the transfer portal has afforded more and more players opportunities to get a fresh start at another university, college football head coaches have always been able to leave one school for another at the drop of a hat, so look for that to continue.

What I want to do today is to highlight Cody Williams and I's candidates in both the Power Four and the Group of Five for He Gone ... Eventually! As part of our False Start 2024 season preview, we tied a bow on it during Thursday's episode, right in time for Cody's beloved North Carolina Tar Heels to take on the Minnesota Golden Gophers in Week 1. It will be about a sweater vest and a fresh pair of Jordans.

For the Power Four candidates, Cody and I each listed five head coaches or coordinators we thought could make the move to a bigger and better job in 2025, as well as one sleeper, plus, a potential guy to be promoted from within. As for the Group of Five, we each picked five head coaches who could be leaving for bigger jobs as well, in addition to another sleeper. Many of these guys will be on the move.

Each coach is listed by conference affiliation, as well as a few possible landing spots after the blurb.

ACC

Florida State State Seminoles offensive coordinator Alex Atkins

Cody may have overlooked Alex Atkins' two-year show cause at Florida State for tampering with Amarius Mims' recruitment in the portal, but that is not going to matter at some point. He may be suspended for three games, in addition to his show cause, but the man can coach offense. Atkins is a prime candidate to take over a program by 2026, one that has lost its way a bit offensively of late.

Potential landing spots: Baylor, Pittsburgh, UCF

Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner

Buster Faulker put on a coaching clinic in Georgia Tech's Week 0 upset of Florida State. While he has been an assistant for quite some time, his connection to both Georgia and Georgia Tech will open doors for him that were previously locked. I see him potentially going to a team in the Southeast that has academic challenges but has been able to win at a high level for their standard in the last decade.

Potential landing spots: Vanderbilt, Virginia, Wake Forest

Big Ten

Iowa Hawkeyes offensive coordinator Tim Lester

Not going to lie. This one kind of shocked me. The idea of Kirk Ferentz retiring, or being given a golden parachute by Iowa, is not out of the realm of possibility. My pick to be promoted from within would be LeVar Woods. I will give Cody credit for thinking if the Hawkeyes offense improves under Tim Lester's watch that it might be enough to convince new athletic director Beth Goetz he is the one.

Potential landing spot: Iowa

Oregon Ducks offensive coordinator Will Stein

Without question, Oregon offensive coordinator Will Stein was the No. 1 pick on Cody and I's board in this exercise. He helped Bo Nix get to the Heisman Trophy ceremony last year. We both expect that Oregon will be getting to the College Football Playoff and winning multiple playoff games. Our only concern is that a 30-something first-time head coach may fall into the same trap as his predecessor.

Potential landing spots: Cincinnati, North Carolina, Virginia

Penn State Nittany Lions offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki

While I feel Andy Kotelnicki is a better pick for the 2026 cycle, the new Penn State offensive coordinator is Cody's sleeper. His argument is Kotelnicki has already been a savvy offensive mind at three places that are hard to win at in Kansas, Buffalo and Wisconsin-Whitewater. He could be the perfect candidate for an opening in the Carolinas. I think he would be absolutely perfect at Purdue.

Potential landing spots: North Carolina, Purdue, South Carolina

Washington Huskies head coach Jedd Fisch

The only man who will spend less time in Seattle than Jedd Fisch is his former Washington athletic director Troy Dannen. I remember dog sitting back in June and there was Dannon in the fridge longer than Dannen was at U-Dub. This is because Fisch's alma mater of Florida is almost certainly going to open up. Billy Napier may still be a good coach, but the Gators are a disaster with a brutal schedule.

Potential landing spot: Florida

Washington Huskies offensive coordinator Brennan Carroll

Give Cody a lot of credit here for his other sneaky-good promotion from within candidate. Should Jedd Fisch leave for Florida, how sure are we that his offensive coordinator Brennan Carroll will follow? He may have followed him from Arizona, but Seattle is the place where his famous father Pete built a hall-of-fame career coaching the Seahawks. Seattle has been kind to the Carroll Family, alright.

Potential landing spot: Washington

Big 12

UCF Knights head coach Gus Malzahn

Let's go, boys! Let's break it down, boys! I don't know how good UCF is going to be this year, but the Knights had the best season of the Big 12 newcomers out of the Group of Five last year. This is because they have an SEC head coach leading them in Gus Malzahn. Cody and I agree that if Sam Pittman gets fired at Arkansas, he is the first we would call if we were leading the athletic department.

Potential landing spots: Arkansas, Florida, South Carolina

Utah Utes defensive coordinator Morgan Scalley

With Kyle Whittingham already saying previously that he plans to retire before the 2027 college football season, I would venture to guess that Utah will promote one of their two coordinators from within. Utah did this when Urban Meyer and Dan Mullen left for Florida. Andy Ludwig is a great offensive mind, but Morgan Scalley is a good bit younger than him and has been a Utah Utes lifer!

Potential landing spot: Utah

SEC

Georgia Bulldogs defensive coordinator Glenn Schumann

Cody and I both had Georgia defensive coordinator Glenn Schumann in our top five. Even though he is at my alma mater, I am not as high on him leaving UGA as Cody is. I don't doubt his coaching chops or acumen, but rather if he has the personality of a Dan Lanning, Sam Pittman or Fran Brown. It is all about fit. Cody and I think if Kentucky were to somehow open up he is a player there.

Potential landing spots: Kentucky, South Carolina, TCU

Kentucky Wildcats head coach Mark Stoops

I am more bullish on Mark Stoops potentially leaving Kentucky than Cody is. He finds Stoops to be in a perfect situation for him. While I would agree with that, alma mater could come calling. He played for Hayden Fry, not Kirk Ferentz at Iowa. He also has strong ties to Florida State from coaching there previously. He is also a Youngstown guy, potentially being a dark horse to replace Ryan Day one day.

Potential landing spots: Florida State, Iowa, Ohio State

Group of Five

Jacksonville State Gamecocks head coach Rich Rodriguez

While I wouldn't touch Rich Rodriguez with a 10-foot pole, Cody senses somebody might. He needs to go to the right lower-tier Power Four job, but a handful of those could become available for him. Going back to West Virginia is probably not happening, but he may be able to go to one of the Mountaineers' rivals. I think he would be a huge upgrade over what Cincinnati and Pittsburgh have.

Potential landing spots: Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Purdue

Liberty Flames head coach Jamey Chadwell

How Cody and I feel about Will Stein at Oregon is how we feel about Jamey Chadwell at Liberty. He may lack Power Four experience, but he has won everywhere he has been in at lower levels. Leaving Coastal Carolina for Liberty two years ago was strange, but it may be enough to propel him to a mid-to-lower-tier job in the ACC, Big 12 or even in the SEC. His offense is unique, but it does get results.

Potential landing spots: North Carolina, South Carolina, Wake Forest

Memphis Tigers head coach Ryan Silverfield

I think I am higher on Memphis head coach Ryan Silverfield getting a better job this offseason than Cody is. The big thing for me is Memphis is the type of gig that will get you a strong Power Four opportunity, as illustrated by Justin Fuente to Virginia Tech and Mike Norvell to Florida State. We have the Tigers winning the AAC, but the conference may not be as good as it was during previous years.

Potential landing spots: Arizona State, UCF, Vanderbilt

Rice Owls head coach Mike Bloomgren

My sneaky-good pick to get a better job out of the Group of Five is Rice Owls head coach Mike Bloomgren. Rice is not an easy job, but nobody holds the Owls' record under Bloomgren against him. What is important to know is he was the secret sauce at Stanford. Once he left Palo Alto, David Shaw became a shell of himself. He could replace Troy Taylor should he fail, so keep an eye on Bloomgren.

Potential landing spots: Colorado, Stanford, TCU

South Florida Bulls head coach Alex Golesh

As it is the case with many coaching candidates on this list, Alex Golesh may be a year away down in South Florida, but then again, look at what he is doing in South Florida! He has made Jeff Scott look like the worst head coach we have seen since Chad Morris at Arkansas. Golesh has the ability to fit in at any number of places. He used to coach at rival UCF, is an Ohio native and watch out for Iowa State.

Potential landing spots: Cincinnati, Iowa State, UCF

Texas State Bobcats head coach GJ Kinne

How I feel about Alex Golesh, Andy Kotelnicki and to some degree Alex Atkins, is how Cody feels about GJ Kinne. We think he is a fantastic coach at Texas State, which is why we picked the Bobcats to win the Sun Belt. The only problem is name recognition. He could get a Power Four job in Texas in a year or two, but I think he is a sneaky-good candidate to take over at Memphis for a three-year run.

Potential landing spots: Baylor, Memphis, Texas Tech

UNLV Rebels head coach Barry Odom

As it is with Rich Rodriguez at Jacksonville State, Barry Odom feels overqualified to be coaching at UNLV. He may have the ability to stay there as long as he wants, but this man used to lead his alma mater of Missouri in a post-Gary Pinkel world. He would be a candidate to replace Sam Pittman at Arkansas. Odom feels very SEC or Big 12, but I think there is a chance he could work anywhere.

Potential landing spots: Arkansas, Colorado, Iowa State

UTSA Roadrunners head coach Jeff Traylor

The man is a prodigy! Jeff Traylor has transformed the UTSA Roadrunners from an upstart Group of Five program into being one of the best that hasn't won the Group of Five yet. I thought it was odd he did not get the Houston job that went to Willie Fritz. For my money, I would hire him immediately if Dave Aranda or Joey McGuire fail at Baylor or Texas Tech. I think Traylor would thrive at Arizona State.

Potential landing spots: Arizona State, Baylor, Texas Tech