11-04-2025, 06:41 AM
13) Alex Golesh (South Florida): One of the hot names on the market given his excellent trajectory at USF. I adore his mentors, Matt Campbell and Josh Heupel. It’s dangerous to try to replicate the sui generis Harbaugh but Golesh’s trademark intensity and high expectations could be just what we need. Some risk that the offensive chops are overrated and owed more to Heupel and I also wonder how the intensity model plays when the head coach doesn’t run the program. I also don’t love that his teams don’t rely on good OL play as I’m kind of set on exorcising that demon.
14) Brian Kelly (unemployed): I really struggled with where to put him. I think he ranks with Saban and Harbaugh as one of the true all-time greats. If anything, I think he gets far too little credit from the masses because he’s such a dick. I also understand how apoplectic many Stanford people would be given the deaths on his watch and, yeah, the general dickishness. But he’s basically as good as it gets and may still have gas in the tank. Of course it’s well-known that he’s one of the winningest coaches ever, tied with Saban. He’s been a really good coach at five programs and even though he’s coached at big programs has Power Four turnaround chops – both LSU and Notre Dame were pretty dumpy immediately before him. Just truly one of the greats. But I know he’s distasteful to most and it’s not happening.
15) Chris Petersen (tv commentator): The former Washington and Boise State coach may be, for the purposes of this exercise, what happens when Dave Clawson and Brian Kelly have a baby – uber alignment with Stanford and uber head coaching chops. So why isn’t he higher? I think it’s possible somebody could be away for coaching for six years and be good (in fact I can tell you some examples in the past it's happened) but in this day and age of a very new competitive landscape, that is awfully daunting. I just wouldn’t feel as confident in this as you’d think with one of the great West Coast coaches of my lifetime.
16) Dabo Swinney (Clemson): On the one hand, the coach I have thought for many years would be the dream big kahuna fit for Stanford could finally become available because he’s worn out his welcome in his current job. On the other hand….it’s because he’s worn out his welcome. The luster has faded dramatically for Swinney and I do not have nearly the confidence he would have the fire I am assuming for Franklin, so Swinney goes from #1 on my post-Shaw list to much lower. But there is real value in the big splash if he doesn’t go full Belichick.
17) Billy Napier (unemployed): The fired Florida coach had the level of Power Four success that can work out with retreads and his process-driven builder mentality could jibe with where Stanford has tried to go post-Shaw. I like his Swinney/Saban pedigree and that his teams tend to block well. That he took assistant gigs at Colorado State and Arizona State could indicate more geographic flexibility than some might assume. His star has dimmed for me as it’s pretty rough to join Ron Zook as the only Florida coaches in 65 years not to have a nine win season.
18) Doug Marrone (New England Patriots OL coach): I am not hearing anybody else mention the former Buffalo Bills and Jacksonville Jaguars head coach and I very well may be the one missing something/the boat entirely, but to me he’s fascinating as an OL-oriented, proven college turnaround artist (Syracuse) who has spent a lot of successful time in college (which has seemed important in the past to separate out which NFL guys are most likely to translate back to college), including post-pandemic stints at Alabama and Boston College. Not having been a head coach at all post-pandemic is a red flag as it may indicate lack of drive and/or that he’s in a different season of life but he checks a lot of boxes for me for a guy who’s not in a very high-profile job right now.
19) Brian Daboll (New York Giants): Only plausible if he gets fired and even then timing is awkward but he would be a good candidate for the kind of coach who would translate well from the NFL to college. His year of college coordinating experience was under Saban and between that and his years under Belichick and McDermott he has been a part of a lot of good football teams. I don’t shy from NFL retreads and somebody who has won NFL Coach of the Year and Assistant of the Year and has five Super Bowl rings is pretty attractive as far as NFL to college transitions go. He’s young enough that I could see a solid translation/fire for the college game.
20) Jonathan Smith (Michigan State): One of the West Coast’s top coaches may soon flame out in the Big 10 and if so I think that would be a rash move by the Spartans (Smith has them #67 in just his second year after inheriting a scandal stunned program) and the timing could be right for us to pounce. He’s had good blocking teams and I think is a good coach but it would be at least a bit scary to bank on a just-fired Power Four coach.
21) Doug Pederson (unemployed): The former Philadelphia Eagles and Jacksonville Jaguars head coach is not the obvious college pedigree as he’s spent no time in college since he was playing and no time in FBS ever, but he doesn’t currently have a job and Reich is part of his coaching tree, so this could something appealing that comes our way via the Luck-Reich NFL preference pipeline.
22) Kenny Dillingham (Arizona State): I am not as sold as some that he’s the next legend but I’m still pretty into him. To have two top 40 teams in his last two years after picking up Herm Edwards’ scandal wreckage the year before is a nice start to his head coaching career. The energy and vigor would be fun, though the personality and approach seem opposite to the process/structure/teaching vibe I’ve tended toward in some selections out of my sense of where Luck would want to go and what would fit with what we think we’re building. It also seems like an unlikely marriage that would only happen if we threw money around to make him spurn the alma mater.
23) Greg Roman (Los Angeles Chargers OC): This would be a play to obtain instant offense and scheme advantage, relative to college, while the program slogs through a several year process to field a more competitive roster. In the meantime, we would have a better shot at establishing competence in the trenches and advancing Luck’s vision for the identity of the team than under virtually any other coach. We would run the risk of an untested head coach. Long-time NFL coordinator but not a head coach is not a model I’m familiar working a lot in college. But we are in a different era and it’s easy to daydream a scenario where this is great.
24) Luke Fickell (Wisconsin): I imagine many here will be interested if he gets fired as expected. I do not think a progressively declining trajectory in his Power Four break is the recipe for success we need, but he’s coached a lot of top 50 teams (at Cincinnati numerous top 25 teams) and that in itself is a pedigree some guys I’m contemplating here can only hope they’re able to accomplish some day. He also could be a very good culture fit.
25) Dave Aranda (Baylor): A California boy and a nerd at heart who has been stuck in the heart of Texas for years and at times in the past has been mentioned as interested in the Stanford job. Having losing seasons as often as winning seasons as Baylor has dramatically lessened appeal nationally and he’s now just a mediocre Power Four guy working to keep his job each year. But if you dig in to computer rankings his five year median is #30 and his three year median is #48. Either way, it’s a level of play that reaches the level my past research has shown is an attractive level for an established Power Four coach if you’re looking for somebody from another program who could be a good bet for a turnaround in a new environment. This is reminiscent in some ways of Mendenhall prior to Virginia, Graham prior to Arizona State, Cutcliffe prior to Duke (an especially attractive comparison given the depth of rebuild we need), Kiffin prior to Ole Miss, Dykes prior to TCU, and Brohm prior to Louisville. Couple that with a supposed personality/institution fit, California ties, and the potential convenience of bringing on the OG Wisconsin defense architect if we want to retain some of our defensive concepts/personality, and this doesn’t strike me as the worst idea.
26) Bronco Mendenhall (Utah State): The most pre-Levin Stanford thing we could possibly do. A good man and good coach who is primarily about values and personal development and doing things the right way. If we decided the institutional traffic couldn’t bear further selling out, giving it a go with a coach who didn’t require us to sacrifice any high ground and packing it up if it didn’t work out would be the most Stanford thing ever. While this isn’t sexy and lacks ambition, there is something to be said for just getting a good coach. Mendenhall had tremendous success at BYU (five 10+ win teams), turned Virginia around with two 8+ win seasons including an Orange Bowl (and my research shows that coaches who have already turned a program around have a skill set that can make it happen again), and had a sole 5-7 season at New Mexico that was their most wins in eight years, though so far at Utah State in his first year he hasn’t done anything special. Just a solid coach and a good fit for Stanford.
14) Brian Kelly (unemployed): I really struggled with where to put him. I think he ranks with Saban and Harbaugh as one of the true all-time greats. If anything, I think he gets far too little credit from the masses because he’s such a dick. I also understand how apoplectic many Stanford people would be given the deaths on his watch and, yeah, the general dickishness. But he’s basically as good as it gets and may still have gas in the tank. Of course it’s well-known that he’s one of the winningest coaches ever, tied with Saban. He’s been a really good coach at five programs and even though he’s coached at big programs has Power Four turnaround chops – both LSU and Notre Dame were pretty dumpy immediately before him. Just truly one of the greats. But I know he’s distasteful to most and it’s not happening.
15) Chris Petersen (tv commentator): The former Washington and Boise State coach may be, for the purposes of this exercise, what happens when Dave Clawson and Brian Kelly have a baby – uber alignment with Stanford and uber head coaching chops. So why isn’t he higher? I think it’s possible somebody could be away for coaching for six years and be good (in fact I can tell you some examples in the past it's happened) but in this day and age of a very new competitive landscape, that is awfully daunting. I just wouldn’t feel as confident in this as you’d think with one of the great West Coast coaches of my lifetime.
16) Dabo Swinney (Clemson): On the one hand, the coach I have thought for many years would be the dream big kahuna fit for Stanford could finally become available because he’s worn out his welcome in his current job. On the other hand….it’s because he’s worn out his welcome. The luster has faded dramatically for Swinney and I do not have nearly the confidence he would have the fire I am assuming for Franklin, so Swinney goes from #1 on my post-Shaw list to much lower. But there is real value in the big splash if he doesn’t go full Belichick.
17) Billy Napier (unemployed): The fired Florida coach had the level of Power Four success that can work out with retreads and his process-driven builder mentality could jibe with where Stanford has tried to go post-Shaw. I like his Swinney/Saban pedigree and that his teams tend to block well. That he took assistant gigs at Colorado State and Arizona State could indicate more geographic flexibility than some might assume. His star has dimmed for me as it’s pretty rough to join Ron Zook as the only Florida coaches in 65 years not to have a nine win season.
18) Doug Marrone (New England Patriots OL coach): I am not hearing anybody else mention the former Buffalo Bills and Jacksonville Jaguars head coach and I very well may be the one missing something/the boat entirely, but to me he’s fascinating as an OL-oriented, proven college turnaround artist (Syracuse) who has spent a lot of successful time in college (which has seemed important in the past to separate out which NFL guys are most likely to translate back to college), including post-pandemic stints at Alabama and Boston College. Not having been a head coach at all post-pandemic is a red flag as it may indicate lack of drive and/or that he’s in a different season of life but he checks a lot of boxes for me for a guy who’s not in a very high-profile job right now.
19) Brian Daboll (New York Giants): Only plausible if he gets fired and even then timing is awkward but he would be a good candidate for the kind of coach who would translate well from the NFL to college. His year of college coordinating experience was under Saban and between that and his years under Belichick and McDermott he has been a part of a lot of good football teams. I don’t shy from NFL retreads and somebody who has won NFL Coach of the Year and Assistant of the Year and has five Super Bowl rings is pretty attractive as far as NFL to college transitions go. He’s young enough that I could see a solid translation/fire for the college game.
20) Jonathan Smith (Michigan State): One of the West Coast’s top coaches may soon flame out in the Big 10 and if so I think that would be a rash move by the Spartans (Smith has them #67 in just his second year after inheriting a scandal stunned program) and the timing could be right for us to pounce. He’s had good blocking teams and I think is a good coach but it would be at least a bit scary to bank on a just-fired Power Four coach.
21) Doug Pederson (unemployed): The former Philadelphia Eagles and Jacksonville Jaguars head coach is not the obvious college pedigree as he’s spent no time in college since he was playing and no time in FBS ever, but he doesn’t currently have a job and Reich is part of his coaching tree, so this could something appealing that comes our way via the Luck-Reich NFL preference pipeline.
22) Kenny Dillingham (Arizona State): I am not as sold as some that he’s the next legend but I’m still pretty into him. To have two top 40 teams in his last two years after picking up Herm Edwards’ scandal wreckage the year before is a nice start to his head coaching career. The energy and vigor would be fun, though the personality and approach seem opposite to the process/structure/teaching vibe I’ve tended toward in some selections out of my sense of where Luck would want to go and what would fit with what we think we’re building. It also seems like an unlikely marriage that would only happen if we threw money around to make him spurn the alma mater.
23) Greg Roman (Los Angeles Chargers OC): This would be a play to obtain instant offense and scheme advantage, relative to college, while the program slogs through a several year process to field a more competitive roster. In the meantime, we would have a better shot at establishing competence in the trenches and advancing Luck’s vision for the identity of the team than under virtually any other coach. We would run the risk of an untested head coach. Long-time NFL coordinator but not a head coach is not a model I’m familiar working a lot in college. But we are in a different era and it’s easy to daydream a scenario where this is great.
24) Luke Fickell (Wisconsin): I imagine many here will be interested if he gets fired as expected. I do not think a progressively declining trajectory in his Power Four break is the recipe for success we need, but he’s coached a lot of top 50 teams (at Cincinnati numerous top 25 teams) and that in itself is a pedigree some guys I’m contemplating here can only hope they’re able to accomplish some day. He also could be a very good culture fit.
25) Dave Aranda (Baylor): A California boy and a nerd at heart who has been stuck in the heart of Texas for years and at times in the past has been mentioned as interested in the Stanford job. Having losing seasons as often as winning seasons as Baylor has dramatically lessened appeal nationally and he’s now just a mediocre Power Four guy working to keep his job each year. But if you dig in to computer rankings his five year median is #30 and his three year median is #48. Either way, it’s a level of play that reaches the level my past research has shown is an attractive level for an established Power Four coach if you’re looking for somebody from another program who could be a good bet for a turnaround in a new environment. This is reminiscent in some ways of Mendenhall prior to Virginia, Graham prior to Arizona State, Cutcliffe prior to Duke (an especially attractive comparison given the depth of rebuild we need), Kiffin prior to Ole Miss, Dykes prior to TCU, and Brohm prior to Louisville. Couple that with a supposed personality/institution fit, California ties, and the potential convenience of bringing on the OG Wisconsin defense architect if we want to retain some of our defensive concepts/personality, and this doesn’t strike me as the worst idea.
26) Bronco Mendenhall (Utah State): The most pre-Levin Stanford thing we could possibly do. A good man and good coach who is primarily about values and personal development and doing things the right way. If we decided the institutional traffic couldn’t bear further selling out, giving it a go with a coach who didn’t require us to sacrifice any high ground and packing it up if it didn’t work out would be the most Stanford thing ever. While this isn’t sexy and lacks ambition, there is something to be said for just getting a good coach. Mendenhall had tremendous success at BYU (five 10+ win teams), turned Virginia around with two 8+ win seasons including an Orange Bowl (and my research shows that coaches who have already turned a program around have a skill set that can make it happen again), and had a sole 5-7 season at New Mexico that was their most wins in eight years, though so far at Utah State in his first year he hasn’t done anything special. Just a solid coach and a good fit for Stanford.