Karl Benson knows the drill – and he understands the allure. A while back, the Sun Belt commissioner had a conversation with Troy’s Neal Brown, who is likely to land on the wish lists of Power Five athletic directors in the very near future. It was a variation of a talk he’s had with other successful young coaches.
“I compared Neal,” Benson says, “to what I experienced watching Chris Petersen for all those years when I was (the WAC commissioner).”
Petersen, of course, stayed at Boise State for eight seasons, far longer than almost anyone ever would have expected, compiling a 92-12 record before Washington finally lured him away.
“You need to be selective,” Benson says he told Brown – and other coaches before him. “You obviously have to strike while the fire is hot, but be really smart about it and get your priorities straight. … We’ve seen coaches take the quick move and it’s their last head job. Chris Petersen, I think, is a great example for all coaches in the Group of Five.”
It makes sense, but almost every coach is hard-wired to believe he’s the guy who can turn around that struggling program.
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And this is a factor, too: The average Power Five coach’s salary is about $3.85 million. The average Group of Five coach’s salary is around $915,000. Brown makes $810,000 a year.
While it appears there might be fewer openings than in the last few years, we’ve only gotten to October. Kansas and Maryland seem likely to open, though for different reasons. Several others are sure to follow. And there will probably be some we’re not anticipating. After beating Nebraska (which followed a 2017 win at LSU), Brown will be one of the most sought-after candidates in the next few months.
Although several offensive and defensive coordinators will likely be in the mix, too, in some searches, here’s a look (in alphabetical order) at some of the head coaches we’ll be watching when the coaching carousel cranks up:
Blake Anderson, Arkansas State
In his fifth season at Arkansas State, Anderson, 49, has won two Sun Belt titles and nearly won last year, too. The Red Wolves appear headed to their fifth consecutive winning season. The reason you don’t hear more about him is that Arkansas State doesn’t have a Power Five notch in its belt under his tenure.
Neal Brown, Troy
For a guy whose teams have developed a reputation as giant-killers, but it’s more than that. Troy has grown into a Sun Belt power, and might be headed to its third consecutive 10-win season. It only seems like a matter of time before Brown gets to coach at a giant. At 38, the fit at Troy seems great – but the former offensive coordinator at Texas Tech and Kentucky would be a very good fit at a lot of places.
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Jason Candle, Toledo
Candle, who’ll turn 39 next month, is next man up in the tradition of hot coaching candidates from the MAC. Toledo is 2-2 this season, but the Rockets were 9-4 and 11-2 in 2016 and 2017, respectively – last year, Toledo won the MAC.
Luke Fickell, Cincinnati
Fickell, 45, has a pedigree as Ohio State’s former defensive coordinator (and interim head coach during the transition season between Jim Tressel and Urban Meyer). Now, in his second season at Cincinnati, he has the Bearcats unbeaten through five games. If and when Big Ten jobs open, he could get a long look.
Bryan Harsin, Boise State
It might be difficult to pry Harsin, 41, away from Boise State, which is as sweet a gig as there is in the Group of Five. But we should not assume he’ll reject repeated overtures, like Chris Petersen did for all of those years. If a decent Power Five gig opens, Harsin will be an attractive candidate.
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