Obviously, this hire is going to take time because the AD domino looms large and they will fill that before hiring a FB coach IMO. That hire will majorly impact the list. Here is a list of people who make sense, some boosters like and people who I expect should get the call. Even in the last search where ADTS did a bit of a lone wolf by his own admission, we hit on most of the targets even the bad ones.
So I will break them into different categories and then I'll try to deep dive into them a little more as this evolves or I get credible information someone is a legit target or has legit interest. There are a few not listed because of buyouts or no expected interest like someone telling you GT should look at Lance Leopold hasn't read up on his contract extension at KU.
FAN FAVORITES/LOGICAL PEOPLE TO TALK TO IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER.
Jamey Chadwell (Coastal Carolina)- A young coach who has a team that plays well on both sides of the ball, he is 26-3 over the last three years after turning around two tough early seasons. He had two 10-win seasons at Charleston Southern and won 11 games at North Greenville in D-2. Guy wins and builds up his product. His offense is polarizing for fans who hate option football. It is basically RPO spread with triple option and speed option concepts as well. It is what GT probably should've run to get over the hump of transitioning away from Paul Johnson's offense when Collins was hired. A fun Chadwell stat, he is 2-0 against ranked teams at Coastal.
Dell McGee (UGA)- Basically every person I know that is a trainer, position coach, or in the recruiting scene in the ATL is pushing for McGee. He is well-liked and was a HS coach for many years in Georgia after his playing career ended. Auburn grad, coaches at UGA now as RB coach during Kirby Smart's entire tenure. He would be interested in the job that I can say, but is he ready for it? Can GT gamble on this type of hire? His staff pieces would be important as well and will there be a heavy push for a guy who has built and helmed his own program after seeing how quickly things unraveled on the Flats? That plays against him.
Todd Monken (UGA) - UGA's offensive coordinator seems like a longshot because he has clearly been waiting for a job. I don't think this is it. He turned around Southern Miss before leaving for the NFL for several seasons. I'm sort of curious about his offense because a lot of UGA people I know think he is told to keep things pretty conservative by Smart. His cousin Jeff Monken was on the staff under PJ and is the head coach at Army. I'd be curious his take on the job if Todd asked. I just think he is waiting for something else before he leaves UGA. I could be wrong.
Dan Mullen (unemployed/HS football consultant at Lake Oconee HS) - Dan Mullen is 103-61 as a head coach with three ten-win seasons, but just one division title under his belt. He got Mississippi State to #1 in the country briefly. He also hired super retread, Todd Grantham, twice at MSU and then brought him to Gainesville in 2018. I'm curious about how much fire is left in his belly. The Florida situation was bad and he had a lot of resources at Florida and could recruit anyone he wanted at MSU so how would he adapt to the challenges of GT? If he wants to coach again, he would have some easier pathways IMO.
Bill O'Brien (Alabama OC)- BoB has been with Nick Saban in rehab school for the last two seasons after the Houston Texans fired him. He was close to landing the LSU job last offseason. He did well at Penn State. He was riding high in 2018 with an NFL playoff team when GT inquired about his interest in the job at that time. He of course said no. He is rumored to be in the mix for several other jobs. People have mixed opinions of BoB including Bama fans who think he is a little too vanilla for today's CFB. A buddy of mine who worked with him when he was an assistant coach described his personality as being like "sandpaper." He the anthesis of Geoff Collins. He is meat and potatoes. I would just be curious to see how he views this job right now. He is well-aware of how GT works having put in 7 seasons on the Flats under both GOL and Chan working his way up from GA to on the field coach. You guys know more about that than I do.
Deion Sanders (Jackson State HC)- Deion Sanders is the hot name and polarizing name for GT fans so far through the early returns. He is like cilantro or the band Nickelback for JOL right now. I think he would be a home run in recruiting and would drive some sidewalk interest for GT. My big question is how good of a coach is he and can he handle the academic restraints at GT and what is required to keep guy happy and eligible? The Tigers have a talent edge over other teams in their league so how much of his early success has been basically following his college coach Bobby Bowden's model of just being more talented than your competitors? That won't work at GT. He is a much sharper guy than people realize because he does a bit of a routine on TV and has two different personas. Will he fly with the guys who pay some of the bills? Could they even get him? FSU may open as I keep hearing Norvell is unhappy and looking to bolt. Would he get a look from the NFL or a place like Auburn (they want Hugh Freeze) or some other high-profile job that might open.
MAKE HIM SAY NO
Dave Clawson (Wake Forest HC)- I like Dave a lot and I have a solid relationship with him from my time helping our WF site and other things. He has taken Wake Forest to six straight bowl games, a program record. He is the Jamie Dixon of what-ifs (look that up on the board if you are new in the search bar) as he had interest in the job when CPJ left per sources close to Clawson and he was never approached. He is winning consistently in the second hardest job in the conference and doing it with academic restrictions similar to GT's. Now he has that rolling, would he walk away?
