College Football Hot Seats

There could be plenty of college football coaching openings after this season and it could turn into a big game of dominoes. Here is a rundown of what the teams should do:
• Notre Dame hires Brian Kelly: The recruiting classes will go down, but the wins will go up. Kelly is so good at coaching quarterbacks that this might be the only thing that keeps Jimmy Clausen from entering the NFL Draft. Under Kelly, Clausen could be a top-five pick in 2011.
• Cincinnati replaces Kelly with Randy Edsall: The Connecticut coach is one of the best coaches in college football. Edsall has kept this team competitive, even after the death of a player. Edsall is an underrated recruiter and comes from the Bill Parcells coaching tree.
• Connecticutt hires Navy’s Ken Nuimatalolo: Edsall would be a huge loss for the Huskies, but Nuimatalolo is one of the best offensive minds in college football. He comes from the Paul Johnson coaching tree and teams will start trying to find coaches that can run similar offenses to what Johnson is doing at Georgia Tech. Nuimatalolo has won at least eight games at Navy the past two seasons and also has two straight wins over Notre Dame.
• Kansas hires Turner Gill: It is a shame that Gill doesn’t have a better job than Buffalo, but this will change after the season. Gill was a great player at Nebraska and his daughter is a student at Kansas. If the Jayhawks want a coach that is better with the players, Gill is their guy.
• Buffalo hires Dick Jauron: Just kidding. He couldn’t even coach the university.
• Texas A & M hires Tommy Tuberville: This is a no-brainer. Mike Sherman is done after this season and he is a better fit in the NFL. Tuberville had success as the defensive coordinator at A & M and this rabid fan base needs a coach with a proven track record. The Tuberville hire won’t create the same domino effect that Kelly will create, but expect Tuberville to bring some important assistant coaches with him. Don’t be surprised if Tennessee’s running back coach Eddie Gran follows him to Texas A & M. Lane Kiffin should bring back Trooper Taylor to Knoxville.
• Virginia hires Phillip Fulmer: We mentioned this as a possibility earlier this year and it looks like there is a good chance this happens. Al Groh is also gone after this season and Fulmer would be a great fit for Virginia. This program needs a great recruiter and Fulmer can bring that to this ACC team. Fulmer still has great ties in the South and could bring assistants like Latrell Scott and Randy Sanders to his staff. His staff will be interesting as David Cutcliffe, Doug Maroney and John Chavis are all in better situation than what Fulmer can offer.
• Louisville hires Mike Leach: This team is one of the most embarrassing teams to watch and Louisville needs a great offensive mind. Leach would bring credibility to this struggling program and the fat girlfriends should be nervous in Louisville.
• Texas Tech hires Charlie Strong: Red Raiders fans might want a coach with more ties to the area, but the Red Raiders should follow Oklahoma and hire Florida’s defensive coordinator. Bob Stoops handled the move from Florida to the Big 12 and Strong would be another great hire. This would be a huge loss for the Gators and other SEC programs should celebrate if this happens.
• Colorado hires Terry Bowden: It would be odd to see a Bowden out West, but Bowden is a great coach that should be at a BCS school. Bowden’s program was not clean at Auburn, but it was dirty before he got there. Bowden would turn this horrible program around quickly.
• Michigan keeps Rich Rodriguez: This season was embarrassing for Michigan fans, but Rodriguez needs time and more recruiting classes to turn around this program. The Wolverines improved (slightly) over last season and will do the same in 2010. Jim Harbaugh is the only coach that would tempt me to fire Rodriguez.
• Oakland Raiders hires Harbaugh: The Stanford coach will not last there long and would be a great hire at Notre Dame or Michigan. With the success that his brother, John, is having with the Baltimore Ravens, NFL teams will want this former Indianapolis Colts quarterback. Owner Al Davis will not hire a proven NFL name and he has hired a college coach before (Lane Kiffin). Harbaugh would actually be a good hire for Davis, if he doesn’t want to hire a proven NFL name.