On3 administrator survey: 24 non-Power 5 head coaches expected to garner interest for bigger jobs

Of the 47 FBS head-coaching hires the past two years, a bit more than half (24) were either current head coaches or coaches with previous experience in that role.

That brings us to the latest part of our On3 2022 coaching series: current Group of 5 and FCS head coaches who could be candidates for bigger jobs when the coaching carousel starts in a couple of months (or a couple of weeks).

On3 surveyed college sports administrators to gather their thoughts on those expected to be of interest for bigger opportunities this upcoming coaching cycle. Here are 24 coaches who came up most. They’re listed alphabetically.

Blake Anderson, Utah State

Led by Anderson, Utah State finished last season 11-3 and claimed its first Mountain West conference title after records of 7-6 in 2019 and 1-5 in 2020 under the previous Aggies staff. Utah State is 1-0 this season after a Week Zero win over UConn. Anderson was 51-37 in seven seasons as the coach at Arkansas State before making the move to Utah State.

Brent Brennan, San Jose State

In 2020, Brennan led San Jose State to the Mountain West championship and the best winning percentage in program history (.875 with a 7-1 record). It was the Spartans’ first winning season since 2012. San Jose State took a step back last season, though, with a 5-7 mark.

Nathan Brown, Central Arkansas

Brown, a record-breaking quarterback at Central Arkansas, has been the Bears’ coach since 2018 after four seasons as the team’s offensive coordinator (2014-17) and four as quarterbacks coach (2009-13). Central Arkansas, an FCS program in the Atlantic Sun Conference, is 25-19 with Brown as coach. The Bears finished 9-4 in 2019 and advanced to the second round of the FCS playoffs.

Troy Calhoun, Air Force

In the past two non-COVID seasons, Calhoun – a former four-year NFL assistant, including one season as an offensive coordinator – has led Air Force to a combined 21-5 record. That includes a 10-3 mark last season. The Falcons’ 11-2 campaign in 2019 was highlighted by an eight-game winning streak to close the year. It was Air Force’s longest winning streak in one season since 1998.

Jamey Chadwell, Coastal Carolina

Chadwell has led the way as Coastal Carolina has become one of the nation’s most successful Group of 5 programs in recent years. The Chanticleers, who made the move to the FBS level in 2017, are 22-3 the past two seasons. Coastal ended last season with its first bowl win since the transition to the FBS, a 47-41 victory over MAC champion Northern Illinois.

Bob Chesney, Holy Cross

Chesney has guided the Crusaders to three consecutive FCS playoff appearances, their first FCS playoff victory, their first Patriot League championship in 10 years and their first win over an FBS opponent since 2002. All of that has come after he inherited a program that was a combined 8-14 in the two seasons leading up to his hiring (2016 and ’17). Chesney, heading into his fifth season at Holy Cross, has also coached Division II Assumption (Mass.) and Division III Salve Regina (R.I.).

Chris Creighton, Eastern Michigan

Last season was Eastern Michigan’s fourth winning record and third bowl appearance in the past six years under Creighton, who was coach at FCS Drake when hired by EMU. Before Creighton was hired in 2014, the Eagles hadn’t posted a winning record since 1995 and had just one bowl appearance in program history (1987). He also has been coach at Division III Wabash (Ind.) and NAIA Ottawa (Kan.)

Matt Entz, North Dakota State

Through his first three seasons as North Dakota State’s coach, Entz is 37-4 with two FCS national championships and two AFCA FCS National Coach of the Year awards. He was the Bison’s defensive coordinator for five seasons before being promoted in 2019 to replace Chris Klieman, who left for Kansas State.

Hugh Freeze, Liberty

Freeze, now five years removed from his resignation at Ole Miss, is 26-11 with three bowl wins in his first three seasons at Liberty. The Flames finished 8-5 last season.

Thomas Hammock, Northern Illinois

Hammock, the reigning MAC Coach of the Year, led the way as Northern Illinois went from 0-6 in 2020 to 9-5 with a MAC championship last season despite being the second-youngest team in the FBS. The Huskies became the first FBS team to win a conference title one year after going winless. Hammock, a former standout running back at NIU, was hired in 2019 after serving as running backs coach for the Baltimore Ravens (2014-18) and Wisconsin (2011-13). At Wisconsin, he was the position coach for future NFL running backs Melvin Gordon, Montee Ball and James White.

Tyson Helton, Western Kentucky

Helton has won nine games in two of his first three seasons as Western Kentucky’s coach after inheriting a team that was 3-9 in 2018. Featuring an offense that ranked No. 2 nationally last season, the 2021 Hilltoppers were 7-1 against Conference USA competition. Helton, the younger brother of Georgia Southern coach Clay Helton, previously was offensive coordinator at Tennessee (2018) and quarterbacks coach under his brother at USC (2016-17).

Jay Hill, Weber State

Hill, a Utah native, has spent his entire coaching career in the state, first at Utah (2001-13, under Urban Meyer and Kyle Whittingham) and now as the coach at Weber State (2014-present). At Weber, Hill has transformed a program that was a combined 6-29 from 2012-14 into one that made five consecutive FCS playoff appearances from 2016-20, including advancing to the FCS playoff semifinals in 2019.

Nick Hill, Southern Illinois

Under Hill, Southern Illinois is one of just five FCS programs to advance to at least the second round of the playoffs in each of the past two seasons. The Salukis, who won four or fewer games each year from 2015-18, have won eight of their past 12 games against ranked opponents, including wins over teams ranked No. 1, No. 2, No. 3 and No. 4. Hill, a former Southern Illinois quarterback, finished sixth in the voting for the Walter Payton Award (given to the top player in the FCS) as a senior in 2007.

Mike Houston, East Carolina

Houston led ECU to a 7-5 record last season after going a combined 7-14 in his first two seasons as the Pirates’ coach. It was ECU’s first winning record since 2014 after six consecutive years of five or fewer wins. Before ECU, Houston went to two FCS national championships in three seasons as the coach at James Madison, including a national title victory in 2016. Houston also led The Citadel to the second round of the FCS playoffs (2015) and Lenoir-Rhyne (N.C.) to a Division II national championship game appearance (2013).

Charles Huff, Marshall

Huff’s first season at Marshall included a 5-2 run to close the regular season and a competitive 36-21 loss to 13-1 Louisiana in the New Orleans Bowl. The Thundering Herd led 21-16 with less than nine minutes remaining in the game. Huff was hired at Marshall after two seasons as running backs coach and assistant head coach at Alabama.

Sean Lewis, Kent State

In the past three years, Lewis has guided Kent State to two of only three seven-plus win seasons for the school since 1987. In addition, his 2020 team was 3-1. Under Lewis, Kent State has ranked in the top five nationally in total offense each of the past two seasons, including first in 2020.

Maurice Linguist, Buffalo

Despite a 4-8 record in his first season at Buffalo, Linguist built momentum for the program this offseason by landing several impact transfers and one of the top recruiting classes in the MAC. Before taking the Buffalo job, Linguist worked for Michigan, the Dallas Cowboys and Texas A&M.

Jim McElwain, Central Michigan

McElwain is 20-13 in three years at Central Michigan after taking over a program that was 1-11 in 2018. The Chippewas’ win total last year (nine) was their highest since 2009. They closed the season with an upset of Washington State in the Sun Bowl. McElwain owns a 64-40 career record as coach at Central Michigan, Florida and Colorado State. He is a former offensive coordinator for Nick Saban at Alabama.

Jeff Monken, Army

Monken inherited an Army program in 2014 that had losing records in 16 of its previous 17 seasons. Eight years later, Monken has the Black Knights coming off their fourth season with at least nine wins in the past five years. Before Army, Monken was 38-16 in four seasons as coach at Georgia Southern, including three appearances in the FCS semifinals.

Deion Sanders, Jackson State

Sanders’ second season at Jackson State included an 11-2 overall record and a 9-0 mark against SWAC competition. The NFL Hall of Famer has attracted some top-tier talent to Jackson State, including 2022 On3 Consensus No. 2 overall prospect Travis Hunter, four-star wide receiver Kevin Coleman and several Power 5 transfers.

Willie Simmons, Florida A&M

Simmons and Florida A&M are currently navigating through player eligibility issues that caused the Rattlers to be without 25 players for their season-opening matchup against North Carolina. Florida A&M now faces Sanders and Jackson State this weekend. Under Simmons, the Rattlers went 9-2 in 2019, then 9-3 last season after their 2020 season was canceled by COVID. FAMU made the FCS playoffs last year for the first time since 2001. Overall, Simmons – a former quarterback at Clemson and The Citadel – is 45-22 as coach at Florida A&M and Prairie View.

Jeff Traylor, UTSA

Traylor, the 2021 Conference USA Coach of the Year, guided UTSA to a 12-2 record last season and had the Roadrunners ranked as high as No. 15 nationally. The success led to interest for the coach opening at Texas Tech and ultimately a 10-year, $28 million contract extension with UTSA. The Roadrunners were a combined 7-17 in 2018 and ’19 before Traylor was hired. A former longtime Texas high school coach, Traylor has been an assistant at Texas, SMU and Arkansas.

Scotty Walden, Austin Peay

Walden was the NCAA’s youngest head coach at 26 when he was hired at Division III East Texas Baptist in 2016, then the youngest head coach in Division I when FCS Austin Peay hired him at 30 in 2020. Under Walden, the Governors have been 4-2 in conference play each of the past two seasons. Walden’s squad opened this year with a competitive 38-27 loss to FBS opponent Western Kentucky. The Governors trailed by one early in the fourth quarter and by eight with less than four minutes remaining.

Kane Wommack, South Alabama

Wommack was hired in December 2020 after finishing as a finalist for the Broyles Award (given to the nation’s top assistant) as defensive coordinator at Indiana. The Jaguars finished last season 5-7, with four of their losses coming by seven or fewer points. The five wins were the most since 2016 for South Alabama, which has yet to finish with a winning record in any of its first 10 years as a program.