College football insider names candidates to become next South Florida head football coach

With the news Sunday that South Florida has parted ways with head coach Jeff Scott, The Athletic’s Chris Vannini released a list of candidates to replace him.

Vannini’s full list is 12 candidates long and includes names such as former Florida coach Dan Mullen, former Nebraska coach Scott Frost, current Florida A&M coach Willie Simmons, Penn State running backs coach Ja’Juan Seider and Georgia running backs coach Dell McGee. Florida State offensive coordinator Alex Atkins and co-defensive coordinator Randy Shannon are both listed as well.

Simmons has coached at Florida A&M for the past four seasons, leading them to a 31-12 record in that span. He took the Rattlers to the FCS playoffs last year for the first time since 2016. Both Mullen and Frost bring Power 5 experience and have coached in the state of Florida during their past stops. Frost directed UCF to a 13-0 record in 2017 before beginning his tumultuous tenure with the Cornhuskers.

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Seider is a Florida native who was previously a high school head coach in the Sunshine State. He has gained notoriety as a recruiter, bringing in future NFL players Miles Sanders and Charles Sims to Penn State and West Virginia, respectively. McGee also has experience developing NFL players such as Nick Chubb, Sony Michel and D’Andre Swift.

Former UAB coach Bill Clark, Howard coach Larry Scott, Coastal Carolina coach Jamey Chadwell, Toledo coach Jason Candle and Kent State coach Sean Lewis round out the list of South Florida head coach candidates.

Larry Scott will be an interesting name to watch, as he was a finalist the last time the USF job come open and served as an assistant for the program from 2006-12. Chadwell has led Coastal Carolina to a 30-4 record over the past three seasons, including 8-1 this year.

More on Jeff Scott, South Florida parting ways

USF’s loss to Temple yesterday was the Bull’s seventh consecutive defeat and eighth overall of the season. It also is now the straw that broke the camel’s back down in Tampa. That’s because the athletics program announced the firing of head coach Jeff Scott earlier this evening following the team’s 1-8 start to the season.

This decision ends Scott’s three-year tenure as head football coach at USF. The decision also ended DC Bob Shoop’s time with the program too per the release from the school.

“When Jeff came to Tampa in December of 2019, we had high expectations for where he could take our football program,” said USF AD Michael Kelly in the press release. “While he did so many things right, including rebuilding our culture, pushing forward our Indoor Performance Facility, and engaging our community, the on-the-field results fell well below our standards. He is a tremendous person and class individual and we wish him, Sara, Savannah and Hunter all the best in the future…In the days ahead, I will share information about our search for a new head coach. Our focus right now is on the talented young men in our football program.”

This was the third straight disappointing season for Scott with the Bulls. The team has shown no signs of improvement during his tenure as he is now dismissed with a 4-26 record overall. After allowing 40 plus points in six of their eight games, including a season-high 54 against the Owls on Saturday, the school decided it was best to let go of Shoop as well.

With only four wins to show since 2020, it’s now on Kelly to find someone to right the ship. For now, though, it’s the job of former special teams coordinator Daniel Da Prato, USF’s interim head coach, to get the Bulls ready to play next weekend against SMU.

On3’s Sam Gillenwater contributed to this report.