Group of 5 head coaches who could be power conference head coaches next year

Only three power conference head-coaching jobs (North Carolina, Purdue, West Virginia) opened because of firings last year, and only two more (Wake Forest and UCF) opened because of resignations.

Five is a low number, but it makes sense. A combination of sky-high buyouts and questions among athletic directors about how sharing revenue with players might impact budgets kept the carousel spinning slowly. However, demand for success hasn’t fallen that dramatically, so expect more job openings this year.

The candidates to fill those jobs will mostly come from two buckets: a Group of 5 head coaches and power conference coordinators. In the past, sitting head coaches received greater consideration. Now, thanks to the explosion in pay for coordinators in the Big Ten and SEC, coaches who would have been G5 head coaches are staying in coordinator jobs until they get a chance to jump to a power conference head-coaching job.

Today, we’ll look at some of the G5 head coaches who may be on the ADs’ radars when the carousel starts spinning in a few months.

Jon Sumrall, Tulane

Had Texas A&M’s board not rebelled and blocked Mark Stoops getting hired there in November 2023, Sumrall would be Kentucky’s coach now. In two seasons at Troy, he went 23-4 and won the Sun Belt twice. In his first season at Tulane, Sumrall went 9-5 and made the American Conference title game.

If North Carolina athletic director Bubba Cunningham had been fully in charge of hiring the Tar Heels’ next coach, Sumrall might be in Chapel Hill right now. Sumrall had to do some serious work in the transfer portal after having his best players pillaged this offseason, but don’t be surprised if Tulane is in the mix for an American title and a College Football Playoff berth. Expect Sumrall to be near the top of several wish lists when the carousel starts.

Ryan Silverfield, Memphis

Silverfield was elevated to head coach at Memphis when Mike Norvell left for Florida State, and Silverfield has kept the Tigers successful even though the job has gotten significantly harder in the NIL era. The Tigers have won 21 games in the past two seasons, but 2025 will test Silverfield in new ways.

Quarterback Seth Henigan is gone after four years as the starter, and the offense will include nine new starters. The Tigers had to replace 10 defensive starters, mostly through the portal. If Silverfield can keep winning after this much change, it would indicate that he can build a winner in a variety of ways — which is a must in the new era.

Silverfield is only 45, but he’s been coaching for 26 years. He’s entering year six as an FBS head coach, and he also had six seasons of NFL experience (Vikings) before returning to college at Toledo in 2014. He also has an economics degree and trained on both sides of the ball as a young coach. Those feel important in an age when head coaches need to deeply understand the inner workings of the entire organization.

Jamey Chadwell, Liberty

After winning Conference USA and making the Fiesta Bowl in 2023, Chadwell’s Flames took a step back last year. Expect a return to form this season and significant interest for Chadwell when the carousel begins.

Chadwell didn’t get as much power conference interest as was rumored during his successful run at Coastal Carolina, but Mississippi State talked to Chadwell after his first season at Liberty. His offense — a spread that uses triple option principles — is perfect for teams that need to close talent gaps. Before, the biggest fear among ADs was that neither Chadwell nor his staff had power conference recruiting experience. But now that the NIL system has changed how recruiting works, that doesn’t seem as important.

Jason Candle, Toledo

Candle just keeps winning and mining talented players like 2024 first-rounder Quinyon Mitchell, but he’s also a test case for a question coaches and their agents have been asking a lot the past few years: Is it easier to get a power conference head coaching job as a power conference coordinator rather than as a G5 head coach?

Candle talked to Michigan about its offensive coordinator job this past offseason but opted to return for season No. 10 as Toledo’s head coach. He has the best job in the MAC, so it’s tough to give that up — especially if you’re accustomed to being in charge. Expect another good season from the Rockets, and expect more teams to inquire about Candle after this season. 

Alex Golesh, USF

It’s easy to look at two 7-6 seasons at USF and wonder why former Tennessee OC Golesh would be in the conversation for bigger jobs. But if you understand the degree of difficulty when it comes to winning at USF, it makes more sense. 

In the four seasons before Golesh arrived, the Bulls went 8-37 under Charlie Strong and Jeff Scott. This isn’t an easy job, and Golesh changed the expectations of the program immediately. He’ll be challenged this year with early games against Boise State, Florida and Miami. If he can pull an upset in one or more of those and then be competitive in the American, expect his agent to get calls come November.

Jeff Monken, Army

When Monken took over Army in 2014, the Black Knights had lost 12 in a row to Navy and had enjoyed one winning season since 1996. Monken has engineered six winning seasons, beaten Navy six times and last year led Army to 12 wins and the American title in its first season in the conference.

Last year’s resurgence after two consecutive 6-6 seasons was especially impressive because it showed how adaptable Monken is. In 2022, the NCAA banned cut blocking outside the tackle box. That felt like nothing short of an existential threat to triple option teams like Army. Army tried switching in 2023 to a shotgun-based version of the flexbone, but that didn’t work. Last year, Army went back under center. But instead of cut-blocking, the Black Knights used the same zone and pin-and-pull blocking schemes everyone else does. But they were blocking for triple option plays, which still forced the defense to account for the fullback, the quarterback and the pitch man. The result was an offense that averaged 5.5 yards per rush and 300.5 rushing yards a game.

If Monken left service academy coaching, he’d probably have to run a different offense. But a wholesale change probably wouldn’t be as difficult as retrofitting the triple option to conform to the new rules. If he can do that, he can probably run anything.

Charles Huff, Southern Miss

The relationship between Huff and Marshall deteriorated to the point that it was clear he wasn’t coming back, even as he was leading the Thundering Herd to a Sun Belt title.

So Huff took the Southern Miss job and imported a huge chunk of his Marshall roster. That should make a program that went 4-20 the past two seasons immediately competitive. And if Huff turns things around quickly in Hattiesburg, the former James Franklin and Nick Saban assistant could be an intriguing candidate for power conference jobs.

G.J. Kinne, Texas State

The Bobcats moved to the FBS in 2012, but they didn’t start having winning seasons until Kinne arrived in 2023. The former Tulsa QB went 8-5 and led Texas State to bowl wins in his first two seasons. Like Chadwell, Kinne was also on the short list at Mississippi State during the search that landed Jeff Lebby.

Kinne’s challenge this year is building on this success after losing OC — and primary playcaller — Mack Leftwich to Texas Tech. But more wins at a place where no one else has won will give Kinne a chance to move up the ladder.

Tyson Helton, Western Kentucky

Helton has won eight games in five of his six seasons in Bowling Green. He’s also turned the place into an incubator for bright offensive minds. 

He had Zach Kittley, who brought QB Bailey Zappe from Houston Baptist (now Houston Christian) and set records. Kittley left to be the OC at Texas Tech and now is the head coach at FAU. After Kittley left, Helton promoted Ben Arbuckle (then 26 years old) to OC. Arbuckle left for Washington State and is now in his first season as Oklahoma’s OC. 

If the Hilltoppers keep winning like this, some school is going to swipe Helton instead of just swiping one of his assistants.

Bob Chesney, James Madison

If you watched Indiana last season, you saw how much talent followed former Dukes coach Curt Cignetti to Bloomington. But Chesney, who arrived from Holy Cross, didn’t treat his new job like a rebuild. The Dukes went 9-4 — two of their losses were by a combined four points — and look capable of competing for a Sun Belt title this season.

If James Madison keeps winning, Chesney could be a candidate for several jobs that might open along the eastern seaboard. Maryland, Virginia and Virginia Tech may all be in play this season.