Kennesaw State head coach hot board: Top candidates to replace Brian Bohannon

Kennesaw State fired head coach Brian Bohannon on Sunday. He helped get the Owls’ program off the ground, winning 48 games over the first five seasons. Bohannon also oversaw a Kennesaw State program that became the first start-up program in college football history to post three consecutive 11-win seasons during its first five years of competition.

But Kennesaw State jumped to the FBS level this season, struggling with a 1-8 record and a 1-4 mark in Conference USA. The lone win for the Owls this season was a stunning 27-24 upset of Liberty in October.

Kennesaw State’s resources don’t match a typical FBS school. Bohannon was only making $376,000, the lowest in the nation and in the C-USA. That will need to improve to attract the right coaching pool. Experience at the FBS level will be critical in the hire. For context, whoever the hire is will be just the second head coach in program history.

So who will they hire? Let’s look at the top candidates:

Chad Morris, Texas State wide receivers coach

The former SMU and Arkansas head coach is currently in his first season as the wide receivers coach at Texas State. A source told On3 that Chad Morris is interested in returning as a head coach, though. The former Texas high school football coach appeared in six state championship games before taking the Tulsa offensive coordinator job and mentoring quarterback GJ Kinne, who is now the head coach at Texas State. In his five seasons as a college head coach, he was 18–40 and struggled at Arkansas. He was the Auburn offensive coordinator for the 2020 season and spent 2023 as an offensive analyst at Clemson. With a head coaching track record, is Kennesaw State the place where he restarts his coaching career?

Tre Lamb, East Tennessee

After winning two consecutive conference titles at Gardner-Webb, Tre Lamb took on the East Tennessee job last offseason. The Buccaneers are currently 6-4 and dealing with the aftermath of Hurricane Helene. The 35-year-old head coach does not have coaching experience at the FBS level but has a proven track record of a high-scoring offense. Lamb’s air raid offense led the Big South in total points scored (418) and total offense (441.5) in 2022.

Skip Holtz, USFL head coach

The former Louisiana Tech, South Florida, East Carolina and UConn head coach wants back into college football. The USFL Birmingham Stallions head coach, Skip Holtz compiled a 26-4 mark in his three-season stint in the league. But Holtz wants to return to college ranks. He has a 152–121 career mark in college and was successful at Louisiana Tech before a downturn in his two final seasons with the Bulldogs. Holtz knows how to run a successful FBS program, which might be exactly what Kennesaw State is looking for. And he found success in the C-USA with Louisiana Tech.

Nick Eason, Clemson co-defensive coordinator

A former Clemson and NFL defensive end, Nick Eason is in his third season coaching defensive tackles at his alma mater. After his playing career ended in 2012, he made a handful of assistant coaching stops in the NFL before joining the Auburn staff in 2021 as the defensive line coach. Originally from the Atlanta area, he’s established himself as a top recruiter and has developed Peter Woods and Tyler Davis. Eason does not have head coaching experience but he is familiar with the Atlanta area.

Donte Williams, Georgia defensive backs coach

The 42-year-old defensive backs coach is in his first season on the Georgia staff. Donte Williams has previously made stops coaching defensive backs at Arizona, Nebraska, Oregon and USC. He was named interim head coach for the Trojans when Clay Helton was fired in 2021 and remained on Lincoln Riley’s staff before taking the Georgia job last offseason. Williams has recruited four five-star recruits across his coaching career and is helping develop safety Malaki Starks this season.

Will Healy, Georgia State running backs coach

The former Austin Peay and Charlotte head coach is in his first season at Georgia State. Viewed as one of the top rising coaches in the sport during his stint at Austin Peay from 2016 to 2018, Will Healy finished the 2017 season 8-1 in the FCS and was named the OVC Coach of the Year Award won the Eddie Robinson Award. Over four seasons at Charlotte, he went 15-24 and led the program to its first Power Five win. He spent 2023 at UCF in an analyst role and is coaching running backs this season at Georgia State. Only 39 years old, Healy doesn’t have coordinator experience but has a track record of winning in the FCS.

Jerry Mack, Jacksonville Jaguars running backs coach

A three-time HBCU Coach of the Year, Jerry Mack is viewed as a name to watch to land the Southern Miss job. The Memphis native was the head coach at North Carolina Central for four seasons, compiling a 31-15 record. He led the Eagles to at least a share of the MEAC title three times. The former Rice offensive coordinator previously spent three seasons as the Tennessee running backs coach before making the NFL jump this past offseason. During his time with the Volunteers, he recruited and developed Dylan Sampson, who ranks No. 10 in college football with 838 rushing yards this season.

Kerwin Bell, Western Carolina

The former Florida quarterback is in his fourth year at Western Carolina. Kerwin Bell has posted a 22-21 record since taking the job back in 2021. Bell was previously at Valdosta State, leading the program to the Division II national title in 2018, and was 66-35 at Jacksonville over nine seasons.