The next HBC at Florida? Who will and who won’t be candidates
Interim head coach Randy Shannon will lead Florida when the Gators play South Carolina at noon on Saturday in Williams-Brice Stadium.
Shannon certainly didn’t help his chances of being considered a candidate to keep the job when the Gators were humiliated by Missouri 45-16 this past Saturday.
So who are the leading candidates to replace Jim McElwain as Gators’ head coach?
When Florida athletic director Scott Stricklin said he wanted Gators football to be fun again, you can translate that to mean he wants another HBC like Steve Spurrier, who won and won big.
That means an offense-minded head coach.
Here are some possible candidates, culled from lists compiled by Pat Dooley of the Gainesville Sun, Matt Hayes of Saturday Down South and others:
Favorites
Scott Frost, UCF: Knights are 8-0 and putting up almost 50 points a game.
Chad Morris, SMU: Built Clemson offense before turning things around for the Mustangs.
Willie Taggart, Oregon: All-state QB in high school in Florida, built USF before going to Oregon.
Justin Fuente, Virginia Tech: Won big at Memphis before following Frank Beamer with the Hokies.
Matt Campbell, Iowa State: Victories over Oklahoma and TCU raised his profile.
Possibilities
Jeff Brohm, Purdue: Won 30 of 40 at Western Kentucky before getting Purdue job.
Mike Norvell, Memphis: Followed Fuente and Tigers keep winning.
Mike Gundy, Oklahoma State: Can put up points, as evidenced by 62-52 loss to Oklahoma.
Mike Leach, Washington State: He can certainly talk, and he can coach offense.
Neal Brown, Troy: Beating LSU helped his chances.
Longshots
Chip Kelly, TV commentator: Too much baggage from his days as Oregon head coach.
Dan Mullen, Mississippi State: Too much baggage from gig as Florida offensive coordinator.
Lane Kiffin, Florida Atlantic: Too much baggage at Tennessee and Alabama.
Charlie Strong, USF: Too much baggage from his time as Texas head coach.
Gary Patterson, TCU: Know more for his defensive prowess.
This story was originally published November 7, 2017 at 11:05 AM with the headline "The next HBC at Florida? Who will and who won’t be candidates."