The Nebraska football team is still on the lookout for its next head coach. It has been on the search longer than any other team this year, though it’s been joined by more than a few since the start of the season.
One of the most interesting things is that as the season has gone on, some names have become hotter than others. Some have seemingly fallen by the wayside for now. And others were always and will forever be long shots at the very best.
In order to try and keep track of the rumors that are heating up or cooling off, we bring you the first of the season’s Nebraska football coaching search power rankings.
Nebraska football names that are hot, hot, hot
It should come as no surprise that Lance Leipold is now at the top of this list. He was among the names that was mentioned when the Huskers first fired Frost and that was before he started to get the kind of results he has at Kansas as the season’s gone on.
Now his team is 5-0 and the Jayhawks are ranked in the Top 25 for the first time in over a decade. There are few names out there in the coaching searches that are hotter. He’s so hot now that the Nebraska Cornhuskers are far from the only team reportedly hot on his trail.
It appears the Huskers have some competition in the Wisconsin Badgers who just fired their head coach earlier this week.
Lane Kiffin is one of those names that didn’t really show up early in the Nebraska football coaching search because it seems like people forgot he was out there. There’s also the fact that people aren’t quite sure if he’s willing to leave Ole Miss.
Then he actually pointed out that he was one of the names that people should be thinking about. Kiffin has Ole Miss in the Top 10 with his own 5-0 record and he’s only going to get more attention as the wins keep getting racked up.
His pricetag is going to be hefty and it’s unclear if the Nebraska football team has ever shown any real interest, but it’s hard to say there’s a name other than Leipold’s that’s hotter in the coaching ranks.
It’s not that long ago that Dave Aranda was right at the top of the list for most Nebraska football fans. However, the Baylor Bears’ head coach has actually had a bit of a rocky 2022 season after winning the Big 12 last year.
Baylor is just 3-2 on the season and 1-1 in the Big 12. He’s got an upset loss to BYU at BYU and last week his squad lost at home, 36-25 to Oklahoma State.
Yes, the Cowboys are ranked in the Top 10 this season and are a stout team, but Aranda’s name was tarnished just a bit, as his team has looked pretty human. Perhaps the fact that his defense hasn’t been all that great, despite being a defensive coordinator when he was working his way up is one reason he’s not as hot a name as he was even a week ago.
Anyone who has been paying attention to Husker Corner since Scott Frost was fired knows that I’ve been on the Matt Campbell train. It’s also undeniable that his name has taken a couple of hits this season thanks to losing two straight games after opening the year 3-0.
It doesn’t help that he’s lost to two other coaches that are considered to be front runners in the Nebraska football head coaching search.
However, it’s worth pointing out that he’s lost to Baylor and Kansas, two of the better teams in the Big 12 by a combined total of 10 points. The thing that made Campbell a hot commodity has always been that he’s done more with less talent.
His name could start getting hot again if he’s able to pull off a couple of Big 12 wins, starting this weekend against the Kansas State Wildcats, who are absolutely red hot.
When Joseph was first named the interim head coach, there were few people who thought he was a real contender for the full time head coaching job. Then he went out and got the first win of his head coaching career against the Indiana Hoosiers.
While IU isn’t exactly what could be called a “good” team, the Huskers showed improvement from their 49-14 loss to Oklahoma and there was nothing but excitement and hope filling the stadium following the victory.
The Husker players have expressed quite a bit of love for Mickey, even before this win. The jubilant atmosphere after their win was absolutely intoxicating and it has spread to the fan base. If he can rack up a few more wins, starting on Friday over Rutgers, he’s going to shoot up this list for a number of different reasons, including the fact that he’s a Cornhusker product and former player.
Honestly, it’s a bit surprising that Klieman isn’t a bit higher on this list, but he’s hardly getting any mention at all among Nebraska football faithful. Is it just that Husker fans look past Kansas State as a matter of their every day life?
Is it that the Wildcats have been solid but unspectacular? Is it that Klieman is a bit of a older name and fans just want someone they perceive to be a hotter name at that age? It’s hard to tell.
But while he was mentioned early on in the coaching search, he’s not a name that surfaces all that much these days.
Of course, that could change if K-State goes on a real run and finds a way to contend for the Big 12 title deep into the season. Nebraska fans will see his name move up the rankings fast if that’s the case.
There’s a bunch of names out there that could eventually get into the “Top 6” but for now, they’re on the outside looking in. In no particular order, here’s the best of the rest.
- Bill O’Brien – Alabama offensive coordinator
- Jim Leonhard – Wisconsin interim head coach
- Matt Rhule – Head Coach Carolina Panthers
- Dave Doeren – Head Coach North Carolina State
- Jamey Chadwell – Head Coach Coastal Carolina
- Gary Patterson – Defensive Analyst Texas (former TCU head coach)
- Mark Stoops – Kentucky Head Coach
This group could eventually be on the Nebraska football program’s radar, but for now, they seem to be on the outside looking in.