Nebraska Football: Huskers coaching search power rankings Week 9

Lane Kiffin jumps back into the rankings after spending a week as part of “the field” thanks in large part to a couple of different rumors. The first was debunked as nonsense. That was that the Ole Miss coach had actually taken a private jet down to Lincoln to talk to Trev Alberts.

There was also the talk about a coach from a “major program” being very much on the Huskers’ radar. Since Scott Frost was fired, some people were hopping on the “Lane Train” and wanting to see it come down the tracks to Nebraska.

There is one other factor that has fueled talk of him leaving the SEC. His Rebels suffered an embarrassing loss to LSU last weekend. Is it possible that he’s ceiling where the ceiling with Ole Miss is in that conference? It’s possible he might see the grass being greener in the Big Ten.

Whittingham makes his debut anywhere on this thanks to the same rumor that has people thinking there’s a chance that Lane Kiffin could take over the Nebraska football mantle.

The rumors that a coach from a major college program is interested in the job and Alberts is interested in him starting some rumblings about the Utah Utes head coach being the man.

The reasons make sense. He’s done a heck of a job at Utah, going 148-72. However, there’s an even bigger chance that he’s feeling as though there’s a ceiling as to just how much he can accomplish with the Utes.

So why is someone who seems to perfect to be a candidate to come to Lincoln so low on this list? The fact that he’s been at Utah since 2005 is the big one. It’s hard to imagine other teams haven’t come calling before, and it appears he turned them down.

Jim Leonhard – Wisconsin interim head coach
Dave Doeren – Head Coach North Carolina State
Chris Klieman – Kansas State head coach
Gary Patterson – Defensive Analyst Texas (former TCU head coach)
Mark Stoops – Kentucky Head Coach
Matt Campbell – Iowa State Head Coach
Lance Leipold – Kansas head coach

The biggest news in this group is that Lance Leipold and Matt Campbell spent the early part of the season being the odds on favorite and are now hanging out with guys like Chris Klieman. It seems unlikely that any of these guys are going to get the Nebraska football head coaching job. At least if the hire was going to be made today.