Let’s Speculate! Potential Georgia Tech head football coach candidates
Welcome to Let’s Speculate! on Coaches Database, where we go through programs that are or may soon be looking for a new head coach and speculate who they may hire next.
Today’s program is Georgia Tech, coached for the past 3+ seasons by Geoff Collins (fired last Monday).
- Bill O’Brien – Alabama offensive coordinator
- Back on campus after a seven-year detour to the NFL, O’Brien holds the coveted OC position at Alabama that so often pushes guys right back into a collegiate head coaching gig. The Tide were of course national runner-up last year, Obie’s first in Tuscaloosa, and he had the offense ranked in the top 7 for yards and points per game. His lone collegiate head job was in the Big Ten, stepping into an unfathomable situation at Penn State in 2012 and somehow finishing above .500 in both years there. Georgia Tech might be the most logical option for him this winter, as he spent eight seasons there early in his career – including two as OC.
- Deion Sanders – Jackson State head coach
- Sanders did not get into coaching to stay at Jackson State and he has made a career shining under bright lights. Tech provides a great opportunity for Sanders to show he can win at a higher level, as he has well-established star power in Atlanta and school can benefit from some positive buzz. Regardless of what happens on the field, this hire would inject some much-needed excitement into the program, and there’s no reason to think he can’t win.
- Jamey Chadwell – Coastal Carolina head coach
- The 45-year old Chadwell is in his fifth year with the Chanticleers and is coming off back-to-back 11-win seasons. He runs a winning program with an exciting option offense that is reminiscent of the Paul Johnson Ramblin’ Wreck Era. The rub may be that he has never coached in a league bigger than the Sun Belt, but he’s already got the attention of power conference ADs across the country and it won’t be much longer before he makes the jump.
- Willie Fritz – Tulane head coach
- Fritz is in his seventh year at Tulane and has the Wave sitting 4-1 with wins over Kansas State and Houston. Last year wasn’t great (2-10) but if you look past that he has been really solid, with three bowl appearances (two wins) and on a trajectory towards number four. Before Tulane, Fritz spend two years as the head coach at Georgia Southern (17-7), four years at Sam Houston State (40-15) and thirteen at Central Missouri (97-47).
- Todd Monken – Georgia offensive coordinator
- Monken was the architect of one of the more impressive college football turnarounds in the last decade, taking over a 0-12 Southern Miss program in 2013 and taking them to a bowl game in 2015. His overall record in three years as a head coach (13-25) is deceiving, as year one was a complete rebuild and after starting 0-11 they went to UAB and scored 62 points for the first win in nearly two calendar years. After going 9-5 (7-1) and winning 2015 C-USA COY, Monken left to be the OC/WR coach with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He’s been back in the college game since 2020, working for Kirby Smart as his OC and QBs coach and earning a national championship ring in 2021.
- Dan Mullen – former Florida, Mississippi State head coach
- Mullen is working in television this year after spending the previous 13 seasons as a head coach at Florida (2018-21) and Mississippi State (2009-17). Things didn’t work out as planned in Gainesville, as Mullen regressed in years three and four after taking the Gators to back-to-back NY6 bowl games to start. Before taking the UF job, he turned MSU into a consistent winner and went to eight-straight bowl games (6-2 record). The 50-year old is likely not done coaching and the GT job provides a great opportunity to get back to winning ways. How many coaches are out there with a .628 winning percentage and more than a decade of SEC experience?