Texas A&M Coaching Candidates

Sage Rubin, Swish Tribune

Following the expensive departure of Jimbo Fisher, Texas A&M must get back to the drawing board and reevaluate who they want to lead the football program. Considering they spent 77 million dollars to fire Coach Fisher, the Aggies seem willing to spend large amounts of money on the next coach as well. Below are some candidates that seem to fit the job.


BIG NAME CANDIDATES:


Mike Elko

The Duke Blue Devils HC has led a tremendous turnaround at Duke by taking a program that finished 2-10 in 2021 to a 15-8 record the past two seasons. He is an up-and-coming name but has ties to A&M which puts him as my pick to land the job. Just two years ago Elko was a successful defensive coordinator at A&M. His success at this position in 2021 was what landed him the job at Duke. Elko’s familiarity with this school’s unique traditions and his ability to win match well with the potential candidate the Aggies are looking for.

Dan Lanning

This one is more of a longshot considering that the Nike-backed Oregon Ducks would likely be extremely willing to match A&M’s offer to Lanning. However, Lanning’s success in the SEC through working with coach Saban at Alabama and as the defensive coordinator for Kirby Smart at UGA in 2021 should be noted. Perhaps he’d rather be in the SEC than the Big Ten? That being said, Lanning’s name being out in these candidate lists and rumors is probably just a way for Lanning to ask for certain things from Oregon, which is normal for coaches to do when another school is interested in their services.

Urban Meyer

Coach Meyer hasn’t been coaching in college since 5 years ago which isn’t too long ago. However, the landscape of college football has changed dramatically since his retirement and brief stint with the Jacksonville Jaguars. Urban is a proven winner though and would most likely get it going with the Aggies. This would be a good move for the Aggies if they really want to stick to their win-at-any-cost approach as of late considering Urban's antics on and off the field. The Aggies may still try to give him an offer that he cannot refuse.


Dabo Swinney

Dabo is one of the highest-paid head coaches in the United States at Clemson. Most would think that he’d be a fool to leave a school in which his culture has been set in and he’s won multiple championships at. However, A&M is not short on money and Dabo has been getting chippy with Clemson fans as of late. This is one to monitor but still seems unlikely considering how much lower of a cost Elko is and Dabo’s refusal to adapt to the change in college athletics with the transfer portal and NIL could be a deterrent but with the right price he’d probably adapt.


Smaller Name Candidates:


Jamie Chadwell

I’m personally very surprised that Chadwell didn’t land a Power 5 job last year after having several successful seasons at Coastal Carolina. However, here he is today currently coaching an undefeated Liberty team. Chadwell would be a great candidate for the Aggies since he is a great offensive mind and has won everywhere he’s been. The only issue with Chadwell is that the Aggies would have to take a chance on a head coach who hasn’t played against many formidable opponents.


Jeff Traylor

Jeff Traylor is another coach who seems ready to make the next step up. After guiding UTSA to success the past three seasons, he has shown that he can win with limited resources. Traylor also would be able to bring several talented Roadrunners with him as well such as star quarterback Frank Harris. Traylor also has connections to the state of Texas which should give him at least some consideration for the job.

Rhett Lashlee

Coach Lashlee has the Pony Express rolling at SMU. Lashlee’s air raid system has guided the Mustangs to an 8-2 record and an undefeated record in the American Athletic Conference. Lashlee’s young and innovative approach to offense once again should give him some consideration. Also, when looking back just a couple of seasons ago, Lashlee was the offensive coordinator for the Miami Hurricanes and had made Tyler Van Dyke look like a potential Heisman candidate. Keep a lookout for Lashlee. Maybe not just for this job but for other job openings.

Willie Fritz

Coach Fritz turned around a Tulane team that went 2-10 to 12-2 with a win over USC and last year’s Heisman winner Caleb Williams. Coach Fritz has proven that he can turn around a struggling program. Perhaps assuming his coaching translates to the Power 5 level, he can turn around a toxic Texas A&M team that is in dire need of a fresh mind.