Minnesota Coaching Candiates

Let me preface this by stating that I very much hope that Minnesota hires Tracy Claeys as their new head football coach.  As I spelled out yesterday though, there are various reasons that may not happen.  If they do decide to look outside of the current staff, I suspect that they will look at coaches who have had some success as head coaches at the lower levels of college football.  That's how they found Jerry Kill, that's how I suspect they would hire a new coach.  I wouldn't look for a flashy hire.  I wouldn't expect a retread hire.  I doubt they'd look at top assistant coaches (wouldn't they just give Claeys the job if they wanted to go that route?).  I also doubt that they could get a Tom Herman from Houston or Justin Fuente from Memphis, those guys will have their pick of jobs and Minnesota probably doesn't stack up with some of the elite programs out there.

That being said, here are 8 realistic candidates to replace Jerry Kill at Minnesota:

1. Craig Bohl - I'm a huge Craig Bohl fan, the job he did at North Dakota State was phenomenal.  The Gophers already run an offense very similar to what Bohl runs so I doubt there would be the need for a long transition.  He also has recruiting the area heavily so he has lots of contacts in Minnesota and the Midwest.  His current record at Wyoming may cause for concern for some but I think you can attribute much of that with turning over a roster to fit his system, it takes time, especially in Wyoming, the same happened at North Dakota State before they took off.  I'd have no problem with Bohl as the Gopher coach. 
2. Rod Carey - It worked with Jerry Kill, so why not scoop up another UNI coach?  Carey has done a nice job at Northern Illinois.  He's also got a lot of ties to Minnesota (he was a grad assistant at Minnesota and coached high school football in Minnesota).  
3. P.J. Fleck - Current head coach at Western Michigan.  Although his overall record there is not overly impressive, he has turned the corner there and has them headed in the right direction.  He's young, he's energetic and he's a heckuva recruiter.  He was also at one point hired by Jerry Kill at Northern Illinois.  
4. Matt Campbell - Current head coach at Toledo.  He's another young, energetic guy.  He won't be outworked by many.  He's done a terrific job at Toledo and it's only a matter of time before he's coaching on a bigger stage.   
5. Bo Pellini - I thought that it was a mistake for Nebraska to fire him.  He averaged 9 wins a season there, when's the last time the Gophers even won 9 games in a season?  He's an experienced coach who has coached at a high level for a long time.  If you're going for a retread coach, this is the guy to contact. 
6. Troy Calhoun - There's a reason you see his name come up every time there is a coaching opening.  He's a really good football coach.  He's going to land somewhere one of these times and I suspect that he will do a great job there.  I think the big question with him is his offense and whether it would translate to a power 5 conference, but I think he can adjust as needed.
7. Brock Spack - He's currently the head coach at Illinois State where he has turned the Redbirds into one of the best football programs in the FCS.  He could very well end up at Purdue if they decide to make a change.  He wouldn't be a flashy hire, but he would be a solid hire. 
8. Lance Leipold - Don't laugh at this suggestion.  Did you see his record at Wisconsin-Whitewater?  It's only the best ever.  He's doing a nice job at Buffalo too, his Buffalo team easily beat an Ohio team this year that this years Gophers struggled mightily with.  The guy can coach.  He's also got a lot of Midwest ties.