College football programs are not afraid to outside the box to find leadership. In the past few years, athletic directors have tapped into the NFL, FCS and D3 ranks to find their next head coach.
From Lance Leipold (D3 UW-Whitewater) and Craig Bohl (FCS North Dakota State) to Everett Withers (FCS James Madison) and Sean Kugler (NFL Pittsburgh Steelers), more than a dozen current FBS head coaches did not arrive directly from other FBS positions. With the college football coaching carousel spinning faster than ever, the opportunities are plentiful for outsiders to earn big-time jobs.
Who might be next?
Here are 10 non-FBS coaches (assistants or head coaches) who could get FBS head coaching jobs in the near future.
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Buddy Stephens
Current Position: Head Coach at East Mississippi Community College
Buddy Stephens turned heads for his role in Last Chance U — a Netflix original series documenting the EMCC football program — for his temper, amusing quips and harsh delivery of reality for student-athletes. He also turned heads for his remarkable development of student-athletes and assistant coaches.
RELATED: Netflix Releases Trailer for Last Chance U Season 2
Stephens is entering his 10th season as Lions' head coach and has never coached beyond the high school and JUCO ranks. However, his coaching and recruiting connections make him an interesting candidate to take over a lower-tier FBS program in the southwest.
It'd be a gigantic step up for Stephens — if he's even interested.
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Mike Houston
Current Position: Head Coach – James Madison
Seven years ago, Mike Houston was a practically unknown defensive coordinator at D2 program Lenoir-Rhyne. Now he's the highly sought-after head coach of James Madison.
He went 14-1 and won the national championship last year — his first with the Dukes — and has a 57-20 head coaching mark with Lenoir-Rhyne (2011-13), The Citadel (2014-15) and James Madison. Clearly he's open to the idea of promotions and may have even fielded a few FBS calls last winter.
Don't be surprised if he's in the FBS at this time next year.
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John Grass
Current Position: Head Coach – Jacksonville State
John Grass was born in Alabama, went to school in Alabama, began his coaching career in Alabama and is an FCS head coach in Alabama. Think he likes Alabama?
The 49-year-old Ashville native returned to his alma mater Jacksonville State in 2013 as associate head coach and offensive coordinator. He was promoted to head coach a year later when Bill Clark left for UAB. Grass is 33-6 in three seasons with the Gamecock, has not lost a single Ohio Valley Conference game (23-0) and appeared in the 2015 national championship.
This is pure speculation (as is this entire list), but might Troy be interested in Grass if Neal Brown's stock continues skyrocketing?
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Bo Pelini
Current Position: Head Coach – Youngstown State
Bo Pelini is just 49 years old. It feels like he should be 60 after more than a decade in high-profile coordinator positions and one head coaching job.
Despite a 67-27 record, four division titles, and at least nine wins in every season he was at Nebraska, Pelini was fired in November 2014. Later reports revealed aggressive and inappropriate behavior played a role in his dismissal.
He returned to his hometown and alma mater Youngstown State and has immediately transformed the Penguins into a title contender, going 12-4 and reaching the FCS Championship last year.
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Chris Klieman
Current Position: Head Coach – North Dakota State
Craig Bohl left for North Dakota State after the 2013 season but the program has continued rolling under his replacement Chris Klieman.
Klieman, an Iowa native and former Northern Iowa defensive back, stretch the Bison's title streak to five with back-to-back titles in his first two seasons. Though they fell short last year — 12-2 and lost in the semifinals — the 49-year-old's stock is still rising.
It's worth noting that has only one year of FBS experience (defensive backs coach at Kansas in 1997) and has spent all 26 years of his coaching career in the midwest.
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Willie Simmons
Current Position: Head Coach – Prairie View A&M
Just a decade after beginning his career as a high school quarterbacks coach, Willie Simmons — the former Clemson and Citadel quarterback — is a fast-rising FCS coach.
Simmons, 36, was a Middle Tennessee assistant from 2007-11 before becoming offensive coordinator Alcorn State for three years. He took the Prairie View A&M job in 2015 and is 15-6 in two seasons. He might still be a couple years away from generating FBS buzz but it's coming.
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Hunter Hughes
Current Position: Head Coach – West Texas A&M
After a highly successful run as defensive coordinator at CSU-Pueblo that included the 2014 national championship — the first NCAA title in school history — Hunter Hughes is entering his first season as head coach of West Texas A&M, his first head coaching job.
Though his résumé is brief, with only two prior stops to CSU-Pueblo, both of which were graduate assistant posts (Colorado, 2003-06, and Tennessee, 2007), Hughes is an intriguing name to watch in the next few years.
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Les Miles
Current Position: Coach without a team
Les Miles wants to return to football.
"I want to coach football," Miles, who has coached every year since 1979, said in April "That's pretty simple. I want an opportunity at a place that can win, a place where they really want to invest in the players. If they do that, I'm good."
He is 141-55 in his career as a head coach, going 114-34 in 11-plus seasons at LSU, where he won two SEC titles and one national championship. Age is a legitimate concern; at 63 years old, he'd be one of the five oldest head coaches in the FBS.
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Chip Kelly
Current Position: Studio Analyst – ESPN
Everyone thinks Chip Kelly will return to college football, though he has given no indication that's his desire. Returning to the game as a college football analyst for ESPN might be a step in the right direction but who knows.
He dominated in four seasons at Oregon, going 46-7, winning four-straight conference titles and narrowly missing the program's first national championships. The stench from his failed NFL jobs will follow him forever but there's no denying his FBS success. And he's still only 53 years old.
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Gene Chizik
Current Position: Dad and Husband
There is zero reason to believe Gene Chizik will return to coaching. The 55-year-old former Iowa State and Auburn head coach, and most recently defensive coordinator at North Carolina, retired last year to spend more time with his family.
"I attended all 25 of my son’s baseball games this spring, even periodically getting the chance to flip burgers in the concession stand as all parents do," he wrote in a fantastic article for USA Today this summer. "I have spent invaluable time with my twin daughters, who are now sophomores at Auburn University. Sometimes, it is daddy-daughter dates, while other times it might be late-night talks about life. Either way, they are priceless moments."
Chizik has repeatedly said he has no desire to return to coaching. Still, the calls will likely come and who knows what may happen in a few years.
