Mike Bloomgren had led Rice to back-to-back bowl game appearances the past two years. But that wasn’t enough for him to stick around as the team’s head coach.
The Owls started this season 2-6 with a 1-3 record in AAC play. That led to Rice firing Bloomgren during his seventh season with the program.
“I want to express my sincere appreciation to Coach Bloomgren. Over his seven seasons of service as our head football coach, he has represented our university and football program with the utmost class and integrity,” Rice athletic director Tommy McClelland said in a press release. “However, as I evaluated our program and compared our current and desired trajectory, I determined new leadership is necessary to guide us into the future.”
“Thanks to the aligned vision of President DesRoches and our Board of Trustees, the opportunity for Rice Football to excel has never been greater. I am confident we will identify a coach who will lead our program and student-athletes into a new era of success.”
With Bloomgren gone, here are a few potential candidates Rice could consider for its head coaching vacancy.
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Kansas State Assistant Head Coach Van Malone
Malone hasn’t been a head coach at the collegiate level yet, but he has a good amount of experience as a coordinator and positions coach at several FBS programs, including in the state of Texas.
Malone, who is also a defensive passing game coordinator and a cornerbacks coach, has been at Kansas State since 2019. Last year, the Wildcats were 18th in passing efficiency defense (118.63) and were 10th in the country with 16 interceptions the season before. Several K-State defensive backs have earned All-Big 12 accolades during Malone’s tenure.
Previously, Malone was a defensive quality control coach at Mississippi State (2018) and a defensive coordinator at SMU (2015-17). He also worked with defensive backs at Oklahoma State (2012-14), Tulsa (2010-11), Texas A&M (2006-09), North Texas (2005), and Western Michigan (2004). He was a wide receivers coach at North Dakota State in 2003, so he has worked with both sides of the ball. He also coached special teams at Western Michigan and North Texas.
Malone has the experience needed to be a great candidate.
SMU Offensive Coordinator Casey Woods
Woods is a successful coordinator at a current Power Four school who has coaching experience in the AAC and the state of Texas.
The Mustangs were eighth in the FBS in scored points per game (38.7) and 16th in yards per game (454.9) in 2023, their last year in the AAC. SMU, which is now 7-1 as a member of the ACC, was 15th in the nation with 39.1 points per game scored after Week 9 of this season.
Previously, Woods was a tight ends coach and recruiting coordinator at Missouri. He’s also been an assistant at UAB and Auburn.
Woods coached wide receivers and was a recruiting coordinator at Arkansas State in 2012 when the Red Wolves went 10-3 and earned a Sun Belt title.
Woods should be a coach Rice thinks about interviewing.
UNLV Offensive Coordinator Brennan Marion
Marion is in just his second season as UNLV’s offensive coordinator. He’s done well with the Rebels and has coaching experience in the Lone Star State.
In 2023, UNLV was 44th in the FBS with 412.7 yards per game and 22nd with 34.4 points per game. The Rebels have continued to be successful on offense this season, even after quarterback Matthew Sluka decided to sit out the rest of the year.
Before this, Marion was a passing game coordinator at Texas in 2022, a wide receivers coach at Pitt in 2021, a wide receivers coach at Hawaii in 2020, an offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at William & Mary in 2019, an offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Howard in 2017 and 2018, and a running backs coach at Oklahoma Baptist in 2016.
Marion has been a name tied to a few head coaching vacancies the past couple years. But he would be a great fit for Rice.
Sam Houston Head Coach KC Keeler
Keeler is 65 years old and has been at Sam Houston for a while now, so maybe he wouldn’t be interested in going anywhere. But Rice would be a good fit if both sides were interested.
Keeler, who was on the ESPN Top 150 College Football Coaches of All-Time list, has been a head coach for the majority of his career. He’s the only coach to lead two different teams to FCS championships and the only one in NCAA history to lead three different programs to a national title game appearance.
He started coaching at Amherst College in 1981 and then went to Division III Rowan in 1986. He became the head coach there in 1993. He led Rowan to seven playoff appearances and five national championship berths.
He then went to Delaware, where he won a national championship in 2003 and reached the title game in 2007 and 2010. Then, after going to Sam Houston, he helped the Bearkats win a national title in the spring of 2021. They also reached the FCS semifinals three times and appeared in the playoffs another two times.
Sam Houston is also now bowl-eligible in just its second season in the FBS. After helping the Bearkats transition to this level of competition, Keeler would leave the program in a good place if he decided to pursue other opportunities.
Notre Dame Offensive Coordinator Mike Denbrock
Denbrock’s name has come up plenty of times when it comes to college football hot seats and potential head coaching hires this season. If he were to explore G5 head coaching opportunities, Rice could be a good gig for him.
Denbrock has worked with offensive linemen, tight ends, and wide receivers at Notre Dame, but he’s also coached at a variety of other schools as well. He was LSU’s OC and tight ends coach before this from 2022-23, and was an offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Cincinnati from 2017-21.
Denbrock hasn’t been a head coach at the collegiate level, but he has been an associate head coach, including at Notre Dame from 2015-16 and at Indiana State in 2009.
Incarnate Word Head Coach Clint Killough
Incarnate Word apparently keeps attracting FBS-level coaches. Eric Morris led Incarnate Word for four years, and now is the head coach at North Texas. Then GJ Kinne took over before becoming Texas State’s head coach.
And now Killough might start to see some consideration for FBS head coaching vacancies. He’s continued the success of Incarnate Word, which is where he played from 2013-15. UIW went 9-2 overall in 2023, with one of its losses being a 28-14 game at UTEP. The team was ranked as highly as No. 4 in the FCS poll. The Cardinals ranked first in the Southland in terms of scoring offense, total offense, scoring defense, and total defense.
Before that, he was an associate head coach and wide receivers coach. He began coaching at his alma mater in 2018 as a quality control coach with an emphasis on inside receivers. UIW had some explosive passing offenses during that time, as multiple receivers broke school records. Killough does have some FBS experience, having been a defensive backs and special teams graduate assistant as well as a WRs GA at Bowling Green.
Killough is an up-and-coming coach who might make sense for Rice because of his experience in Texas.
Lamar Head Coach Pete Rossomando
Rossomando hasn’t been at Lamar very long, but his tenure there has been impressive. He’s also been an interim head coach at a school that’s currently in the AAC.
In 2023, his first season as head coach of the Cardinals, the team had won a single game the previous year and just five games in the three seasons prior. Under Rossomando’s leadership, Lamar put together the fourth-biggest single-season turnaround in the FCS by going 6-5 overall.
Rossomando was an Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award finalist. And now this season, Lamar has appeared in the FCS Top 25 polls.
Rossomando has also briefly been an FBS head coach. He was an interim head coach at Charlotte in 2022, and the 49ers went 2-2 during that time. He was also an offensive line coach there.
Before that, he was an O-line coach at Vanderbilt in 2020 and at Rutgers in 2019. He was also a head coach at Central Connecticut State. He led that program to its first FCS playoffs appearance. He was also a head coach at the University of New Haven, which made the Division II playoffs twice during his tenure and was ranked as highly as No. 3 in the country.
Rossomando has been a head coach in Texas and has a good resume. So while an FCS coach might not be the first candidate for some Rice fans, there’s a few reasons he would make sense.
