Texas State fired head coach Everett Withers on Sunday.
Withers was dismissed the day after Texas State lost to Troy to fall to 3-8 on the season and 7-28 since arriving in 2016. The 55-year-old former James Madison head coach and longtime FBS assistant didn't win more than three games in a season and won just two Sun Belt games.
“I met with Coach Withers this morning to inform him of the University’s decision,” Texas State athletic director Larry Teis said. “We are thankful for his contributions to our program. His teams performed well academically and were heavily involved in the San Marcos community. But, we didn’t have the same type of success on the field. We were close several times this season, but we just didn’t win the games.”
Who might Texas State target as Withers' replacement? Here are some potential options:
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David Beaty
Current Position: (Outgoing) Head Coach – Kansas
David Beaty failed to win many games at Kansas but earned a lot of respect for taking one of the toughest jobs in the FBS and not complaining about an impossible scholarship situation.
He spent 18 of the first 21 years of his coaching career in Texas and has loads of high school and JUCO relationships in the state. If interested in remaining a head coach, might he consider a Sun Belt program?
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K.C. Keeler
Current Position: Head Coach – Sam Houston State
K.C. Keeler had never coached south of Delaware when he made the move from Blue Hens' head coach to Sam Houston State in 2014. After 46 wins and four playoff appearances in his first four seasons with the Bearkats, they stumbled to a 6-5 record this year and missed the playoffs.
HERO Sports FCS guru Brian McLaughlin talked about Keeler's coaching stock on a recent episode of The Hot Route.
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Graham Harrell
Current Position: Offensive Coordinator, Quarterbacks Coach – North Texas
Seth Littrell deserves every piece of credit for turning around a downtrodden North Texas program, but his offensive coordinator, Graham Harrell, deserves praise, too.
The 33-year-old former Texas Tech quarterback started his coaching career under Mike Leach at Washington State (2014-15) before joining Littrell's staff in 2016. He's done a brilliant job with quarterback Mason Fine and if he doesn't follow Littrell to the next school, a head-coaching job could be an option.
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Rhett Lashlee
Current Position: Offensive Coordinator, Quarterbacks Coach – SMU
In 2013, as Auburn's 30-year-old offensive coordinator, Rhett Lashlee was a finalist for the Broyles Award and his stock was skyrocketing. Widely considered one of college football's next coaching stars, he remained Auburn through the 2016 season before taking the same position at UConn, a move he said wasn't about money. A year later, he left for SMU and has done an admirable job as the Mustangs rebuild following Chad Morris' departure.
For what it's worth, in December 2014, when reportedly a candidate for Tulsa head coach, Lashlee said he wasn't looking at head-coaching jobs.
MORE: FCS Candidates for Colorado
