UTSA hasn’t been in the AAC for very long, but Jeff Traylor might not stay with the Roadrunners very long either if they continue to have success in their new league.
UTSA has enjoyed winning records every season since Traylor took over in 2020 despite going 4-8 in 2019. The Roadrunners also won the Conference USA Championship the past two years, though they are 1-3 to start this year.
Here are a few Power Five programs Traylor might end up going to if he gets the chance.
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Michigan State
Michigan State announced it intends to fire head coach Mel Tucker for cause. The Spartans could go any number of directions with this hire, including internally.
However, Traylor could potentially be a good fit. He helped build a type of roster at UTSA that could compete with Power Five teams, so there’s reason to believe he could accomplish great things with the resources Michigan State has in the Big Ten.
Syracuse
Dino Babers has been at Syracuse since 2016 but has led the Orange to just two winning seasons since then. They are also 1-1 in bowl games with Babers as their head coach.
Though Babers has seen some success and has been at Syracuse for awhile now, many have wondered how much longer he’ll be there. Traylor would be in a good position to lead the program if Syracuse wants a new head coach.
Missouri
Eli Drinkwitz has been the head coach at Missouri since 2020. The Tigers haven’t finished with a winning record since then and are 0-2 in bowl games the past two years.
Surely the Tigers want to be more successful in the SEC. If they don’t begin to see enough progress and make a coaching change, Traylor should be on their list of names to consider as he was an assistant coach in the SEC at Arkansas before arriving at UTSA.
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Iowa State
Matt Campbell was once a popular candidate to become a head coach at a bigger school or even for an NFL team. He may want to move on soon, especially since the Cyclones’ win percentage has gone down every year since 2020. Iowa State is also 2-3 in bowl games since he became the head coach in 2016.
If the Cyclones are in need of a new head coach going into the 2024 season, Traylor should be a candidate. He’s been in the Big 12 before having been an assistant at Texas in 2015-16.
Northwestern
Northwestern is likely going to want a fresh start as a program in the wake of several recent issues. If the Wildcats don’t keep interim head coach David Braun in that role, maybe they look elsewhere for their new head coach.
Traylor has proven he can lead a program to success quickly. Plenty of great coaches would probably consider going to Northwestern, and Traylor might be one of them.
