After three seasons, ULM head coach Terry Bowden was fired. The Warhawks went 6-26 during his time there, including a 2-10 mark in 2023 with no wins against Sun Belt opponents.
Now that Bowden is gone, here’s a list of potential candidates ULM could consider to hire for its head coaching position.
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New Mexico Offensive Coordinator Bryant Vincent
Vincent was New Mexico’s offensive coordinator last season, but he has a great amount of experience in other roles.
While he was at UNM last season, the Lobos made great improvements on offense. They scored 27.3 points per game in 2023, which was more than double their production from a year ago.
Before that, he was an offensive coordinator, quarterbacks coach, and eventual interim head coach at UAB. While leading the team in 2022, the Blazers were 7-6 overall with a win in the Bahamas Bowl. He never had a losing record in his five seasons at UAB and helped his players break several school records on offense.
He was also an offensive coordinator at South Alabama from 2015-17 and was an assistant there from 2011-13 as well. So he’s very familiar with the Sun Belt.
Florida A&M Head Coach Willie Simmons
Simmons has the kind of head coaching experience ULM might be looking for.
In six years at Florida A&M, Simmons has gone 43-13 with the 2020 season being canceled due to COVID-19. The Rattlers are scheduled to play in the SWAC Championship this weekend against Prairie View A&M, where he was the head coach from 2015-17. He had a winning record there as well, going 21-11.
Before that, he was an offensive coordinator and running backs coach at Alcorn State. But he also has FBS experience, having been an offensive coordinator and running backs coach at Middle Tennessee. He was also a graduate assistant at Clemson.
Simmons would be ready for a head coaching job like ULM.
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Georgia Southern Offensive Coordinator Bryan Ellis
Ellis has worked with some exceptional offenses in the past few years.
In 2022, which was Ellis’ first as Georgia Southern’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, the Eagles were in the top 20 in the FBS with 466.7 yards per game and scored 32.7 points per game. They’ve enjoyed a good amount of success on offense this year as well, ranking in the top 50 in scoring offense (30.9 points per game) and total offense (422.5 yards per game).
Previously, Ellis was Western Kentucky’s co-offensive coordinator and inside receivers coach. In 2021, the Hilltoppers were second in the country with 44.2 points per game and 535.3 yards per game while leading the FBS with 433.7 passing yards per game.
He was WKU’s OC and quarterbacks coach from 2019-20 and was an assistant there from 2014-16. From 2017-18, he worked with quarterbacks at USC.
Ellis obviously knows the Sun Belt well and how to develop high-flying offenses, so he would be a good candidate for ULM.
SMU Offensive Coordinator Casey Woods
Maybe Woods would want to stay put with SMU going to the ACC next season. But SMU’s offense has flourished with Woods as the team’s offensive coordinator, and he also has coached in the Sun Belt before.
The Mustangs were 12th in the FBS in points per game (37.2) and 14th in yards per game (472.8) last year. This year, they are fourth (41.8 points per game) and ninth (471.9 yards per game) in those categories.
Before this, Woods was a tight ends coach and recruiting coordinator at Missouri. He’s also been an assistant at Arkansas State, UAB, and Auburn.
