South Florida head coach Alex Golesh led the Bulls to three bowls in his three seasons at USF, and he’s helped the program rise to prominence in the Group of Five.
But now he’s being hired to be the next head coach at Auburn. The Bulls will want to make a good hire if they want to continue to be competitive in the American Conference. Here are some names they might consider:
Former Florida Head Coach Billy Napier
Napier may not have had a successful tenure at Florida, but I still think he’s a good coach. And I could easily see him getting consideration here because of his experience in the state of Florida.
During his four years with the Gators, Napier went 22-23 with bowl appearances in two out of three full seasons before being fired midway through this season. Before that, he went 40-12 at Louisiana from 2018-21. The Ragin’ Cajuns won the Sun Belt in 2021 and finished both of his last two seasons there ranked in the Associated Press Top 25.
Before that, he was an offensive coordinator at Arizona State in 2017, a wide receivers coach (2013-17) and offensive analyst (2011) at Alabama, a quarterbacks coach at Colorado State (2012), an OC and QBs coach (2009-10), tight ends coach (2006-08), and graduate assistant (2003-04) at Clemson, and a QBs coach at South Carolina State (2005).
FIU Head Coach Willie Simmons
Simmons also had the kind of head coaching experience USF may be looking for.
In his first year with the Panthers, they are 7-5 overall and are bowl-eligible for the first time since 2019.
Simmons spent one season at Duke in 2024 after previously being the head coach at Florida A&M. In six years there, Simmons went 45-13 and 34-5 against SWAC opponents. In 2023, a year when Simmons was the SWAC Coach of the Year, the Rattlers won their first SWAC title and the Celebration Bowl. They also were fifth in the FCS rankings. He coached multiple All-American players like Isaiah Land, who was the Buck Buchanan Award winner in 2021.
Before going to Florida A&M, he was the head coach at Prairie View A&M from 2015-17. He had a winning record there as well, going 21-11.
Previously, he was an offensive coordinator and running backs coach at Alcorn State (2012-14). But he also has other FBS experience, having been an offensive coordinator, running backs coach, and passing game coordinator at Middle Tennessee (2007-11). He was also a graduate assistant at Clemson in 2006.
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Oregon Offensive Coordinator Will Stein
It’s tough to argue against what Stein has accomplished with the Ducks.
Going into the final week of the regular season, Oregon was eighth in the country in scoring offense with 39.3 points per game scored and 11th in total offense with 471.8 yards per game gained. He’s currently regarded as one of the best coordinators in college football.
Stein got his coaching start at his alma mater, Louisville, where he was a quarterback. He worked with quarterbacks his first year in 2023 before focusing on wide receivers in an offensive quality control role in 2014. After that, he was a quality control coach with an emphasis on wide receivers at Texas from 2015-17 and then worked with QBs in 2017 before coaching at Lake Travis High School the following two seasons.
He then went to UTSA where he was a pass game coordinator and wide receivers coach for two seasons and then was a co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach in 2022. The Roadrunners were ninth in the nation in total offense (486.1 YPG), 12th in scoring offense (38.7 PPG), and 12th in passing offense (308.6 YPG).
Kennesaw State Head Coach Jerry Mack
Mack finally got a head coaching opportunity at the FBS level this season, and he’s guided the Owls through a fantastic 2025 season.
Kennesaw State is 9-3 overall and 7-1 in Conference USA play this year, its second in the FBS. The Owls will face Jacksonville State in the CUSA title game this week.
Mack also has experience in the state of Florida, albeit at the NFL level. Last year, Mack was the Jacksonville Jaguars’ running backs coach. Previously, Mack was Tennessee’s running backs coach from 2021-23. In 2023, the Volunteers were 10th in the country with 204.8 rushing yards per game.
Mack has also been an associate head coach, offensive coordinator, and quarterbacks coach at Rice, a head coach at North Carolina Central, a wide receivers coach at South Alabama and Memphis, an OC and quarterbacks coach at Arkansas-Pine Bluff, a passing game coordinator and wide receivers coach at Central Arkansas, and a wide receivers/tight ends coach at Jackson State.
Southern Miss Head Coach Charles Huff
Huff only got to Southern Miss last year. But maybe an opportunity like this would be too great to pass up.
Huff is 39-25 in the FBS as a head coach. That’s mostly from his four years at Marshall.
The Thundering Herd went 9-3 during the 2024 regular season before defeating Louisiana in the Sun Belt title game. Huff also led Marshall to four consecutive bowl appearances.
Huff was a well-respected assistant coach and recruiter before taking over at Marshall.
During his career, he has mostly coached running backs. And within the past decade, he’s mentored some great ones like Saquon Barkley of Penn State and Najee Harris and Brian Robinson Jr. of Alabama.
Huff was an assistant head coach and running backs coach at Alabama from 2019-20. The year before, he was an assistant head coach, running backs coach, and run game coordinator at Mississippi State.
He was a running backs coach and special teams coordinator at Penn State from 2014-17. He also worked with RBs at Western Michigan in 2013, and he was an assistant running backs coach at the pro level for the Buffalo Bills in 2012.
He was an offensive quality control coach for Vanderbilt in 2011 after coaching offensive linemen for a year at Hampton, which is where he played and started 12 games at center as a senior.
He was an assistant O-line coach at Maryland in 2009. He began his coaching career at Tennessee State, first working with offensive linemen in 2006 and then becoming a tight ends coach and special teams coordinator from 2007-08.
Notre Dame Offensive Coordinator Mike Denbrock
Denbrock is another top-notch coordinator who could be in the mix for head coaching opportunities.
He’s certainly led the Fighting Irish to success. After they made a run to the national championship in 2024, they were sixth in the country in scoring offense (41.2 PPG) and 22nd in total offense (452.5 YPG) going into the final week of the 2025 season.
Denbrock has worked with offensive linemen, tight ends, and wide receivers over the years 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.
