Having been an assistant in the NFL before, Thomas Hammock is returning to the pro level.
The former Northern Illinois player has stepped down as NIU’s head coach to work with the Seattle Seahawks. This is during an already unique offseason for the Huskies, as they are going to the Mountain West from the MAC in 2026.
NIU has already named an interim head coach for 2026, but it’s uncertain what direction the program will go from there. Here are some coaches who would be worthy of consideration:
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Northern Illinois Interim Head Coach Rob Harley
NIU defensive coordinator Rob Harley will be the interim head coach, and he obviously has to have a spot on this list.
Harley was NIU’s DC for one season last year. The Huskies were eighth in the MAC in total defense (357.3 yards per game allowed) and scoring defense (24.3 points per game allowed).
Previously, Harley spent four seasons as a defensive coordinator and assistant head coach at Arkansas State. Before that, he spent six seasons as a linebackers coach at Pitt and was the Panthers’ recruiting coordinator during the final four of those years.
After playing safety at Ohio State, Harley started collegiate coaching in 2010 when he worked with defensive backs and linebackers and was an assistant special teams coordinator at Division II Ohio Dominican. He then went to Michigan State to be a graduate assistant from 2012-13. He coached linebackers at FIU in 2014.
Chicago Mount Carmel Head Coach Jordan Lynch
Jordan Lynch is a legend at Northern Illinois, and he does have some coaching experience.
Lynch played quarterback for the Huskies and was the MAC Player of the Year in 2012 and 2013. He threw for 6,209 yards, 51 touchdowns, and 14 interceptions on a 62% completion rate while rushing for 4,343 yards and 48 touchdowns from 2010-13. The All-American also is a College Football Hall of Fame member.
Lynch briefly coached quarterbacks at NIU in 2017. As a head coach at Mount Carmel, Lynch has won four state championships. He can obviously lead a program as a coach. He’s already publicized his commitment to Mount Carmel, but things could change going into 2027. He should at least be considered, anyway.
Incarnate Word Head Coach Clint Killough
Incarnate Word keeps attracting FBS-level coaches. Eric Morris led Incarnate Word for four years, and then became the head coach at North Texas before going to Oklahoma State. 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 done well at his alma mater, as he played for the Cardinals 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. In 2024, the Southland Conference Coach of the Year and Eddie Robinson Award finalist led UIW to an 11-3 overall record. The season ended in the FCS quarterfinals. UIW went 5-7 in 2025.
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 see some consideration for FBS openings.
Notre Dame Offensive Coordinator Mike Denbrock
Denbrock is a top-notch coordinator who should 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 fifth in the country in scoring offense (42 PPG) at the end of the 2025 regular 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.
Indiana Defensive Coordinator Bryant Haines
For head coaching vacancy articles like this, I have listed Indiana’s offensive and defensive coordinators several times. And I’ll continue to do so because both have proven to be great coaches. The question is whether NIU agrees with me and if either of them wants to take a job with a Group of Six program after helping Indiana win a national championship in 2025.
Haines followed Curt Cignetti from James Madison to Indiana, and he has been stellar as the Hoosiers’ DC thus far.
At the end of the regular season, Indiana was second in the country in scoring defense with 10.9 points per game allowed and was fifth in total defense with 251.8 yards per game allowed. In 2024, the Hoosiers were second with 256.3 YPG allowed and sixth with 15.6 PPG allowed.
Before his current job, he was instrumental in JMU’s transition to the Sun Belt. He was promoted to DC and linebackers coach after three years as a co-defensive coordinator.
Indiana Offensive Coordinator Mike Shanahan
As Indiana’s OC, Shanahan has helped the Hoosiers build one of the best offenses in the country. They were second in the FBS with 44.3 PPG and fifth with 483.8 YPG at the end of the regular season.
Shanahan was JMU’s offensive coordinator from 2021-23, and the team’s offense flourished considering the program was new to the FBS ranks. In 2022 and 2023, the Dukes were top 30 in the country in total offense.
Shanahan was JMU’s wide receivers coach and recruiting coordinator from 2019-20. He also coached with Cignetti at Elon (2017-18) and at Indiana University of Pennsylvania (2016) after being a graduate assistant at Pitt.
