Yahoo Sports 10 potential candidates for Boston College after firing coach Steve Addazio
With Boston College parting ways with coach Steve Addazio, here’s a list of coaches that athletic director Martin Jarmond could end up targeting.
1) Luke Fickell, Cincinnati – This would be a coup for Jarmond, and there’s a long history after they overlapped at Ohio State in their previous jobs. But there are likely brighter lights awaiting Fickell, be it at Michigan State or even something more high-profile if he’s patient. The last two Cincinnati coaches to move up went to Notre Dame (Brian Kelly) and Tennessee (Butch Jones).
2) Mike Elko, Texas A&M DC – He’s a New Jersey native, Penn graduate and is familiar with the type of kids B.C. recruits from his time at Wake Forest and Notre Dame. Temple targeted Elko last year before he decided to stay in College Station. Would this job lure him back to the Northeast?
3) Tony Elliott, Clemson OC – He’s been picky over the years, fancying a path like Kirby Smart took from Alabama to Georgia. Has a lack of interest from high-end jobs changed that? This would pull Elliott out of his Southern comfort zone, which makes it feel like he could hold out for South Carolina or something in a more familiar footprint.
4) Jeff Hafley, Ohio State DC – He returned from the NFL to pull off one of this season’s best coordinating jobs, as Ohio State’s defense is No. 1 in total defense after being No. 72 last year. He’s a prolific recruiter in New Jersey from his time at Pitt and Rutgers, which would be especially helpful if an outsider ends up at Rutgers.
5) Jeff Monken, Army – The brass at B.C. surely has noticed Monken’s resuscitation of the Army program, which had suffered 16 losing seasons in the prior 17 years before his arrival. Since then, Monken has led Army to a 10-3 season, an 11-2 season and three consecutive victories over Navy (with a chance to go to four in December). He’s expressed a willingness to evolve his offense and brings the national recruiting chops necessary to thrive at Boston College.
6) Jason Candle, Toledo – He’s been one of the country’s top statistical play-callers for the past decade, which would be good news for Eagles fans begging for more creativity on offense. Candle would need to bring a staff with Northeast ties and upgrade a defensive staff that flopped to finish the season. He’s led Toledo to four straight bowl-eligible seasons and their only MAC title since 2004.
7) Lance Leipold, Buffalo – He had a dynastic run at Division III Wisconsin-Whitewater, going 109-6 and winning six national titles in eight seasons. He’s pulled Buffalo from the dredges of FBS to back-to-back bowl qualification for the first time in school’s modern history.
8) Pete Carmichael, Saints OC – There’s plenty of Massachusetts bonafides here, as he was born in Framingham, went to high school in Medway and played football and baseball at Boston College. Could the impact that LSU co-offensive coordinator Joe Brady brought to the Tigers resonate with the B.C. brass? (Brady worked with Carmichael in a low-level position before going to LSU.) This hire would be comparable to the Doug Marrone hire at Syracuse a decade ago, which was quite successful. (His six years of college experience at UNH and Louisiana Tech are helpful.)
9) Al Washington, Ohio State LB coach – He’s a former Boston College player and assistant coach who is rising precipitously through the profession with recent stops at Cincinnati, Michigan and now Ohio State. At age 35, he’s likely a few years away from head-coaching jobs. He’s well thought of at the school and one of the country’s bright young position coaches.
10) Mike Reed, Clemson DB coach – Reed’s name may be the more realistic one from the Clemson staff. He’s the Tigers’ well-regarded defensive backs coach, who also is a Boston College graduate. There’s strong support from former players for Reed to be involved with the job.
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