With Lincoln Riley's name in NFL's mouth, which other college football coaches could make the jump?

Forty names, games, teams and minutiae making news in college football (bogus bonus money available for stupid incentives while losing games in Connecticut):

[More Dash: 12 CFP contenders | How LSU beats ‘Bama | Best/worst at home]

FOURTH QUARTER

WILL THE NFL POACH YOUR COACH?

With the Cleveland Browns firing Hue (3-36-1) Jackson on Monday, those speculating about his eventual successor immediately latched onto the guy who coached Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield to the Heisman Trophy last year: Oklahoma’s Lincoln Riley (31). Since no coach currently employed wants to be pinned down as a candidate for another job in the midst of his season, Riley did his best to downplay the situation at his Monday news conference.

“You sit here and answer these questions and I always want to be truthful,” Riley said. “And the truth for me is, I love Oklahoma. I love coaching here. I love college football. I certainly don’t have that itch right now. I don’t know if I ever will. … I’m never going to be a guy that’s going to stand up here and say no way, no how will any of these things ever happen. I don’t know that. I know right now I could care less about the NFL. We’re trying to win this game and trying to make a run that we all think we have in us right now.”

Careful readers will note two magic words used three times: “right now.” In coachspeak, that’s the out clause, in case he turns around after the season and takes whatever job is left dangling out there. Riley may legitimately have no interest in the Browns, but coaches have lied for so long in these situations that it’s fair to pounce on the “right now” and see whether he still means it when Oklahoma’s season is over.

Fact is, Riley would be foolish not to at least consider the NFL, and the modern NFL would be foolish not to consider him. As the chasm between college offensive styles and pro offensive styles closes to a mere crack, the brightest minds could become interchangeable. And Riley, all of 35 years old, is a very bright mind with an ability to maximize his quarterbacks. (If Mayfield’s Heisman and NCAA-record pass efficiency in 2017 weren’t enough proof, look at what he’s doing in 2018 with first-year starter Kyler Murray.)

So Riley could be a hot name. But he’s not the only name. A few other college head coaches who could be on the NFL radar this year and beyond:

Jeff Brohm (32). Louisville fans may not want to hear this, but the Purdue coach has a lot of admirers at the next level, impressed by his play-calling acumen and ability to tutor quarterbacks. Brohm played QB in the NFL for six years, so he’d walk in with a general working knowledge of the league that Riley and others would lack.

David Shaw (33). The Stanford coach routinely has had his name mentioned as a potential NFL guy. He spent 10 seasons as a staffer/assistant in the league before linking up with Jim Harbaugh at Stanford. He wound up succeeding Harbaugh and has been the head coach of the Cardinal since 2011, compiling a 78-25 record in Palo Alto. Shaw has two quarterbacks he coached on NFL rosters right now, Kevin Hogan with Denver and some guy named Luck in Indianapolis. Current Stanford QB K.J. Costello could have a chance to be the third.

Jim Harbaugh (34). He took the San Francisco 49ers to the Super Bowl, so, yes, the current Michigan coach knows how to win in the NFL. There has been annual speculation about him returning to the pros from Ann Arbor, but Harbaugh could be on the cusp of taking over the Big Ten and outlasting Urban Meyer — why leave that situation now?

Dan Mullen (35). If Browns fans think Riley is the guy to move up and reunite with his star college QB, why not Mullen and Dak Prescott in Dallas? The Cowboys fired their offensive line coach Monday, and head coach Jason Garrett might be next. Mullen is in his first year at Florida and seemingly wouldn’t be looking to leave after finally getting to be head coach at an elite program — but if the Cowboys called and offered him the chance to work again with Prescott, why wouldn’t he consider it?

Brian Kelly (36). The Notre Dame coach knows offense. He’s also a calmer version of himself, which would play better on the professional ranks. Kelly has kicked the tires on some NFL openings in the past. Now he’s nine seasons in at Notre Dame — and while he’s done outstanding work in 2017 and this year, it’s a burnout job with some persistent challenges. Coaches have to bend to the will of the school on a lot of fronts — academics, independent status and scheduling philosophy, to name three big ones. Kelly could be the first 15-year coach in South Bend — or he might be ready for something new.

One highly successful college coach who doesn’t seem like an NFL candidate: Urban Meyer (37). The Ohio State coach was asked Monday whether he might consider stepping down after this stress-laden season, during which he has looked like the sport’s most miserable millionaire. “I plan on coaching,” Meyer said, and “I plan” sounds a lot like “right now” to The Dash. Meyer followed that by affirming that he will be back at Ohio State in 2019, but that’s wait-and-see. Whatever happens after this year, Meyer isn’t an ideal candidate for the sausage grinder of the NFL. If he’s not coaching the Buckeyes in ’19, he might not be coaching anywhere.

COACH WHO EARNED HIS COMP CAR THIS WEEK

Chad Lunsford (38), Georgia Southern. The school made a mistake when it hired Tyson Summers in 2016 and it admitted the mistake after just 18 games, firing Summers after going 5-7 his first year and starting the second 0-6. The school got it right when it replaced Summers with Lunsford, a guy who is as Georgia as red clay. He’s quickly restored a traditionally successful program, finishing last year 2-4 and now starting this year 7-1. Georgia Southern’s upset romp over Appalachian State last week stamps the Eagles as the team to beat in the Sun Belt.

COACH WHO SHOULD RIDE THE BUS TO WORK

Barry Odom (39), Missouri. His in-game coaching, suspect already, hit a new low in the Tigers’ botched home game against Kentucky. On the Wildcats’ game-winning drive, the Mizzou defense wildly failed five times to cover receivers — leaving them wide open all over the field. And Odom is a defensive guy. The only time Mizzou adequately covered a Kentucky receiver on the drive, the Tigers were flagged for a dubious pass interference penalty that gave the Wildcats an untimed down to win the game. Yet despite all that, it was an offensive play call — and Odom’s subsequent explanation — that showed how little grasp he had on the game. On a third-and-2 with 91 seconds remaining and UK down to its last timeout, offensive coordinator Derek Dooley called a pass play. Naturally it fell incomplete, and the ‘Cats had the timeout they would desperately need to stop the clock after a sack with nine seconds left. Odom was asked about the call afterward and said Mizzou “wouldn’t gain any clock” with a running play. He doesn’t get it.

POINT AFTER

When hungry in the food playground that is Athens, Georgia, The Dash recommends a trip to local landmark Weaver D’s (40). Inside the nondescript shack you will find soul food supreme — fried chicken and sides that will soothe your inner comfort-food addict. Weaver D himself will take your order, relay it to the kitchen by booming voice, then laugh with you until it’s ready. The place also has a niche in music lore — the longtime catchphrase of Weaver D is “Automatic for the people.” You may recognize that as the title of Athens band R.E.M.’s 1992 blockbuster album.

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