South Carolina’s top options to replace Will Muschamp The news broke just a few days ago on November 15th that South Carolina was firing Head Coach, Will Mushcamp and would buyout his $15 million contract. The news coming after the Gamecocks lose on the road against SEC opponent Ole Miss a score of 59-42. The South Carolina defense gave up 708 yards to Lane Kiffin’s Ole Miss offense, but Nick Saban also gave up 647 yards to the Ole Miss offense earlier this season. This loss brought South Carolina to a 2-5 record on the season, and South Carolina Athletic Director Ray Tanner thought it was time to pull the plug and begin searching for the next Head Coach. Muschamp was in just his fifth season with South Carolina, and had some pretty big wins in his tenure, but just never got over “the hump”. Muschamp, known as an elite recruiter and defensive minded coach who formerly served as Florida Head Coach (2011-2014) and Auburn DC (2006-2007 & 2015) has served a lot of years in the SEC. Muchamp’s overall Head Coaching record falls at 55-51, while his record at South Carolina is 28-30 and 17-22 against SEC opponents. Muschamp’s best record with the Gamecocks came in 2017 when the team went 9-4, on the way to the 2018 Outback Bowl winning over Michigan 26-19. They ended up 2nd in the SEC East division that year to Georgia (13-2). With all things considered, I don’t think that Muschamp did an overall bad job with the Gamecocks who have one of the hardest schedule’s in the country year in and year out. With that being said, I do think it may have been time for change in Columbia. That brings us to the next question, who will take over and start the rebuild for South Carolina? We have all seen the names circling above the South Carolina Head Coaching vacancy, and we will continue to hear more names being thrown around, but here I have put together a list of 10 potential candidates that I think would be good hires. Don’t be surprised if one of the coaches on this list is hired to fill the vacancy. 1. Hugh Freeze, Liberty HC Hugh Freeze is arguably the #1 target for any Power 5 head coaching vacancy this year. The absolute only reason he is not a Head Coach in the SEC right now is his off-field incidents. Hugh Freeze has once again proven he is an elite coach and has what it takes to turn a program around, again. He took on the job at Liberty last year and led the Flames to an 8-5 record in his first season. In just his second season with the Flames, he has them currently sitting at 8-0 and ranked in the Top 25. Hugh Freeze’s head coaching record sits at 58-37 (after vacating 27 wins), while he is 2-2 in Bowl games over his career. Before serving as Liberty’s head coach, Freeze was the head coach at Ole Miss (2012-2016) and Arkansas State (2011, Sun Belt Champions). Simply, Hugh Freeze is a winner. He has won everywhere he’s been, and has resurrected programs in holes such as the one South Carolina is in. 2. Billy Napier, Louisiana Lafayette HC If there is anybody who is giving Hugh Freeze a run for his money in the Coaching Carousel it is Billy Napier. Napier has accomplished everything that there is to accomplish as Lafayette and has turned himself into one of if not the most sought after coach on the market. Napier has direct ties to South Carolina and the state having served as South Carolina QB coach in 2005 and serving as Clemson OC 2009-2010. Napier’s first season at Lafayette was a 7-7 season, but after that Lafayette has been 18-4 and still rolling with numerous Top 25 appearances. Napier won his first Bowl game as a head coach last season with a win over Miami (OH) 27-17 and ended with an 11-3 season. He was considered a top candidate last year for the Mississippi State and Baylor job openings but chose to stay another year. Napier has coached under some of the greats, as he coached under Nick Saban in two separate stints (2011 Off Analyst & Alabama WR 2013-2016). So ultimately, if Napier ends back up in the SEC, it will be another Nick Saban disciple as a head coach in the SEC. 3. Steve Sarkisian, Alabama OC Steve Sarkisian has bounced back after dealing with issues that got him fired at USC by going to the Falcons as the OC and then going to Alabama as the OC. I am not sure if Sarkisian is exactly ready to get out at Alabama just yet, but if he is, he will be highly considered for this job. Sarkisian has been a head coach for 2 different schools, Washington (2009-2013) and USC (2014-2015). He turned Washington into somewhat of a dominance in the PAC-12 with an overall record of 34-29 with 1 bowl win. He then left for USC before going 9-4 with a bowl game victory in his first season. He was then 3-2 in his second season at USC before getting fired for his struggles with alcohol use and personal issues. It seems as if Sark is back on track now, after being revived by the Nick Saban coaching tree. Sarkisian is still a younger coach (46 years old) and one of the best offensive minds and Nation’s top recruiters in the country. I believe Sarkisian has earned another chance, and South Carolina could be that place. 4. Jamey Chadwell, Coastal Carolina HC While Jamey Chadwell isn’t the hottest name on the market, I do think he is worth noting. Jamey has had success everywhere he has been as a head coach (North Greenville, Delta State, Charleston Southern, and Coastal Carolina). He has truly built himself up the ladder from nothing. His overall record is 75-51 and is 1-0 in bowl games. He took over the Chanticleers last season leading them to 5-7 in his first year. This year they are off to a hot 7-0 start and ranked in the Top 25. Much like Hugh Freeze, he has shown he can take something that is broken and put it back together better. Another plus for Chadwell is he is familiar with the recruiting area, having recruited in much of the same area as the Gamecocks. Look for Chadwell to take the jump to a big P5 school soon, if it isn’t South Carolina, or the SEC, watch out for him to get a bigger ACC job. 5. Bill Clark, UAB HC Bill Clark’s name has been thrown around a lot in recent years whenever jobs like this come open. He has literally built UAB from nothing (after shutting the football program down for 1 season), to contending for the C-USA championship every year. Clark isn’t exactly the flashiest guy, but he is nonetheless a proven winner. UAB has gotten off to a shaky start this season at 4-3, but his recent years since the revival of the program have been 8-5, 11-3, and 9-5 with a bowl in in 2018 against Northern Illinois. Clark has never coaches anywhere outside of the State of Alabama, so he could be waiting on a job such as Auburn to come open and offer him, but he has achieved everything that there is a achieve at UAB. It may be time to give him a shot! Honorable mentions: - Tony Elliot, Clemson OC - Brian Johnson, Florida OC - Will Healy, Charlotte HC - Josh Heupel, UCF HC - Scott Sattersfield, Louisville HC - Joe Brady, Panthers OC