ND FOOTBALL: Potential head coaching replacements for Brian Kelly

Dec. 1—SOUTH BEND — The insane coaching carousel that has affected major college football programs all across the country has now surprisingly blazed through Notre Dame.

Around 8 p.m. on Monday night, a tweet by Yahoo Sports' writer Pete Thamel reported that Brian Kelly would be LSU's next head coach. An hour or so later, it was a done deal.

Now, after storming off of Notre Dame's campus on Tuesday morning following a brief meeting with the team, Kelly is in Baton Rouge and the Fighting Irish now have to hire a new head football coach for the first time since firing Charlie Weis in 2009.

The timing of Kelly's decision couldn't have come at a more difficult time for Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish are still alive for a College Football Playoff berth and are almost assured a New Year's Six Bowl berth if snubbed from the top four. Additionally, Notre Dame sits at No. 4 in 247sports' 2022 recruiting rankings. With the early signing period beginning on Dec. 15, it'll be interesting to see how the process plays out for Notre Dame and athletic director Jack Swarbrick over the next couple of weeks.

"First and foremost it's about getting the right leader," Swarbrick said. "I recognize the external factors, if you will, the recruiting calendar and transfer portals, but none of that is a reason not to make sure that we run a process that gets the very best person to lead this program forward. That will be our focus."

There are three or four ideal candidates that make the most sense for the next coach of the Fighting Irish. Here is a list of the top candidates to end up at Notre Dame.

LUKE FICKELL — CINCINNATI HEAD COACH

The first name that makes the most sense is Fickell. He's a person with a lot of experience coaching within the Midwest, having played and coached at Ohio State for many years.

In 2011, he led the Buckeyes to a 6-7 record after former head coach Jim Tressel resigned prior to the season. From there, he stayed on staff when Urban Meyer was hired. He'd go on to help lead the Buckeyes to a national title in 2014.

Fickell finally left Ohio State in December of 2016 to become the head coach of Cincinnati. During five seasons as head coach, the Bearcats have gone 47-14 under Fickell. The Bearcats lost eight games in his first season, but Cincinnati has been a force since. And now, Fickell has the Bearcats just one win away from the program's first-ever CFP appearance.

Would Fickell leave the Bearcats before their CFP appearance? It's hard to imagine he'd be willing to do that. That puts Swarbrick in a tough spot, considering Fickell will likely be one of his favorite targets during this process.

MATT CAMPBELL — IOWA STATE HEAD COACH

Campbell's been another big name swirling around during the last couple of weeks, and that won't change during Notre Dame's search. Campbell has done a great job of turning Iowa State into a solid contender in the Big 12 since he took over in 2016. He's led the Cyclones to five-straight winning seasons with a 42-33 record during that time. Campbell's Cyclones went 9-3 in 2020, earning a Fiesta Bowl victory over Oregon.

Now with 10 years of overall head coaching experience on his resume, Campbell is likely ready to take the next step to a major program at this point in his career.

MARCUS FREEMAN — NOTRE DAME DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR

Prior to this season, many believed Freeman was the coach in waiting to Kelly at Notre Dame. Now, after just one year with the Irish, would Swarbrick be willing to expedite that process and make Freeman one of the youngest head coaches in college football? His comments during Tuesday's press conference suggest otherwise.

"We haven't made a decision on an interim yet, and frankly I think we may approach it a little bit differently," Swarbrick said. "This staff is so well-structured and the responsibilities are so well-understood, I feel less of a need to have a designated interim. But as the search progresses, if we feel a need to put somebody in that position, they would not be a candidate for the job."

At some point, Freeman is going to be a very popular candidate for head-coaching vacancies across the country. He's picked up major coaching experience at both Cincinnati and Notre Dame now, but taking over as head coach of the Irish in 2022 may be a bit premature. That becomes especially true if Kelly manages to coerce him into becoming the defensive coordinator at LSU.

URBAN MEYER — JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS HEAD COACH

Yes, Meyer announced on Tuesday his intent to stay with the Jacksonville Jaguars and help rebuild the franchise. But, as we've all learned recently, anything can happen at any given time.

It doesn't help that Meyer has a long reputation of bending the truth. But, this is just his first year with the Jags, and one would think he'd at least stay a couple of seasons before jumping back into coaching within the college football ranks. However, Meyer has deep Notre Dame roots having coached with Lou Holtz as the wide receivers coach in the late 1990's. An opportunity like this may be too hard to pass up for the veteran head coach.

OTHER POTENTIAL CANDIDATES

If Notre Dame falls short on any of the above candidates, there are a few more intriguing coaches that may be good fits in South Bend.

Northwestern's Pat Fitzgerald could be an interesting name, considering he's been the head coach of the Wildcats since 2006. Not every year has been a successful one for Fitzgerald and his program, but he has managed to accumulate a 109-90 overall record and send the Wildcats to 10 bowls at the Big Ten school.

Another name that has been mentioned in passing is Wake Forest head coach Dave Clawson. Since taking the job in 2014, Clawson has led the Demon Deacons to five winning seasons, including a 10-2 finish this season.

Lastly, another interesting candidate could be Alabama offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien. O'Brien has a plethora of head coaching experience, having coached within both the collegiate and pro ranks. He's a little rough around the edges, but has had success at Penn State, with the Houston Texans and now with the Crimson Tide.

Evan Lepak can be reached at evan.lepak@goshennews.com or 574-533-2151, ext. 240326. Follow him on Twitter @EvanMPLepak.