Candidate Capsules: Digestible Breakdowns of Five OSU Coaching Candidates as the End of the Search Draws Near

After a long and grueling search, we could be discussing who Oklahoma State’s next football coach is this time next week.

From the jump, Oklahoma State athletic director Chad Weiberg said he’d like to wrap things up once the regular season ended, and after this weekend, the regular season will be over.

Four or five (not six or seven, sorry youngs) names have stood out in recent weeks for OSU’s search. Here are quick breakdowns of each guy to have you as ready as possible for when the news breaks.

Eric Morris

Current Role: North Texas Head Coach

Alma Mater: Texas Tech

Career FBS Head Coaching Record: 21-15

Current Season Record: 10-1

Experience:

Regular Season End Date: Friday (Nov. 28)

Notes: Morris has been a named discussed in the search for some time now and has, at different times in this long search, been viewed as the favorite.

Just Tuesday morning, ESPN’s Greg McElroy said “I think this search will end up bringing Eric Morris in from North Texas.”

A potential issue (if you consider the idea of your next head coach making the College Football Playoff an issue) is that UNT could be in the College Football Playoff should they win Friday against Temple and win in the American championship game. That could put OSU behind on some things if Morris is the guy, but again, it shouldn’t be viewed as a bad thing if a coach makes the CFP.

Morris is considered a quarterback guru, working with the likes of Cam Ward, Patrick Mahomes and John Mateer. Currently, Morris has redshirt freshman Drew Mestemaker leading the country in passing yards with 3,469 yards.

Alex Golesh

Current Role: USF Head Coach

Alma Mater: Ohio State

Career FBS Head Coaching Record: 22-15

Current Season Record: 8-3

Experience:

Regular Season End Date: Saturday (Nov. 29)

Notes: Carson has been high on Golesh’s candidacy for some time now. Like with Morris, different ebbs and flows throughout the search have seen Golesh be the favorite.

USF is still eligible to make the American title game, though it would take some teams losing in the final week of the season. The Bulls getting to the CFP would be a little more tricky, as if the American was thrown into enough flux for USF to make the conference title game on the final weekend, that would likely mean the Sun Belt’s James Madison would get to Group of Five’s spot in the Playoff.

So, while a bowl is definitely in the Bulls’ future, the American title game is a bit of a long shot at this point, and the College Football Playoff is an even bigger long shot.

Golesh took a program in USF that had won four games in the three seasons before his arrival and turned it into a program that went to Gainesville and beat Florida in The Swamp earlier this season.

Collin Klein

Current Role: Texas A&M Offensive Coordinator

Alma Mater: Kansas State

Career FBS Head Coaching Record: 0-0

Current Season Record: 11-0 (as OC)

Experience:

Regular Season End Date: Friday (Nov. 28)

Notes: It would take divine intervention for the Aggies to not make the College Football Playoff at this point, and it’s likely that A&M will get a bye in the first round. The quarterfinal games will be played Dec. 31 and Jan. 1, meaning at the earliest, Klein might not be available until the day before the transfer portal opens (Jan. 2).

With that being said, there’s still a lot to like about Klein, so if he’s the guy, he’s the guy. Many of college football’s elite head coaches were hired as coordinators. Plus, Klein has almost certainly added to his Texas high school football rolodex in his time as A&M’s OC, and his time in Manhattan means he is super familiar with the Big 12 landscape.

Kane Wommack

Current Role: Alabama Defensive Coordinator

Alma Mater: Southern Miss

Career FBS Head Coaching Record: 22-16

Current Season Record: 9-2 (as DC)

Experience:

Regular Season End Date: Saturday (Nov. 29)

Notes: The SEC is a bit of a mess (in a competitive way), but right now, ESPN’s Playoff Predictor gives Alabama a 61% shot at making the 12-team field.

If the Tide wins against Auburn this weekend, they’d clinch a spot in the SEC title game. If Alabama loses against the Tigers, they might be out of the Playoff picture entirely.

Wommack’s name is the most recent to start popping up in various searches. He’ll be most recognizable by OSU fans as the guy who led South Alabama to a 33-7 win in Boone Pickens Stadium against the Pokes.

He’s in his second season as Alabama’s DC and was recently asked about his name popping up in some searches.

“I appreciate the question, but I’m not going to address any job opportunity stuff,” Wommack said.

Zac Robinson

Current Role: Atlanta Falcons Offensive Coordinator

Alma Mater: Oklahoma State

Career FBS Head Coaching Record: 0-0

Current Season Record: 4-7 (as NFL OC)

Experience:

Regular Season End Date: The Falcons’ final game of the season is being flexed in the NFL’s Week 18, but it’ll be somewhere around Jan. 4.

Notes: The initial favorite to get this gig has seemingly slipped down the pecking order over the past few months.

A former Cowboy QB, Robinson doesn’t have head coaching nor college football coaching experience, but he’s clearly a bright, young mind in the game. He has spent a ton of time under Sean McVay. His ties to the university could also help the fundraising aspect of the gig.