Good summary from the Athletic a week or so ago, a few names on here that I think might be of interest to BC.
While Hafley hasn't worked out, I think the strategy behind his hire was sound. Get a young (under 45) coordinator from a power conference school, strong track record as a recruiter, who seems to be on the rise in his career and has experience recruiting in BC's footprint. NFL experience and proven success at a private school with tougher academic requirements not necessary, but both are a plus. That doesn't mean we should exclusively look in that direction--there are NFL assistants and G5/FCS head coaches we should also look at (and potentially a young former long time BC assistant currently leading a top 5 program who could be out of a job this year if he loses a 3rd straight to their rival)--but gun to head I think our best shot of finding a successful head coach comes from that group.
That said, I'd go with an offensive coach this time. I liked the idea at the time we got Hafley of a defensive guy--plays to BC's historical strengths, plus there's a bit of a Moneyball element in zigging when everyone else is zagging--but in this day and age I think you need an offensive guru running your program in order to attract the type of QB you need to win at the P5 level.
Will the coaching carousel be busy again? Here’s this year’s hot list of the college football assistant coaches to keep an eye on.
web.archive.org
So with that said, some names on this list that I think could be of interest to BC:
Garrett Riley - 1st year OC at Clemson, 3 previous years of OC experience at TCU and SMU where he led high scoring offenses. Texas native, no ACC experience pre Clemson but spent a combined 4 years at ECU and Appalachian State. 33, Lincoln's brother.
Sherrone Moore - First year as solo OC at Michigan, was co-OC and OL coach the prior 2. Very successful offenses in Ann Arbor and his OLs won the Joe Moore Award for best OL unit in the country the past 2 years. Will also serve as head coach for Michigan's game against Bowling Green in 2 weeks during Harbaugh's suspension. No direct QB coaching experience and no ACC or east coast experience (he did spend 5 years at Louisville including 3 as a grad assistant, but left the year before they joined the ACC). 37 y/o, former Oklahoma OL. Would get our OL fixed for certain, question is whether he could do the same for QB (although fixing the OL is half the battle there IMO). Was also involved in the Michigan recruiting violation fiasco and suspended for their first game this season, I personally don't give a fxck about this but it would be a good excuse for risk-averse BC to overlook him.
Alex Atkins - 2nd year OC at FSU, also serving as OL coach for the 4th year. Similar profile to Moore in that he's an OL coach by trade, can bet the house he would get our trenches whipped into shape and the question would be QB coaching along with playcalling. Can't find his exact age but he graduated college (UT Martin) in 2007 so presumably late 30s. Has experience in ACC territory (4 years at FSU, combined 3 at Georgia Southern and Charlotte) as well as dealing with academic demands (3 years at Tulane). Also served as assistant HC during his time at Tulane, along with recruiting coordinator the final year.
Brian Hartline - 1st year OC at OSU (yes, we've heard this before) but was their passing game coordinator this year and is in his 6th year as their WR coach. Former NFL WR and has overseen the best receiving unit in the country during his time in Columbus. Played at OSU and has spent his entire coaching career there so doesn't have the diversity of experiences you'd ideally like in an HC, he did play for the Dolphins for a number of years which should hopefully at least open some doors in recruiting in south Florida. 36 y/o
Liam Coen - Kentucky OC, was also their OC for the 2021 season (coached Will Levis) prior to spending last year in the same job with the Rams and returning to Kentucky this year. Former UMass QB and has a proven track record at landing star QBs in the transfer portal, first Levis and now Devin Leary. Spent the first 8 years of his career coaching in New England (Brown, URI, UMass, Maine) before taking an assistant job with the Rams and spending the next several years bouncing between LA and Lexington. 37 y/o
There are others but these are a few that stood out to me as a starting point for conversation. Coen, Riley, and Moore would probably be among the first 3 names on my list to interview if I'm BCU Blake (assuming Ryan Day doesn't become available), pending how they perform this season of course.
And yes....I know BC is arguably the worst job in P5 (certainly bottom 5), but it is still a P5 job and a stable one with the reinforcements to the ACC. Maybe some or all of these guys laugh and hang up the phone if James calls them, and that's a near certainty if they have other P5 HC options after this season, but these are the types of guys we should be targeting.