As Baylor’s season has progressed, it’s become increasingly clear that interim head coach Jim Grobe is unlikely to be retained by the school as they search for a long term replacement for dismissed coach Art Briles.
While the Bears still have three games and a bowl left to play, speculation is already starting to turn to what candidates the program will look at for their vacancy. According to a report from 247Sports and another one from CBS Sports, Baylor’s short list includes Houston’s Tom Herman, SMU’s Chad Morris and even ex-LSU coach Les Miles.
The inclusion of Herman makes plenty of sense considering he is the hottest name on the coaching carousel for just about every opening and is fresh off an upset win over No. 5 Louisville on Thursday night. Adding to the intrigue, Baylor’s new athletic director Mack Rhoades was actually the one who hired Herman from Ohio State to be the Cougars’ head coach.
Still, it seems like a bit of a long shot for Baylor to hire Herman given the still-unfolding sexual assault scandal that has rocked the school and the fact that his name has frequently been linked to bigger openings like LSU and other jobs such as Oregon and Texas. That’s why it’s no surprise to see Morris, who has done a great job turning around SMU and is superbly familiar with the state, and Miles on the list.
No matter where Baylor turns however, they figure to have one of the more interesting coaching searches in all of college football over the coming weeks and months.