Where does Florida go now?
The past 24 hours have been a whirlwind of bad news for Gator fans who are ready to welcome a new head football coach. Florida appears to have lost the Lane Kiffin sweepstakes and both Clark Lea and Eli Drinkwitz have signed contract extensions with their respective schools.
With top remaining candidates like Washington's Jedd Fisch and Tulane's Jon Sumrall not gathering a lot of fan support, Scott Stricklin is going to struggle to spin this coaching search as anything other than a failure. But there are a few coaches that he should kick the tires on in hopes of landing the right guy.
1. Brian Hartline, Ohio State OC
I don't think the possibility of Hartline going to Florida has been discussed enough. There's certainly a big risk here because Hartline, 37, is in his first year as a play caller and has been brought along at a deliberate pace. But he is an ELITE recruiter and a highly-regarded developer of talent at wide receiver. Hartline would need to be supported by a good staff, but his strengths in recruiting and ability to bring in top classes is something that can't be ignored.
2. Glenn Schumann, Georgia DC
Schumann's entire coaching career has been at Alabama or Georgia, so he's been around a lot of success and would bring a similar process to Florida. As a defensive coordinator, he's been good at Georgia, not necessarily great, but he is a high-level recruiter that's already in the region and familiar with most, if not all, the top recruits in the southeast. Pair Schumann with a strong offensive coordinator and the potential for success is there.
3. Will Stein, Oregon OC
One of the appeals of Kiffin was his ability to work with quarterbacks. Well, Stein turned Bo Nix and Dillon Gabriel into Heisman finalists and has Dante Moore on a similar track. If Gator fans want someone to come in and "fix" DJ Lagway, Stein is that guy. Or he could attract top QBs through recruiting or in the transfer portal. After a few years of watching Billy Napier's ground-and-pound, fans are probably ready for an Oregon-style attack.