Finding Luke Fickell’s replacement and a list of potential candidates

Alex Golesh- Golesh started his career under Matt Campbell at Iowa State before heading to Central Florida with now Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel. Golesh is currently the offensive coordinator for Tennessee and has shown what he can do here this season and we saw that when he played a huge role in the Volunteers 52-49 victory over Alabama. Golesh, however is in his first season at Tennessee, but has been a key reason for the Volunteers 10-2 record as the young minded offensive coordinator has flipped things around very quickly for the Volunteers. Golesh, also has played a huge role in the development of quarterback Hendon Hooker, who was potentially a first-round pick heading into next April’s NFL Draft before tearing his ACL. Golesh also has the Volunteers ranked first in the nation when it comes to offensive production and while he is only 38 years old, I think we haven’t seen Golesh hit his ceiling yet in terms of coaching and this could be a very big opportunity. Like Minter, Golesh was also named one of the five semifinalists for the Broyles Award early this afternoon.

Brian Hartline– Hartline is currently the passing game coordinator along with wide recievers coach at Ohio State. Hartline played seven seasons in the NFL where he spent most his time in Miami with the Dolphins. However, Hartline is an interesting option for many reasons, obviously the track record is there as he is one of the best recruiters in all of college football. Just look at some of the talented names he has brought to Ohio State since joining the staff in 2018. Terry McLaurin, Garrett Wilson, Chris Olave, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Julian Fleming, Parris Campbell, Emeka Ebuka, Marvin Harrison, Jr. to name a few. The talent level he has recruited is actually absurd and what’s even crazier is Hartline landed arguably the top two wide receivers in the class of 2023 in Brandon Inness and Carnell Tate. Hartline could be one of those intriguing options though just due to the amount of success he has been able to build at Ohio State, and with it being just up north, could be a perfect fit for Hartline to come in, take over and we know what he has been able to do in terms of the recruiting aspect and that is something that could be substantial especially with the transition to the Big 12.

Perry Eliano- This is a name Bearcats fans should be very familiar with. Eliano, now the safeties coach at Ohio State, was the defensive backs coach at the University of Cincinnati from 2020-2021. Eliano played a huge role in the development of guys like Sauce Gardner and Coby Bryant, but also guys like Ja’von Hicks, Bryan Cook, Darrick Forrest and more. Eliano, another recruiting guru has ties to the University, but also is someone very familiar with what John Cunningham and the Bearcats are looking to add and is an interesting name heading into this process and is someone that draws some attention in my opinion.