NCAAF · 2 years ago

Top 5 Head Coaching Candidates for the Indiana Hoosiers

TJ Inman

Host · Writer

5. Sean Lewis
Sean Lewis will not spend a second season in Boulder. The former Kent State head coach left his post to become the offensive coordinator for Deion Sanders at Colorado. After a successful start on offense, Sanders stripped Lewis of play-calling duties. A head-scratching move for college football experts, which led to the offense getting worse. His record at Kent State was not amazing but it is one of the toughest jobs in the country and Lewis managed to do better than anyone has. He will either be a head coach again or he'll be a hot commodity for schools searching for an offensive coordinator.
1. Jason Candle
The 44-year old from Salem, Ohio, has been the head coach at Toledo since 2016. He has won the MAC twice and his Rockets are playing in the MAC Championship this weekend after going 11-1 in the regular season. Candle is 65-33 as a head coach and has an offensive background, making him an attractive candidate. The negative would be that he does not have any Power Five experience and Toledo has more resources than their conference counterparts. Former Toledo coaches Matt Campbell and Gary Pinkel have made the jump successfully and IU would be hoping Candle could replicate their success.
2. Paul Chryst
The former Wisconsin Badgers head coach was fired in 2022 and has spent the 2023 season as a Special Assistant to Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian. Chryst is pushing for another head coaching opportunity and went 86-45 at Pittsburgh and Wisconsin. Chryst had success in Madison, which would be appealing to the IU administration. Would his smashmouth offensive style work at Indiana? Chryst was known to not be particularly fond of NIL or the transfer portal, two things that are essential for a head coach to navigate effectively.
3. Tom Herman
Indiana reportedly wants a candidate with head coaching experience and Tom Herman would check a lot of boxes. The former head coach at Houston and Texas spent the 2023 season as the head coach for the Florida Atlantic Owls. FAU transitioned from Conference USA to the American Athletic Conference and then lost starting quarterback Casey Thompson to injury. They sputtered to a 4-8 season but Herman had success with Houston and won at Texas. Herman was the offensive coordinator at Ohio State, so he has experience in the Big Ten and has a positive offensive background, which would be exciting for IU fans.
4. Justin Frye
If Indiana hires a candidate without head coaching experience, former IU player Justin Frye is the likely pick. Frye has worked on the offensive side of the ball at Temple, Boston College, UCLA, and now at Ohio State. Frye is the Associate Head Coach for Offense and the Offensive Line Coach for the Buckeyes and at only 40 years old, he is considered a riser in the industry. Frye knows Indiana intimately and has a lot of connections to the program. Plus, he's witnessed how to run successful programs up close. The biggest concern is that he has never led a program and IU is not in a position to let someone learn on the job.
5. Sean Lewis
Sean Lewis will not spend a second season in Boulder. The former Kent State head coach left his post to become the offensive coordinator for Deion Sanders at Colorado. After a successful start on offense, Sanders stripped Lewis of play-calling duties. A head-scratching move for college football experts, which led to the offense getting worse. His record at Kent State was not amazing but it is one of the toughest jobs in the country and Lewis managed to do better than anyone has. He will either be a head coach again or he'll be a hot commodity for schools searching for an offensive coordinator.
1. Jason Candle
The 44-year old from Salem, Ohio, has been the head coach at Toledo since 2016. He has won the MAC twice and his Rockets are playing in the MAC Championship this weekend after going 11-1 in the regular season. Candle is 65-33 as a head coach and has an offensive background, making him an attractive candidate. The negative would be that he does not have any Power Five experience and Toledo has more resources than their conference counterparts. Former Toledo coaches Matt Campbell and Gary Pinkel have made the jump successfully and IU would be hoping Candle could replicate their success.

Top 5 Head Coaching Candidates for the Indiana Hoosiers

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