Candidates to Replace Meyer?

With the news that Urban Meyer is stepping down from the Florida Gators. Jeremy Foley will have his hands full with this replacement. Meyer is arguably the best coach in all of college football, and if he's not the best who is? Pete Carroll? Nick Saban? Neither of them is leaving their current gigs to be the head coach of the Gators.

Next on the list of "best coaches in college"...based on recent accomplishments...would include guys like Bob Stoops and Cheaty McSweaterVest. Regardless...if you had the #1 and now have something other than the #1 coach, you're not moving forward.

Some thoughts on the possible list:

• Bob Stoops (Oklahoma) - the obvious and likely first call for Foley. Former Gator DC and an exceptional coach, but he turned the Gators down in 2001 after Spurrier left. Why would he leave now? It won't be for money. He's already the 3rd highest paid coach in college football at $4.3 million per year (Mack Brown was bumped to $5 million after that list was published by USAToday. He already made more than Meyer. It's not like OU can't match the Gators. Wouldn't it make more sense for his next move to be the NFL?
  
  
• Kyle Whittingham (Utah) - Whittingham is 47-17 in five years at Utah after replacing Meyer as head coach of the Utes. The signature moment for Whittingham obviously being the victory over Bama in the Sugar Bowl. The resume isn't as thick or impressive as Meyer's was when he took over, but I think it's the same offensive system which should make the recruiting pitch very easy for the Gators. He currently makes $1.2 million/year.
  
  
• Jon Gruden (ESPN) - Gruden once said that he would've liked to have been contacted about the HC job instead of Ron Zook in 2001. He currently has a sweet job at ESPN which lets him pick and choose between NFL gigs that pay extremely well. He will likely get a call from Foley this time. Hasn't recruited since 1991, and only coached in college for about 4 of the past 25 years. Would obviously excite the Gator fan base.
  
  
• Charlie Strong (Louisville) - Pat Forde, who knows more about the Louisville program than any national talking head, says Strong hasn't signed his contract with the Cardinals yet. If Foley calls, it'll be hard to say no. Strong is probably a MORE viable candidate for the job because of being hired by Lville. Everyone is prettier when someone else wants them.
  

To me, those are the 4 most interesting candidates. Here are the guys I don't think are going to get it.

• Dan Mullen -- A short resume and Year 1 at MSU just wasn't that impressive. I'd wager that Meyer gives Foley a list of suggested candidates including Strong, Whittingham and Mullen. But it's Foley's job on the line with the hire. Not Meyer's.
  
  
• Mike Shanahan - Former Gator assistant from '80-'83 who turned down the job in 2001. Shanahan is 57, and he's about to become one of the highest paid coaches in the NFL. I doubt Foley will give Shanahan the opportunity to turn him down again.
  
  
• Steve Spurrier (SC) - The head ball coach will turn 65 before the start of next season. I just can't see any way this happens unless Foley panics and Spurrier is the "rescue us" hire.
  
  
• Bobby Petrino - Foley isn't going to hire a career job whore. Sexton will get him a pay raise anyway.
  
  
• Butch Davis - Davis is 58 years old. He knows the State of Florida recruiting base inside and out from his Miami days. However, he is a cancer survivor who was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in March 2007. He would be a great fit, but I can't see Foley hiring anyone with well known health issues.
  
  
• Chris Petersen (Boise) - He hasn't gotten a serious look at jobs in the Pacific Northwest where they know him the best.
  
  
• Tommy Tuberville - Jimmy Sexton will make everyone think he's part of this process, but I think the BullGators would shit a cow if he were hired. They are looking for something sexier.

The four top candidates are all intriguing, but this isn't a lay-up search. The program has the highest expectations of any in sport right now, and their fans have zero patience or perspective. Most of them starting following the program after 1990, and they have no idea what "normal" adversity is beyond the Zook years. The fact that they haven't sold out their allotment of tickets to the Sugar Bowl is NOT an isolated incident. They are a fickle lot, and it's a pressure cooker job.

Don't get me wrong. It's one of the best programs in college football with a massive war chest. But the job comes with serious hair on it due to the pressure and expectations.

The biggest winner will be Jimmy Sexton. He'll have every one of his clients looking like a candidate for the job.

The obvious and best choice is simply Chan Gailey. A 1973 graduate of the University Florida, Gailey would take the job and embrace all their traditions immediately. Foley, make this happen.

Who else should be on the list?

PWD