If Addazio goes, who are some potential replacements?

With a 4-6 record and a series of historic beatings in the book, many Boston College fans are ready to turn the page to 2017 - and potentially to a new head coach. By all accounts, Addazio may well be safe depending on how things play out the rest of the season. But we hope BC would be preparing and gathering information in case things play out in such a way that they have no choice but to let him go (cough, if we lose to UConn, cough).

Here are some names of coaches who might be available. They include some familiar names, some big-time assistants, and a few non-power 5 head coaches. But remember, we must choose wisely unless we want to endure another run like this!

Don Brown, Michigan DC

A familiar name, Don Brown led one of Boston College’s best defenses of all time last year, constantly keeping BC in games with dominant defensive play. He’s moved onto bigger and better things as Michigan’s defensive coordinator, but would be welcomed back with open arms here. He could use that Big-10 recruiting acumen to help recruit here and re-establish a dominant Boston College defensive team.

Ryan Day, San Francisco 49ers QB Coach

The former Boston College offensive coordinator has now had three years of NFL experience as QB coach for the Eagles and now the 49ers. He was OC here during the Tyler Murphy year, showing an ability to work with a star QB and lead an actually productive offense, something we haven’t seen since he left. His ability as QB coach and OC could be just what BC needs to finally develop a young quarterback and put up points in the ACC. Day seems happy in the NFL but may be interested in a shot as a power 5 head coach.

Chip Kelly, San Francisco 49ers Head Coach

Of course, if we’re looking at San Francisco, you might as well look to the top. Chip Kelly is a New England native and former UNH coach who went on to huge success at Oregon. His foray in to the NFL has been far less successful, and if he’s oustered by the 49ers he may look for a return to the college game. Might BC be a fit?

Tom Coughlin

He hasn’t ruled out a return to coaching though the speculation is that he’d want an NFL job, which makes sense. Getting back in to the recruiting and schmoozing game required of a college HC might not be appealing to the 70-year-old.

Tom Herman, Houston

Probably the hottest coach on the market this year, Herman has quite an impressive resume. As offensive coordinator under Urban Meyer (don’t be scared away) for 3 years at Ohio State, he won a national championship and developed some of the best quarterbacks in the nation. After getting hired at Houston, Herman led them to an American Athletic Conference title at 13-1 and a win over Florida State in the Peach Bowl. It’ll be tough to snag Herman, with an already big contract at Houston and many SEC or Big-12 teams calling, but he’d certainly be a great coach to resurrect the program.

Greg Schiano, Ohio State DC

Schiano’s one of the most well-known non-head coaches in college football. He now serves as Ohio State’s defensive coordinator, a team that clearly has some great defensive stars, and has formerly been the Tampa Bay Buccaneer’s head coach and Rutgers University’s head coach before that. Despite his cushy position at Ohio State, he must be hungry to get back to the head coaching ranks and prove himself again, and Boston College would be a great place to do so.

Lane Kiffin, Alabama OC

Seems crazy, right? Kiffin has quite the decorated resume at both the professional and collegiate level, and now serves as offensive coordinator for powerhouse Alabama. In his last stint in a long list of jobs as head coach, he was infamously left behind on the tarmac by USC. He surely wants to get that monkey of his back and go back to a big-time head coaching job. Leaving the SEC would be tough, but the ACC would be a good place to show that he’s still got the chops to lead a power-5 school. His southern recruiting ability would be warmly welcomed by BC as well.

Matt Rhule, Temple

No! Not another Temple head coach! Well, it may be the best option available. Rhule led temple to a 1st place finish in the American Athletic Conference last year and has continued that success with a 7-3 overall record so far this year. He’s had professional experience as the New York Giants as offensive line coach under Tom Coughlin (insert typical BC connection quote here) and could certainly resurrect a BC o-line that has taken a severe downturn in recent years. Temple is clearly a stepping stone to a power-5 school like BC, and he does have the experience recruiting in the Northeast, so don’t count out Rhule as a viable option.

Rick StockStill, Middle Tennessee State University

He’s a lesser-known name, but StockStill has had a pretty impressive run as head coach at MTSU. After getting the coaching job there in 2006, he’s led the program to five bowl games in 11 years. He’s had experience recruiting in a tough market and has had experience working under Lou Holtz and Steve Spurrier at South Carolina.

Kenneth Va'a Niumatalolo, Navy

Niumatalolo has stepped out of Paul Johnson’s shadow the last few years, winning 11 games last season and posting a 7-2 record to start this season. Georgia Tech’s experience shows that going with the full triple option can be potentially frustrating in a power conference, but also potentially rewarding. It’s not the worst idea.

-

Boston College is still a power-5 school and is still in the ACC, one of the top football conferences in the country. It’ll be tough to start over again with a brand new coach, but one of the options above might be needed to make Boston College relevant again in the ACC. Let’s see how the rest of the season plays out; if BC needs to make a change, there are some names available worth considering.