Baylor head coach Matt Rhule is departing to take the Carolina Panthers head coaching job. With his departure, Baylor is in the market for a new head coach for the first time in three seasons. 

Things are much different now than the last time Baylor looked for a coach. The Bears are fresh off an appearance in the Sugar Bowl and matched the program record with 11 wins this season. Baylor also proved it can spend at a high level to retain a coach. 

While Texas and Oklahoma function on a different level, Baylor has proven over the past decade that it can consistently compete and win against the Big 12. Two conference championships and a Big 12 title game berth prove it definitively. Rhule left the program in great shape for another coach to step in and lead the Bears to more winning seasons. 

Here are some of the candidates we think could be considered for the top available job in Texas. 

Realistic Candidates

Blake Anderson – Arkansas State Head Coach

Anderson was a strong candidate for the job in 2016 before Rhule came along. He played quarterback at Baylor under Grant Teaff and has built a strong record of success at the Group of Five level. 

Arkansas State earned a reputation as a coaching factory after Hugh Freeze, Gus Malzahn and Bryan Harsin all earned major jobs after one strong season. Anderson has built the first period of sustained success since the Red Wolves joined the Sun Belt.

The Red Wolves have a 47-30 record under Anderson’s watch and have finished with a winning record every season. Arkansas State has two Sun Belt championships in his tenure. 

Jeff Nixon – Baylor Offensive Coordinator

Nixon came on with Rhule as part of the initial staff and was critical in the growth over the past three seasons. He has served as primary play caller on offense for each of the past three seasons. 

Under Nixon's watch, Baylor ranked No. 27 nationally in scoring offense and averaged a robust 6.2 yards per play in 2019. In Big 12 conference play, only Oklahoma cleared Baylor's 32.7 points per game during a breakout 11-win season. 

In addition to his time at Baylor and a one-year stint at Temple, Nixon has 10 years of experience in the NFL working with the Philadelphia Eagles, Miami Dolphins and San Francisco 49ers. He helped mentor players like Lamar Miller, LeSean McCoy and fullback Leonard Weaver. 

Sonny Dykes – SMU Head Coach

Dykes helped resurrect SMU from an AAC also-ran into a 10-win team in 2019. It was the best season on the Hilltop since 2010.

With dynamic coordinators Rhett Lashlee and Kevin Kane, Dykes helped transform SMU into a balanced spread offense. He got the most out of elite skill position talent like James Proche, Xavier Jones and Shane Buechele. 

However, Dykes was available the last time Baylor did a coaching search. Even though Baylor was in a much worse place, Dykes wasn’t a name that registered much. His newfound success in the state might be enough to get him an interview though, and then anything can happen. 

Out of the Box Candidates

Billy Napier – Louisiana-Lafayette Head Coach

Napier coached under both Nick Saban and Dabo Swinney – need I say more? The 40-year-old coaching prospect worked at Clemson as offensive coordinator in 2009 and 2010 and later served as wide receivers coach at Alabama. 

Napier led Louisiana to division crowns each of his first two seasons in Lafayette. He’s fresh off an 11-win campaign, the best season in program history. 

However, Napier already seems to have turned down Mississippi State. The lifelong Southerner might be waiting for a bigger opportunity in his home region to open up. Napier has already signed multiple contract extensions at ULL – he knows he doesn’t have to hurry. Would Baylor be the opportunity that would convince him to move? 

Willie Fritz – Tulane Head Coach

No matter where he’s been, all Willie Fritz does is win. He won two NJCAA national championships at Blinn, he became Central Missouri’s winningest coach, he won two Southland championships at Sam Houston State, he won the Sun Belt at Tulane and earned Tulane – Tulane! – a share of the AAC West. 

Overall, Fritz is 177-96 as a head coach. Perhaps just as impressive, he has just four losing seasons in 23 years as a head coach. Two of those came at Tulane. Now, the Green Wave have won bowl games in back-to-back seasons for the first time in program history. 

There would certainly be a transition with the roster. Fritz runs an open offense with some option principles in it, though he is far from a true option coach. However, count on Fritz to get things figured out – he’s that good a coach. 

Pipe Dream

Matt Campbell – Iowa State Head Coach

Campbell preaches many of the same concepts that Rhule did in terms of toughness, physical defense and a three-man front. He’s helped lead the Cyclones to their best period of success since Earle Bruce. For perspective, winning eight games in three consecutive seasons at Iowa State was enough to land Bruce the Ohio State job. 

Campbell would step into this roster and be poised to dominate from the beginning. The roster is built to fit the exact philosophies that he has spread throughout college football. 

However, Campbell has balked at opportunities before. He seems to be waiting for the perfect job to open if he’s going to leave. Would that job be in Waco, far away from where he’s ever coached before? Doubtful. 

DCTF Pick

Joey McGuire – Baylor

Call us biased wanting a former Texas high school football coach to take the reigns, but McGuire would be an intriguing candidate for multiple reasons. 

Cedar Hill hadn’t won a single playoff game in program history before McGuire took over. He led them to three state championships in 14 seasons. At Baylor, he has served as associate head coach for the past two seasons and as one of the primary recruiters on staff. 

Hiring McGuire doesn’t come without risks. He only has three years of coaching experience at the collegiate level, coaching tight ends and defensive ends. Baylor would need to retain its coordinators – especially DC Phil Snow – for this hire to work. But in terms of culture-setters, program-builders and dynamic recruiters, McGuire has proven himself elite.