It’s hot stove season, and coaching news is fast and furious in the sub-FBS ranks. It’s more important than ever to move quickly to hire a head coach with the transfer portal and early signing day in December. Each day without a head coach is a day lost in recruiting, and those days are invaluable.

With that in mind, here is what we at Dave Campbell’s Texas Football are currently hearing regarding multiple openings.

Southland Conference

• Texas A&M-Commerce will announce Clint Dolezel as its next head coach on Thursday with an event scheduled at its Dallas campus at 10 a.m. and at the Rayburn Student Center in Commerce at 3 p.m. Other candidates rumored to have received an interview are current Lions defensive coordinator Kyle Williams, current Stephen F. Austin offensive coordinator Matt Storm, former UIW defensive coordinator Justin Deason, and a coach currently on the staff at Northern Arizona. Storm and Deason are former coordinators for the Lions.

• The Houston Christian job search is nearing completion. Candidates for the opening include former Howard Payne head coach and current associate head coach, linebackers coach, and recruiting coordinator Braxton Harris, along with David Bailiff and Tremaine Jackson, currently the head coach at Division II Valdosta State.

• One of the hottest job openings is at UIW, where Utah State defensive coordinator Ephraim Banda is the favorite to replace G.J. Kinne. Other candidates interested in the Cardinals job are current offensive coordinator Mack Leftwich, Georgia Southern offensive coordinator Bryan Ellis, Syracuse defensive coordinator Tony White, Braxton Harris, TCU safeties coach Paul Gonzales, and David Bailiff.

• Lamar was rumored to be interested in signing current Southeastern Louisiana head coach Frank Scelfo. However, Scelfo announced on his radio show that he had parlayed the Cardinals interest into a new contract at SLU. A few names to watch at Lamar are current Angelo State head coach Jeff Girsch and former Texas A&M-Commerce head coach David Bailiff.

• UIW quarterback Lindsey Scott Jr. was invited to the Walter Payton Award announcement on Jan. 7 in Frisco. Scott is one of three finalists and accounted for 62 total touchdowns (55 passing and 7 rushing) and 4,185 yards. He has completed 72.4 percent of his passes and only thrown six interceptions this season.

Western Athletic Conference

• UTRGV is expected to announce a head coach to start its football program on December 15. Rumors are that the choice is between a coach with ties to Athletic Director Chasse Conque and another coach with ties to the Rio Grande Valley. Possible candidates include current Louisiana-Monroe offensive coordinator Matt Kubik, current Colorado State offensive line coach Bill Best and former SFA offensive coordinator Gary Crowton.

• Former SFA linebacker Brevin Randle committed to La. Tech. Randle appeared in four games for the Lumberjacks this season and will reunite with La. Tech defensive coordinator Scott Power, who initially recruited Randle to Nacogdoches. The Marshall native led the team in tackles during the 2020 season and had the second most tackles to help lead SFA to the FCS playoffs in 2021.

Lone Star Conference

• Another of the hottest job openings is at West Texas A&M. The Buffs have the facilities and fan base in place for success. Coaches rumored to have interest in the WT opening include current Abilene Christian offensive coordinator Stephen Lee, former WT offensive coordinator Lee Hays, former UIW defensive coordinator Justin Deason, and current Sam Houston co-defensive coordinator Joe Morris.

• The UTPB opening is one of the most intriguing, and information about the Falcons search to replace Justin Carrigan is tough to find. The latest name to surface is former Texas offensive coordinator Sterlin Gilbert, who is considered the frontrunner at this moment. Other names to watch are current ACU offensive coordinator Stephen Lee and Angelo State defensive coordinator Adam Clark.