With Alex Golesh's departure to Auburn barely 12 hours after told everyone he needed time to "process" his future, USF's attention turns finding his replacement.
Actually, CEO of Athletics Rob Higgins was focused on that even before Golesh took the new gig. Higgins tweeted a few days ago, "we are ultra prepared for every scenario that could unfold in the coming hours/days."
What scenarios could there be?
By the way, I'm not including Jon Gruden or Deion Sanders on this list. Gruden has let it be known he'd love the job, but I believe he would quickly grow frustrated in a college program where he'd have to recruit, make sure his players went to class, and would realize he can't trade or release a player who had a bad game.
As for Deion, he said USF was the runner-up three years ago before he went to Colorado. The Buffaloes have steadily gotten worse on his watch, and his health is suspect.
Hard pass on both.
Coach Golesh just informed our team that he has accepted the head coaching position at Auburn. Let me be the first to say we are truly excited for Alex, Alexis & their kids! We love Coach Golesh and are beyond grateful for what he has done for our program. Rest assured, we did…
— Rob Higgins (@RHiggins_USF) November 30, 2025
Let's take a stab at possible candidates, in no particular order.
Jimbo Fisher: This would be an interesting move, given that the former FSU/Texas A&M coach has a 128-48 record in 14 years as a head coach. He also won a national championship with the Seminoles.
But he was a drab 19-15 in his last three years at A&M before the Aggies paid him $76 million to stop coaching. It's also no secret that FSU boosters were happy to see him go because no matter how much monetary support they gave him, he wanted more.
Finally, there is always the danger of recycling someone who essentially washed out at his last two jobs, no matter how big of a name he has.
Willie Simmons: His name came up before Golesh even left.
He wins. Google it.
A former quarterback at Clemson, he just finished his first regular season as the head coach at FIU with a 7-5 record. That was its first winning season since 2018.
Before that, he was the head coach at Prairie View and had three consecutive winning seasons before taking over at FAMU. The Rattlers had seven consecutive losing seasons before Simmons arrived, but he fixed that in a hurry. In 2023, Simmons led FAMU to a 12–1 record, winning the SWAC championship, black college national championship, and the Celebration Bowl before spending the 2024 season as the running backs coach at Duke.
He went to high school in Tallahassee and knows Florida inside and out.
Will Stein: If you're looking for The Next Big Thing, this might be your guy. He's the offensive coordinator/quarterback coach at Oregon.
He is young (36 years old) and draws accolades for running the Ducks' high-powered offense that ranks highly in many national categories. He has never been a head coach, but as Sports Illustrated noted, "Stein will likely be a head coach in college football. The question is just a matter of when, not if."
One caveat: Stein will be a little busy over the next few weeks. The Ducks are a lock to make the playoffs.
Brian Hartline: This one might be a longshot, but you miss 100 percent of the shots you dont take. He's the offensive coordinator at Ohio State and is attracting a lot of chatter about potential jobs. He could be in the mix at Penn State, and, like Stein, he's going to be busy in the next few weeks as the Buckeyes prepare for the Big Ten championship game and then the playoffs.
If Higgins pulled this one off, it would instantly replace all the buzz left by Golesh's departure.
Jason Candle: He has been the head coach at Toledo siince 2015 and he has never had a losing season. His overall record is 81-44, including 8-4 this season. He won MAC championships in 2017 and 2022.
And after USF made headlines for its five-overtime win over San Diego State in last year's Hawaii Bowl, Candle's Rockets broke that mark a few days later by beating Pittsburgh 48-46 in six overtimes at the GameAbove Sports Bowl.
A possible bonus in Candle's favor: His Co-Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks Coach is Robert Weiner, who was 172-37-1 at Tamps's Plant High School from 2004-19, On his watch, Plant played in six state championship games and won four of them.