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Pete Thamel reveals 'established' candidates atop wishlist for next Nebraska head coach

Stephen Samraby: Steve Samra09/17/22SamraSource
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Is Matt Rhule the frontrunner to be the next head coach at Nebraska? What does the latest news out of West Virginia mean for head coach Neal Brown? (Michael Allio/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

With the firing of Scott Frost, the college football world is wondering who Nebraska will turn towards to lead them into a new era. Enter Pete Thamel of ESPN — not as the next head coach, but as the man who can provide some insight into exactly who that may be.

During an appearance on College GameDay this morning, Thamel elaborated on some of the top candidates who the Cornhuskers will look to bring to Lincoln.

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“You’re going to have to look at some established, power conference coaches that Nebraska is going to try to use its financial might to lure,” stated Thamel. “I think they’ll take a swing at Mark Stoops, who has built Kentucky from the ground up. Really, that’s what Nebraska needs. Look for them to also target Matt Campbell from Iowa State, perhaps Dave Doeren from NC State or Bill O’Brien, who’s a proven winner in the Big Ten from his time at Penn State. Obviously he’s Alabama’s offensive coordinator right now.

“Nebraska needs a sure thing. They can’t take a risk.”

Mark Stoops, Matt Campbell, Dave Doeren or Bill O’Brien. Any one of them would represent a changing of the guard at Nebraska, and hopefully provide a steadying presence for the Cornhuskers. Still, they won’t be easy to pry away from their positions, and Nebraska may have to pony up some serious cash to get them to Lincoln.

Nevertheless, it’ll be worth it to get the good times rolling again for the Cornhuskers. For a program that has fallen so far below their standard, they’re going to have to pay to get things moving in the right direction.

Betting odds to become next Nebraska head coach

Moreover, betting odds have been released as to who will be the next head coach, with Iowa State head coach Matt Campbell being the favorite. A couple of other big names are on there, including former Florida and Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer — who might be the dream for Cornhusker fans.

  • Iowa State HC Matt Campbell – 4/1
  • Nebraska interim HC Mickey Joseph – 9/2
  • Kentucky HC Mark Stoops – 5/1
  • Alabama OC Bill O’Brien – 7/1
  • Wake Forest HC Dave Clawson – 9/1
  • Wisconsin DC Jim Leonhard – 9/1
  • Kansas HC Lance Liepold – 10/1
  • FOX analyst Urban Meyer – 11/1
  • Jackson State HC Deion Sanders – 12/1
  • Minnesota HC PJ Fleck – 12/1
  • Cincinnati HC Luke Fickell – 14/1
  • Oregon State HC Jonathan Smith – 20/1
  • Carolina Panthers HC Matt Rhule – 20/1
  • Former Nebraska player Ndamukong Suh – 25/1

As you can see, Campbell is listed as the favorite and it’s nothing new for the Iowa State headman. He has been connected with plenty of high-profile jobs over the past few years. None have been able to draw him away from Ames but Alberts will seemingly make a good run at it.

Kentucky’s Mark Stoops is also high up on the list and was linked to other jobs last season as well. Even though he was an Iowa graduate, Stoops has proven he can build up a program to a level above expectations. Stoops is currently 3/1 and third overall on the list. 

However, the most eye-popping name listed is Ndamukong Suh. The Nebraska legend has never been a coach in his career but took to Twitter to possibly get into the mix. Suh currently has the largest odds but if Alberts really wants to have a wildcard head coach, there would be nobody better.