List shortens, names change if Yurachek gets defensive in search

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Early last week a narrative began to take hold around the idea that Arkansas athletics director Hunter Yurachek wants to focus his search on landing a defensive-minded head coach.

The premise was it's easier to find a great offensive coordinator to complement the defensive coach than it is to get a strong offensive mind and find someone who can run the defense at a high level who will stick around. While it's unlikely, and certainly unwise, for Yurchek to cut his options so harshly along such a definitive line, it's worth taking a look at what the talent pool looks like should Arkansas take such a hard stance in its search.

A lot of popular names go by the wayside, but what is left is a list of people who have almost certainly been considered at some point in the proceess.

The general consensus is Yurachek is looking for a coach with head coaching experience, or at the very least, extensive experience as a top coordinator in a Power Four program. It also makes sense to believe he is seeking someone with a history that has required him to face difficult circumstances along the way.

That automatically takes Glenn Schumann off the list. He currently oversees a devastating defense at Georgia, but, while he has served as a co-defensive coordinator since 2019, he has only handled the role on his own since 2024.

However, his most disqualifying trait is he has only faced the rigors of college football in the insulated confines SEC powerhouses, Alabama and Georgia. It's a lot easier to look like someone knows what they're doing when the locker room comes fully stocked with elite defensive talent with little struggle to get them there.

Also declared safe from poaching are both co-defensive coordinators at Oklahoma. They have combined to put together a strong unit this season that has carried the Sooners to the brink of the College Football Playoffs.

Despite this, neither Todd Bates, nor Jay Vilai have much experience. Between the two, they only have six years as defensive coordinator, and neither has a single second of doing that job on their own.

So, whom does that leave on the table? Well, let's just say there's plenty of room for sides this Thanksgiving because there aren't many options for main courses.

Jon Sumrall, Tulane

Of the names on this list, he's the hottest. Perhaps no name has popped up more in SEC search lists than Sumrall.

He's getting similar buzz to what another former Louisiana college head coach received during the last big shift in SEC coaches — Billy Napier. However, unlike Napier, Sumrall hasn't proven he can do it over a sustained period of time at a single school.

At the moment, he had a pair of strong seasons at Troy followed by a pair of solid seasons at Tulane with a current record of 18-7 down in New Orleans. It's concerning that he has never had to put things together for more than a pair of seasons.

Think about it. Had Sam Pittman had a normal season in his first year, he would have taken a program that went 8-28 the previous three seasons and gone 16-9 in his first two seasons. That is impressive, but it's about more than doing it for a couple of years, which Sumrall hasn't proven he can do.

It's also worth noting that the Green Wave put up 23 wins the two seasons prior to Sumrall's arrival, a full five wins more than he has put up since. Although, to be fair, there is still one game remaining in the regular season and possibly a bowl game should he stick around.

Either way, while he's the hot name making the college coaching circuit, there are plenty of red flags to suggest he could be a bust.

Barry Odom, Purdue

Had this coaching search taken place at the end of last season, Odom coming back to Arkansas as the perceived future of the program would have almost been a given. He built UNLV into a CFP contender seemingly out of nowhere, and that's despite Bobby Petrino bailing on him a couple of days in as offensive coordinator.

Unfortunately for both him and Yurachek, Odom took one of the only available Power Four jobs available last season at Purdue. This not only forced him to leave his comfort zone of the Arkansas, Memphis, Missouri recruiting areas as a Power Four coach, it saw him take over in the most difficult recruiting calendar in the history of coaching.

Almost as soon as he signed the dotted line, the high school signing period was over and the transfer portal was wide open while no one had an idea whether the world of revenue sharing was about to be a financial option for the upcoming season. Long story short, recruiting was naturally a nightmare made worse by taking over a team that had won five games in the previous five seasons, including only a single win last year.

Odom has technically doubled the Boilermaker's win total despite the odds being stacked against him and has had numerous close calls against solid Big Ten teams, but he just hasn't had much to work with. He has probably always been on this list as Yurachek is likely to consider what happened at UNLV and properly process the situation at Purdue, but this past season makes him a tougher sell to those less willing to do the shallow dive into how things have played out since Odom left Fayetteville a few years ago.

Still, he checks a lot of boxes. He loves the area and the school, has successful SEC head coaching experience in addition to his stops at UNLV and Purdue, has been in a situation where struggle is expected everywhere he has landed, and is a respected defensive mind.

Because the coaching world could decend into chaos this weekend, he's worth keeping in mind. His buyout is a relatively modest $6 million and topping his current salary of $6 million shouldn't be too much of an issue for Arkansas should the Hogs decide to turn to a stable, familiar face.

Pat Fitzgerald, Formerly Northwestern

Speaking of a defensive mind at a place expected to struggle, what Pat Fitzgerald did during his time at Northwestern is nothing short of a miracle. The world isn't too far removed from him being the viewed as the home run hire Yurachek needs.

Unfortunately, times have changed. Fitzgerald was fired in 2023 amid a hazing scandal within his football program.

A lawsuit eventually established he didn't know the hazing was taking place, but it doesn't dispute Fitzgerald ran a program with a culture where hazing was not only considered acceptable, but rather rampant. That's why he's in the bargain bin and likely to stay there rather than on the most wanted shelf alongside Vanderbilt's Clark Lea and Ole Miss' Lane Kiffin.

He owns pretty much every coaching record there is to have at Northwestern and improbably has a pair of Big Ten division championships while also crafting three additional seasons where he won 10 games.

However, his baggage, plus the fact he has only been a head coach in the Big Ten, is probably enough to wipe all of those accolades away, even in the state of desperation the Arkansas program finds itself in.

Kane Wommack, Alabama

Out of all of the defensive coordinators across the country, the only one who seems like a potential fit is Kane Wommack. The idea his name has popped up over the past week with the Arkansas job, probably specifically because of the talk surrounding Yurachek wanting to go defensive in his choice, has Tide fans in a tizzy.

Whether it's true, they certainly seem to believe he is the only reason Alabama is in the College Football Playoff discussion with an angle at the SEC championship game. If it came down to watching head coach Kalen Deboer or Wommack walk, social media has made it clear DeBoer might not want to let the door hit him on the backside on his way out.

That, plus his many ties to Arkansas, makes him an intriguing candidate. He also possesses head coaching experience — a three-year stint at South Alabama that included a pair of winning seasons, including a 10-win championship season in Year 2.

However, he gave up the headache of being a coach in an NIL / transfer portal world at a school that didn't have much to offer in either area to double his salary to focus solely on defense at Alabama. He currently oversees the No. 2 defense in the SEC at a shade over 16 points per game.

Charles Kelly, Jacksonville State

Chances are this is the first time any of our readers are seeing this name. That doesn't mean he isn't someone who doesn't deserve consideration and hasn't gotten at least a strong glance from Yurachek.

Kelly is a former defensive back from Auburn whose coaching stops include Florida State during their national championship season, an 11-0 Auburn season under Terry Bowden, Alabama under Nick Saban during a time that included two national championship game appearances and a national title, along with a stop at Henderson State early in his career.

If he decides to keep the drama at a low and make the shocking decision of actually coaching his team in the College Football Playoffs (written with dripping sarcasm), then odds are higher things unfold in a way that is much more favorable to Arkansas.

If that doesn't work out, his Gamecocks still have a good chance they will still end up in the conference championship game. He only has the single season as a head coach, but his seven years in the SEC, most of which were under conference coaching legends, along with eight years at Georgia Tech and five of the best years Florida State has to offer, should go a long way in gaining him consideration.

That is especially true if there is a run on the four or five guys most people have named as potential candidates all along the way and Odom isn't willing to bail on Purdue after a season. Basically, the point is Kelly is a viable break in case of emergency candidate Arkansas should be able to land with a lot to sell if there were a normal coaching cycle.

Is it finally time?

Barring DeBoer unleashing utter chaos by unexpectedly bailing on Alabama in the event the Tide unexpectedly lose to Auburn, things should start to unfold as soon as Lane Kiffin reveals his final decision at Ole Miss.

If he decides to keep the drama at a low and make the shocking decision of actually coaching his team in the College Football Playoffs (written with dripping sarcasm), then things are much more likely to unfold in a way that is much more favorable to Arkansas.

If Kiffin decides to miss a chance to coach in the national championship game for a second time, then a chain reaction of events will occur that will greatly damage Yurachek's ability to bring on a coach he can easily sell to the fan base.

Either way, as has been said here since September, this decision will be made official between Thanksgiving night and Monday evening. It may trickle into Tuesday, but only if there is a massive fallout from more prominent jobs creating other openings on the same level or higher than Arkansas.

If the Razorbacks don't have a coach by next Tuesday night, then it's time for Hogs fans to get nervous. That means boosters and upper administrators have made a mess of things again either by refusing to come up with the money needed, or as has just as often been the case, finding lame excuses to pass on quality coaches.

We'll see. After months of waiting for a decision that was always going to take this long, it's going to finally end — for better or worse.