4 Potential Candidates To Replace Shawn Elliott At Georgia State

Thursday provided some surprising news in the Sun Belt Conference. Two days after the Georgia State Panthers began spring football practice, head coach Shawn Elliott announced his resignation and intent to return to the South Carolina Gamecocks as an assistant coach.

Elliott's resignation leaves Georgia State to accomplish the incredibly difficult task of finding a new head coach for the program well past what would have been an ideal time. The Panthers will need someone familiar with the recruiting territory, the long-held challenges of G5 programs, and the increasing challenges they face with college football's latest evolutions.

Here are a few names that could be a good fit for GSU on short notice.

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Skip Holtz

Holtz is extremely familiar with G5 football's nuances after 16 seasons as a head coach at that level. That included time with East Carolina, South Florida, and Louisiana Tech. Holtz took LA Tech to seven consecutive bowl games from 2014 to 2020. Currently, Holtz is the head coach and general manager of the UFL's (formerly USFL) Birmingham Stallions. He has won the league championship each of the last two seasons. 

Ricky Brumfield

Brumfield would be entering his second season as Georgia Tech's Special Teams Coordinator. While he has no experience as a head coach, he did spend 2022 as the associate head coach at FIU under Mike MacIntyre. In addition to Georgia Tech, the 23-year coaching veteran has had stints as an FBS special teams coordinator with FIU, Western Kentucky, UTSA, and Virginia. Brumfield also is a five-time recipient of the NFL Minority Coaching Fellowship. 

Brad Glenn

Glenn spent last season as Cincinnati's offensive coordinator and the season before that as Brent Pry's passing game coordinator at Virginia Tech. From 2019 to 2021, Glenn was Georgia State's OC under Elliott. Under Glenn’s direction, the Panthers averaged a school-record 33.3 points per game in 2020. In 2019, they set school records for total yards (439.8 ypg) and rushing (241.6 ypg).

Tashard Choice

A Georgia native and Georgia Tech grad, Choice is something of a rising star in the coaching world. After beginning his coaching career in 2016, the former NFL running back had assistant stints with the Dallas Cowboys, North Texas, and Georgia Tech prior to landing his current role as Texas running backs coach. Choice would be a swing for GSU because of his inexperience, but his knowledge of the area and noted recruiting ability would be huge pluses.