FAU football: Here are a dozen names to mull over as Owls search for the next Lane Kiffin

Forget the startling number of three- and five-win seasons.

Forget the Willie Taggart era. The Charlie Partridge era. The Carl Pelini embarrassment.

Even forget what happened at the end of Howard Schnellenberger's reign, marking a sad ending for a man who will forever be credited for the program's existence.

Instead, focus on two things:

The glorious two years when Lane Kiffin proved, with the right fit, FAU football can be a very desirable job; and July 1, 2023, the day FAU steps up in class to the American Athletic Conference.

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Athletic Director Brian White had no choice but to dump Taggart and made the move following Saturday's overtime loss to Western Kentucky that dropped the Owls to 5-7. His statement included one significant line: "The lack of on-field success needed to be addressed as we look toward the future."

Every candidate White interviews will hear the name "Lane Kiffin," and what can happen when a coach resonates with recruits, a fan base, a university, a community.

Kiffin was 27-13 during his three years (2017-19) at FAU with two 11-3 Conference USA title seasons (and Boca Raton Bowl wins) sandwiched around an inexplicable 5-7 year.

Kiffin's winning percentage was 67.5. Every FAU coach not named Lane Kiffin in the past 15 years won 33.8% of their games (47-92).

White's job now is to identify the next Lane Kiffin.

Here are a dozen names to mull over ... some long shots and some who would drop everything to coach at FAU.

Deion Sanders

Sanders comes with a big personality — yes, bigger than Kiffin's — but also a lot of success in his only experience as a college coach at Jackson State. He resonates with recruits but the AD and president — wherever he coaches — have to accept Deion being the face of the university. This is a man who recently made public a job offer from Colorado for the sole purpose of letting all possible suitors know.

Tom Herman

Herman is in the mix for the next coach at USF. But with FAU joining the same conference as the Bulls, this could be just as good a job if the university makes the investment, which it will have to with the move into the AAC. Herman's stock was soaring when he left Houston for Texas. He was fired after four years in Austin. He would be a home-run hire.

Scott Frost

Considering Frost won a (wink, wink) national championship at UCF, why not take a chance even after things didn't go so well for him at Nebraska? Like Herman, Frost could follow the Kiffin blueprint and rehabilitate his career in Boca Raton.

Travis Trickett

Trickett was FAU's offensive coordinator for one year under Partridge, a year the Owls set season records for rushing yards, yards per carry and rushing touchdowns. He has worked under Rich Rodriguez, Bobby Bowden and Nick Saban. He joined USF as its OC this season and the Bulls' offense improved by more than 40 yards per game.

Charlie Weis Jr.

The man Trickett replaced at USF was Weis, who left for Ole Miss to rejoin Kiffin as his co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. Weis worked for Saban at Alabama and for Steve Sarkisian with the Atlanta Falcons before becoming the OC and QB coach for Kiffin at FAU in 2018 at the age of 24.

Ja'Juan Seider

Seider was born in Belle Glade and starred at Glades Central. He has been at Penn State for five years as a running backs coach and added co-offensive coordinator to his title in 2022. Penn State's offense improved to 35th in the country this year from 82nd in 2021, and its running game soared to 46th from 111th.

Chris Kiffin

What better way to try to recapture the Kiffin magic than to hire a Kiffin? Lane's brother, Chris, is the defensive line coach for the Cleveland Browns but has extensive college experience working at Ole Miss, Nebraska, USC, Arkansas State and for his brother in 2017 as FAU's defensive coordinator.

Manny Diaz

The former Miami coach was a Boyles Award semifinalist this year, his first as Penn State's defensive coordinator. Diaz has obvious ties to South Florida having been born in Miami and coaching for six years at UM, three as the DC and three as the head coach. The question is whether FAU wants to hire a defensive coach.

Terry Bradden

Bradden, a Riviera Beach native and former Inlet Grove coach, is in his sixth season on the Kansas City Chiefs' defensive staff. He spent one year as a graduate assistant at Bethune-Cookman and was the quality control special teams coach at FAU in 2014.

Jeff Lebby

Another OC with coaching ties to the AAC and Kiffin. Lebby spent two years at UCF under Josh Heupel and was the OC in 2019. He joined Kiffin at Ole Miss for two years as the OC before taking the same position this year at Oklahoma. Many believed he would get a Power Five head coaching job a year ago.

Kendal Briles

Briles was Kiffin's OC for the Owls' 11-3 season in 2017 and has since held the same position at Houston, Florida State and for the last three years at Arkansas. The Razorbacks' offense improved by more than 50 yards per game in his first season.

Willie Simmons

The Tallahassee native and former Clemson quarterback has turned around three programs, including FAMU, where he's been the head coach for the past four seasons. Simmons inherited a FAMU program coming off seven consecutive losing seasons, including 3-8 in 2017. After a 6-5 start, his teams are 27-7 the past three years.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: FAU football: Would Deion Sanders be a good fit as Owls' head coach?