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Arkansas Football: Top 9 candidates who could replace Chad Morris

By Dante Pryor

OXFORD, MISSISSIPPI - SEPTEMBER 07: Head coach Chad Morris of the Arkansas Razorbacks reacts during the second half of a game against the Mississippi Rebels at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium on September 07, 2019 in Oxford, Mississippi. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)
OXFORD, MISSISSIPPI - SEPTEMBER 07: Head coach Chad Morris of the Arkansas Razorbacks reacts during the second half of a game against the Mississippi Rebels at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium on September 07, 2019 in Oxford, Mississippi. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images)
(Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images) /

The hot Group of Five head coach

Arkansas isn’t the type of job where you get the marquee elite head coach. Most likely the next head coach at Arkansas will come from the same place their previous head coach came: the Group of Five.

Here are some top candidates from the Group of Five.

Lane Kiffin, Florida Atlantic

Lane Kiffin is definitely the longest shot on this list, but he’s put together a good program down in Boca Raton. After restoring his reputation as an offensive guru at Alabama, Kiffin took the  head coaching job at Florida Atlantic to prove he can run a program. After a 5-7 year last season, he has the Owls at 7-3 and back in a bowl for the second time in three years.

The question for the boosters and administration at Arkansas is do they want the controversy that can sometimes follow Kiffin? His previous Power Five stops — Tennessee and USC — are what gave him the black eye in the first place.

Billy Napier, Louisiana

What makes Billy Napier a long-shot for the Arkansas job is his lack of head coaching experience. This is just his second year as a head coach, but he’s done an outstanding job in Louisiana. They won the Sun Belt West division last season and look to win it again.

Although Napier doesn’t have the coaching experience, he has the pedigree. He spent the early part of his career under Dabo Swinney at Clemson, and then coached under Nick Saban at Alabama. He might not have a lot of pelts on the wall as a head coach, but it doesn’t hurt to be associated with the two best coaches in college football right now.

Seth Littrell, North Texas

Seth Littrell doesn’t have the steam behind his name the way it did a year ago. After consecutive nine-win seasons, the North Texas Mean Green are struggling for bowl eligibility this season. Littrell’s name has been linked to a Power Five job before when he was trending with the Kansas State job a year before former head coach Bill Snyder retired.

What makes Littrell a good candidate is his ties to Texas. Arkansas might be an SEC school, but they still get most of their talent from Texas, and Littrell knows the Lone Star State.

Mike Norvell, Memphis

Would Mike Norvell entertain Arkansas after being spurned by them in favor of Chad Morris two years ago? He would give Arkansas what they wanted in Morris: an offensive guru who can coach quarterbacks. The question for Norvell is simple, do you leave Memphis for Arkansas? Is the gravitational pull of the Power Five that strong?

Norvell has to decide if he’s happy with the ceiling at Memphis, or if he wants the opportunity to win a national title. Not to mention, he might just get a call from Tallahassee as well. It might be the other way around with Norvell telling Arkansas no.

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