Baylor Football: 4 potential candidates who could replace Matt Rhule

1. Joey McGuire/Jeff Nixon

Speaking of practicality and what makes the most sense for the program, hiring internally could be best for the Baylor program.

Consider Matt Rhule rebuilt Baylor from the ground up in his image so to speak. He hired an entirely new staff that followed his philosophies and helped establish his culture. They’ve also gone out and recruited the type of players that have thrived in Baylor’s — and Rhule’s, for that matter — system in the three years he was there.

If the Bears’ administration feels this systematic approach to the game will yield success, hiring internally makes the most sense. It doesn’t matter what the hire looks like to anyone outside the building as long and the decision-makers within the program feel it’s right.

This situation seems similar to the Oregon and Memphis situations. When Willie Taggart left Oregon after one season to coach Florida State, the Ducks decided to go with offensive coordinator Mario Cristobal to keep the recruiting class, culture and continuity together. A Rose Bowl victory later it seems like a good idea. Memphis did the same thing this season promoting assistant head coach and offensive line coach Ryan Silverfield to head coach after Mike Norvell took the Florida State job.

There are two assistant head coaches that the Bears could promote internally: Joey McGuire and Jeff Nixon, respectively. McGuire was one of the many Texas high school coaches Rhule hired upon taking the Baylor job. He won three state championships at Cedar Hill high school in Texas and has been a fast riser on Rhule’s staff.

No one knows the inner workings of Rhule’s ideologies on coaching and recruiting and running a college football program than long-time assistant Jeff Nixon. Much of Rhule’s ideas on player development come from the NFL and a lot of Nixon’s experience coaching is as an NFL assistant.

Whether it be the fast riser or the veteran assistant with pro experience, either internal hire might be best for the program.