Refreshing the list of A&M OC candidates

It’s Dec. 15, less than a week until National Signing Day, and Texas A&M is still without an offensive coordinator, having let Darrell Dickey go at the conclusion of the regular season. I made an early list of candidates almost a month ago, but suffice to say that list has been whittled down significantly. So let’s revisit the status of those candidates, and also add some new names to the list as the Aggies try to find their new OC for 2023.

Names on my previous list:

• Dan Mullen (OUT): Mullen reportedly received interest from both A&M and South Carolina for their offensive coordinator positions, but has opted to stay at ESPN as an analyst for another season.
• Phill Longo (OUT): Longo has accepted the offensive coordinator position at Wisconsin under new coach Luke Fickell.
• Bobby Petrino (OUT): While Petrino was the hot name linked to A&M a week ago, he has since accepted the OC job at UNLV.
• Tom Herman (OUT): Herman is the new head coach at Florida Atlantic.
• Will Stein (OUT): The former UTSA offensive coordinator is now the new OC at Oregon.
• Alex Golesh (OUT): The former Tennessee OC is now the head coach at South Florida.
• Garrett Riley (OUT...ish): Riley was at the top of most fans’ lists for this position after leading TCU to one of their most prolific offensive outputs in school history and a Playoff appearance, but according to Football Scoop, Riley turned down a contract offer at A&M and signed an extension to stay at TCU. However that extension has not been publicly announced or reported by any other outlet, so until that happens, I won’t completely write off the idea that Riley is still a potential hire and everything else we’re hearing is simply to throw us off the scent until after the Playoff is complete.
• Chad Morris (STILL IN): I haven’t really heard his name mentioned much, but it still wouldn’t surprise me if Morris is in the mix. A Texas native who still has the shine of his OC days at Clemson could be an interesting option.
• Casey Woods (STILL IN): In his first season as OC at SMU, the Mustangs finished the regular season No. 13 in scoring offense, No. 6 in passing offense and No. 66 in rushing offense. He also played at Tennessee and has previous experience on staff at Auburn and Mizzou, but perhaps this is a bit too pass-heavy of an offense for Jimbo.

Who else could be an OC option?

• Andy Ludwig (Utah): I’ve continued to hear this name more and more, if only from A&M fans. He’s led a very successful Utah offense (top 15 in scoring each of the past two seasons), and if he were the guy, the Utes’ upcoming Rose Bowl appearance would be a good reason for the hire to not yet be announced.
• Jeff Grimes (Baylor): A Power 5 OC who is a Texas native (and already coaching in Texas), I can see why Grimes would be a name that gets mentioned. This might be a solid hire, if not a particularly “splashy” one.
• Kliff Kingsbury (Arizona Cardinals): Before becoming an NFL head coach (or a head coach at all), Kingbury was Kevin Sumlin’s first offensive coordinator at Texas A&M. While it seems like Kingsbury’s time at the helm in Arizona is coming to an end, his most likely destination is as an NFL coordinator. But I’m sure this is a call A&M would make to see if he is interested in a return to College Station.
• Warren Ruggiero (Wake Forest): I haven’t heard much talk about him at all, but it’s hard to argue against a guy who produced top 20 offenses each of the last two seasons. But like Woods at SMU, his system may be a bit too pass-heavy for Jimbo’s liking.

Of course, now that we’ve listed about all of these names, it will inevitably be someone who none of us are talking about who ends up getting the A&M job.