Predicting New Coaches for the Top 5 Vacant Positions

Get ready, because the college football coaching carousel is just getting revved up and ready to kick into full gear. 

The regular season may have just ended two days ago, but already we've seen plenty of notable head coaching jobs open up over the past week or so.

Ohio State reeling in Urban Meyer is obviously the biggest signing we'll see this year, but that's just the tip of the iceberg. There are plenty more notable coaches who will likely be shifting around over the next few weeks. 

Rumors have been constantly swirling around the Internet about coaches like Houston's Kevin Sumlin, Southern Mississippi's Larry Fedora, Miami's Al Golden and others, but right now all we still have to work with are rumors and hearsay.

That will change in the coming weeks, though, as more spots begin to fill up.

Here's a look at the coaches I think could end up filling some of the top open coaching vacancies out there right now.

Arizona State: Mark Helfrich

There have been a ton of different names attached to the Arizona State job, such as Kevin Sumlin, Larry Fedora and now it's June Jones, who is the hot name around Tempe.

I think the best candidate for the Sun Devils is Oregon offensive coordinator Mark Helfrich.

Helfrich, who coached at Arizona State under Dirk Koetter, is the leader of one of the nation's most potent offenses at Oregon, and he's the type of young assistant who could be a home run hire.

Helfrich could turn returning senior quarterback Brock Osweiler into a star next season, and he's got the type of attitude and personality that should connect well with fans, alumni and boosters.

North Carolina: Larry Fedora

Southern Miss coach Larry Fedora made himself a lot of money by beating Houston in the Conference USA Championship Game this past weekend, and he's now one of the hottest names on the college football coaching carousel.

Fedora has done some great work with the Golden Eagles, and he deserves to be rewarded for it.

The only question is, which team will be the one to bowl him over with an offer he can't refuse?

Arizona State, Illinois and Texas A&M could all be possibilities, but the school that would seem to make the most sense for Fedora is North Carolina.

If the Tar Heels don't receive any harsh NCAA penalties for what went on during the Butch Davis era, then they should be able to compete for an ACC championship within the next few years.

Penn State: Dan Mullen

Mississippi State head coach Dan Mullen has been adamant that he has yet to talk with any officials from Penn State, and he's ticked off by all of the rumors that he's headed to Happy Valley.

While that may be the case right now, as with any coaching transition, just because Mullen is denying reports linking him to Penn State doesn't necessarily mean he won't end up there.

(Remember Nick Saban saying he wasn't going to be the next head coach at Alabama?)

Even with the swirling scandal and turmoil currently surrounding the program and the campus, the Penn State job is still a coveted coaching gig. Mullen, a Pennsylvania native, might be excited by the idea of battling with former boss Urban Meyer at Ohio State for the Big Ten Leaders division every season.

Personally, I'm rooting for Northern Illinois' Dave Doeren to get the job, but right now everything we've been hearing, even it's just speculation and rumors, seems to point to Mullen being the school's top target.

Texas A&M: Kevin Sumlin

Even though his team got embarrassed by Southern Miss in the Conference USA Championship Game this past weekend, that won't stop schools from heavily pursuing Houston's Kevin Sumlin.

Sumlin is one of the hottest names out there right now, and he's reportedly already received legitimate interest from the likes of Arizona State, Texas A&M and UCLA.

The Texas A&M job would seem to be the best fit for Sumlin, who was a former offensive coordinator for the Aggies back in 2001 and 2002.

It will be interesting to see if the 47-year-old Sumlin will want the challenge of leading the Aggies as they make their transition to the SEC next season.

UCLA: Art Briles

Art Briles did a great job of elevating Houston, and then he did an even better job of turning around Baylor over the past few years.

Right now, after putting together a nine-win campaign this year, it sounds like he'll be one of the most coveted coaching candidates in the country.

Briles has been firmly entrenched in Texas for the majority of his coaching career, but don't be surprised if he ultimately ends up out west at UCLA when the dust settles.

UCLA officials were hoping to get their hands on Boise State's Chris Petersen, but that didn't happen, and now the Bruins are left scrambling a bit to try to find their next head coach.

It would be interesting to see how Briles would handle recruiting the West Coast, but the fact is, he's certainly got a better resume and track record than some of the other not-so-thrilling names that are being linked to UCLA right now (like like Jim Mora Jr.).

Other Names to Watch out for

Al Golden, Miami

Butch Jones, Cincinnati

Charlie Strong, Louisville

Chris Petersen, Boise State

Dave Doeren, Northern Illinois

Gary Patterson, TCU

James Franklin, Vanderbilt

June Jones, SMU