After moving on from Mike Bloomgren last month, sources have indicated that Rice would seek proven head coaching experience with an offensive background for its next head coach.
Monday, our John Brice outlined this search quite well noting that KC Keeler had become of keen interest in this one.
On Thursday, Dave Campbell's Texas Football reported that Ohio head coach Tim Albin, Vanderbilt offensive coordinator Tim Beck, and Sam Houston head coach KC Keeler are "serious candidates" for the position. FootballScoop has heard all three as candidates for the position, though other targets have been vetted and additional ones could emerge throughout the search.
Albin, Beck and Keeler have all won national championships at lower levels.
Albin was Ohio's offensive coordinator from 2005-20, and prior winners selected him as the FootballScoop Running Backs Coach of the Year in 2018. He went 25-8 with an NAIA national championship as Northwestern Oklahoma State's head coach from 1997-99, and is 31-19 in his fourth season at Ohio. At 8-3 on the season, Ohio will play for the MAC championship with a win over Ball State next Friday. If Ohio win these next two, this would be his third consecutive ten win season, this one with a roster that was nearly completely rebuilt after losing a significant amount of talent to Power 4 transfers.
Beck was Pittsburg State's head coach from 2010-19, going 82-35 with a Division II national championship in 2011. Beck has spent the past four seasons linked with Jerry Kill, working alongside him at TCU, as his offensive coordinator at New Mexico State, and is now in his first season at Vanderbilt calling the offense.
Keeler is a future College Football of Fame head coach who stands as the only coach in FCS history to win national championships at two separate schools. A proven winner across his career, Keeler went 88-21-1 with five trips to the Division III national championship game from 1993-01 at Rowan University, 86-52 with a national championship from 2002-12 at Delaware, and is currently 96-38 at Sam Houston. He led the Bearkats to an FCS national title in the 2021 spring season and presently has SHSU at 8-2 and in the running for a Conference USA championship in the program's second year at the FBS level.
Rice concludes its season Nov. 30, and the early signing period opens Dec. 4.
As always, stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.