Here are the best fits for every vacant head coaching position in HBCU football.
Alabama A&M: Sam Shade
The Alabama A&M Bulldogs moved on from Connell Maynor after years of many speculating that he was on the hot seat.
Among the top options to fill the role, Miles head coach Sam Shade may be the best option for the Bulldogs.
Shade has ties to the state of Alabama that go back to his days as a player, having won a national championship at the University of Alabama in 1992.
The former NFL draftee has served on coaching staffs at the state’s high school and college level, including as a state championship-winning head coach at Pinson Valley High School.
This past season, Shade led Miles to its first SIAC championship since 2019 and its first-ever win in the Division II playoffs after knocking off Carson-Newman in the opening round.
Shade is the right coach to restore order on an Alabama A&M team that has been on a slight decline in the past three years.
Delaware State: Brian Jenkins Sr.
Delaware State’s football program needs a full reset. It has gone over a decade without a winning season.
With that in mind, former Bethune-Cookman head coach Brian Jenkins Jr. could be the coach the Hornets need to restore order.
Jenkins was Bethune-Cookman’s head coach from 2010 to 2015, leading the team to three FCS playoff appearances during his tenure.
In his first season with the team, he improved their record from 5-6 the previous year to 10-2, claiming a share of the MEAC title in the process.
Despite their record in recent years, Delaware State is a team with offensive talent that Jenkins could build around, bringing the program back to contention in the MEAC.
Elizabeth City State: Barry Tripp
Elizabeth City State is looking for a new head coach after Marcus Hilliard’s departure after three years at the helm.
Elizabeth City State should look for some new blood to help turn its fortunes around, and Johnson C. Smith defensive coordinator Barry Tripp might just be the man for the job.
Coach Tripp has made a living out of coaching up championship-caliber defenses since joining the collegiate ranks in 2016
Tripp was responsible for developing a Fayetteville State defensive unit that went on to win three straight CIAA South division titles in his final three years with the team.
Joining Johnson C. Smith’s coaching staff, he turned the Golden Bulls’ defense into a juggernaut, finishing this past season with the 10th-ranked unit in the country.
Coach Tripp has earned an opportunity to be a head coach, and Elizabeth City State would be the perfect place for him to prove his worth in that role.
Fort Valley State: Kenneth Ray
Fort Valley State is the latest team with a head coaching vacancy after Shawn Gibbs was announced as the next head coach at North Carolina A&T.
Fortunately for Fort Valley State, Associate Head Coach Kenneth Ray is already on staff and could fill the vacancy at the head coaching position.
A Southern Mississippi alumnus, Ray has over 25 years of coaching experience, though he has never been a head coach at the collegiate level.
His prior HBCU coaching experience includes time on the Tennessee State, North Carolina A&T, Howard, and Alabama State coaching staffs.
Having been on Fort Valley State’s coaching staff since 2020, Ray’s appointment as the team’s head coach ensures that someone who already knows how the team operates is in that role.
This would be a much smoother transition for a team that is already on the precipice of being a title contender in the SIAC.
Lane: Quinton Morgan
The Lane Dragons moved on from head coach Vyron Brown after three seasons with the team, putting up a 13-19 overall record.
In Lane’s quest for contention in the competitive SIAC, they should look to Langston head coach Quinton Morgan to guide them.
Morgan has been the head coach of Langston since 2015 and has finished with a winning record in all but one season with the team (they finished the shortened 2020 season with a 2-3 record).
This includes a 2017 season in which he led the Lions to a perfect 10-0 regular season and a berth in the NAIA tournament.
The offense has been Langston’s strong suit under Coach Morgan, having averaged at least 27.0 points per game in each of the last four seasons.
Lane has young talent on its offense that Morgan is well-equipped to groom into explosive players that could wreak havoc on the SIAC.
Mississippi Valley State: Sam Washington
When talking about teams needing stability, Mississippi Valley State is at the top of that list. This will be the Delta Devils’ third head coach since 2022 after moving on from Kendrick Wade.
While it may not be the most realistic option, Mississippi Valley State should consider hiring Sam Washington, an alumnus and former player, as its next head coach.
Washington was last seen in 2022, bringing North Carolina A&T within one game of winning the Big South conference title.
The MVSU alum helped lead North Carolina A&T to five conference championships and four Celebration Bowl wins in his 11-year tenure as a defensive coordinator and head coach.
In addition, Washington served on the coaching staff of the last Mississippi Valley State team to finish a season with a winning record in 2006.
This would be the best possible move to restore some organization to the Delta Devils’ football program.
Norfolk State: Dr. Alvin Parker
Norfolk State moved on from Dawson Odums after a disappointing four-year tenure in which he finished with a 15-31 overall record.
Virginia Union head coach Dr. Alvin Parker is certainly the most qualified candidate to take over as head coach of the Spartans.
Coach Parker did a masterful job turning the Panthers into championship contenders. In his six years there, he led them to a 50-17 overall record, including back-to-back CIAA championships in the past two seasons.
This year, he led the Panthers on a historic run in the Division II playoffs, making it to the Regional Finals for the first time in school history.
Coach Parker has always had success coaching up offenses and could do the same with the Spartans, with talent already in place to turn things around.
This hire would be great for the development of running back duo Kevon King and X’Zavion Evans, as Virginia Union has thrived on its running game’s dominance under Dr. Parker.
Prairie View A&M: Tremaine Jackson
Despite winning a share of the division title in two of his three seasons at Prairie View A&M, head coach Bubba McDowell was not retained by the team.
Needing some stability within the team, Valdosta State head coach and former HBCU assistant Tremaine Jackson may be the best option.
Jackson is a Texas Southern alum who also served as an assistant coach for the team from 2008-2011. There, he helped lead the team to its first-ever outright SWAC championship (though it has since been vacated).
Along with Texas Southern, the Valdosta State head coach has nine years of coaching experience in the state with Texas A&M-Kingsville, Trinity Valley Community College, Abilene Christian, and Texas State.
Jackson currently has Valdosta State in the National Semifinals of the Division II playoffs, holding a perfect 11-0 record.
Coach Jackson is expected to gain a lot of traction from teams needing a head coach, and Prairie View A&M should definitely be one of them.
Shaw: Antone’ Sewell
Shaw rounds out the list of teams searching for a head coach, having replaced Adrian Jones after a nine-year tenure with the team.
Shaw has toed the line of being a contender for many years but has not found the recipe to getting over the hump against the CIAA’s elite.
Who better to mold the Bears into a championship team than former CIAA championship coordinator Antone’ Sewell?
As defensive coordinator of his alma mater, Bowie State, Coach Sewell played a big role in the team becoming a perennial championship contender.
In his final season as DC in 2021, he anchored a defense that produced 28 takeaways and allowed just 14.7 points per game.
That success carried over to Morgan State, boasting a defense that led the MEAC in points allowed and takeaways in 2023.
