The coaching carousel took another wild turn this week when Brian Kelly decided to leave Notre Dame to take the LSU job.

Kelly had been in South Bend since 2010, leading the Fighting Irish to two College Football Playoff appearances.

At LSU, Kelly will have the talent to go toe-to-toe with programs like Alabama, Clemson, and Georgia. It's a move that makes sense if Kelly's dream is to win a national championship.

Kelly's decision to leave Notre Dame will create yet another ripple effect in college football. The Notre Dame job is now open. And it's a marquee job that will attract some popular names.

There have been some rumblings that current Notre Dame defensive coordinator Marcus Freeman could be promoted to head coach. Freeman is a former Ohio State linebacker who joined Kelly's staff this past winter after serving on Luke Fickell's staff at Cincinnati for four seasons. But it's unclear if Notre Dame wants to go with a first-time head coach to replace Kelly.

Speaking of Fickell, he should be Notre Dame's top target. Fickell has done a tremendous job at Cincinnati and this is exactly the type of job he's been waiting for while leading the Bearcats to unprecedented success. Kelly was the head coach at Cincinnati before he took over at Notre Dame, so there would be some symmetry in the hire.

The one problem with Fickell is that he's unlikely to entertain any offers until after the College Football Playoff (assuming the Bearcats make the playoff). Notre Dame may not want to wait that long to make a hire. And Fickell could still hold out for the Ohio State job, too (Fickell is a former Ohio State player who coached for the Buckeyes from 2002-2016).

The next name on the list would likely be Iowa State head coach Matt Campbell, an Ohio native who has spent his entire coaching career in the midwest.

Campbell's done well at Iowa State, but he's essentially hit his ceiling with the Cyclones. The Notre Dame job is one of the few jobs that would likely entice Campbell to leave Ames.

And this is where the fallout from Kelly leaving Notre Dame could impact the Tennessee Vols.

If Campbell leaves the Cyclones, I would expect Vols offensive coordinator Alex Golesh to get a look at Iowa State.

Golesh worked alongside Campbell at Toledo in 2010 and 2011. He was later hired by Campbell to serve as Iowa State's tight ends coach/recruiting coordinator for four seasons. Golesh left Iowa State after 2019 for an offensive coordinator role with Josh Heupel at UCF in 2020.

If Campbell leaves for Notre Dame, Golesh would make sense at Iowa State. He'd bring a fresh approach to the program, while also providing some much-needed continuity.

I don't think Golesh would be the Cyclones' top target, but I definitely think he'd be on their hot board. And ultimately, Golesh wants a chance to lead a Power-5 program. There's no way he could turn down that job.

If Golesh were to leave, I would bet on Heupel promoting UT quarterbacks coach Joey Halzle to offensive coordinator and then hiring a new tight ends coach (perhaps Joe Osovet, a former UT assistant under Jeremy Pruitt who interviewed with Heupel at UCF last year).

Tim Banks an option at Cincinnati?

It's worth noting that Vols defensive coordinator Tim Banks, who is reportedly a candidate to take over for David Cutcliffe at Duke, could be an option at Cincinnati if Luke Fickell leaves for Notre Dame.

Banks coached at Cincinnati as an assistant under Butch Jones from 2010-2011. If he's getting a look at Duke, I imagine he'd get a look at Cincinnati, too.

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