{"id":119113,"date":"2024-10-14T08:53:27","date_gmt":"2024-10-14T15:53:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/herosports.com\/?p=119113"},"modified":"2024-10-14T08:53:31","modified_gmt":"2024-10-14T15:53:31","slug":"fbs-mike-neu-hot-seat-candidates-ball-state-football-head-coach-replacement-cpcp","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/herosports.com\/fbs-mike-neu-hot-seat-candidates-ball-state-football-head-coach-replacement-cpcp\/","title":{"rendered":"Mike Neu Hot Seat: 5 Candidates For Ball State Football\u2019s Head Coach Replacement"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Mike Neu\u2019s reputation at Ball State was extremely high just a few years ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Cardinals head coach led the program, which he used to play quarterback for and was the MAC Offensive Player of the Year in 1993, to a MAC<\/a> Championship in 2020. Ball State was even ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 and won the Arizona Bowl that year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then Ball State went 6-6 during the regular season in 2021 and lost in the Camellia Bowl. And steadily since then, the Cardinals have only been worse. They went 5-7 in 2022 before going 4-8 a season ago. They\u2019ve started this year 2-4 with their only wins being against FCS Missouri State and Kent State.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Neu\u2019s previous eight years as Ball State\u2019s head coach, the Cardinals have had just one season above .500, and that doesn\u2019t appear to be changing after this season. If things don\u2019t improve quickly, some have wondered if Ball State might look for a new head coach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If the team ends up looking to replace Neu, here are some coaches the Cardinals might consider.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Notre Dame Offensive Coordinator Mike Denbrock<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Denbrock would make a ton of sense for Ball State if he were interested.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Denbrock has coached in the area for years. He\u2019s worked with offensive linemen, tight ends, and wide receivers over the years at Notre Dame, but he\u2019s also coached at a variety of other schools as well. He was LSU\u2019s OC and tight ends coach before this from 2022-23, and was an offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Cincinnati from 2017-21.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Denbrock hasn\u2019t been a head coach at the collegiate level, but he has been an associate head coach, including at Notre Dame from 2015-16 and at Indiana State in 2009.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Denbrock\u2019s name has come up plenty of times when it comes to college football hot seats<\/a> and potential head coaching hires this season. If he were open to taking a G5 head coaching job, Ball State would be a good fit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Idaho Head Coach Jason Eck<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Eck is one of the top head coaches in the FCS, and he already has experience at Ball State.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Eck is in his third season as Idaho\u2019s head coach. The Vandals went 7-4 during the regular season in 2022, earning a trip to the postseason for the first time since 2016, and were 9-4 last year as they reached the FCS quarterfinals. Idaho is one of the top teams in the Big Sky and FCS again in 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before that, he was the offensive coordinator at South Dakota State from 2019-21 and the team\u2019s offensive line coach from 2016-19. Going back to 2000, he\u2019s also been an assistant at Montana State, Minnesota State-Mankato, Western Illinois, Hampton, Ball State, Winona State, Colorado, and Wisconsin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Eck has proven he can take a program to the next level and is the exact type of coach Ball State would want.<\/p>\n\n\n

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