Patterson, Diaz, and Lake are all intriguing names, but you never know for sure if a former head coach will want to turn around and take an assistant job after getting fired. One thing's for sure, I want a proven commodity. I don't want to just hire a position coach and hope for the best.
Here are a few names off the top of my head I would take a look at:
1. Jon Heacock at Iowa State
2. Mike Tressel at Cincinnati
3. David Reeves at UAB
4. Kurt Mattix at San Diego State
5. Dale Jones at App State
Those are just some names off the top of my head. I'll have to do some more in depth research in the coming weeks.