Baylor’s Matt Rhule is headed to the NFL after agreeing to become the Carolina Panthers’ next head coach. That leaves the Bears searching for a replacement.

Here are eight possible candidates to replace Matt Rhule as Baylor’s head coach:

Joey McGuire, Baylor associate head coach

He built a high school power at Cedar Hill and was part of Rhule’s original staff at Baylor. Although he’s never been a college head coach, he would be a popular choice among Texas high school coaches and current players.

Blake Anderson, Arkansas State head coach

A former Baylor player for two seasons, Anderson has compiled a 47-30 record at Arkansas State, taking the Red Wolves to bowls in all six seasons. He lost his wife, Wendy, in August after a battle with breast cancer.

Josh Heupel, UCF head coach

The former Oklahoma quarterback has gone 22-4 since taking over for Scott Frost. He has also has ties with Baylor AD Mack Rhoades from their time together at Missouri.

Willie Fritz, Tulane head coach

Fritz has turned around Tulane with consecutive bowl wins. He has Texas ties from a four-year stint at Sam Houston State, where he went 40-15 from 2010-2013.

Dave Clawson, Wake Forest coach

Clawson has posted four straight winning seasons at Wake Forest, a private school competing in a power conference – just like Baylor. No significant Texas ties, though.

Joe Brady, LSU passing game coordinator

He’s only 30 and has only been at LSU for one season. But he transformed the offense and quarterback Joe Burrow. If you believe he’s the next big thing – and some people do – why not?

Luke Fickell, Cincinnati

The former interim coach at Ohio State has put together back-to-back 11-win seasons in Cincinnati and believes in defense.

Bryan Harsin, Boise State head coach

Harsin, the one-time Texas co-offensive coordinator late in the Mack Brown era, has done a solid job at his alma mater. Since replacing Chris Petersen, he’s gone 64-17 in six seasons. Still only 43.

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