Stephen F. Austin's head coach, Colby Carthel, values loyalty, which must’ve made the decision to agree to part ways with offensive coordinator Matt Storm, likely one of the most challenging decisions of his coaching career. Storm is the only person to serve as offensive coordinator since Carthel began his head coaching career at Texas A&M-Commerce.

The duo teamed up to win an NCAA Division II national title with the Lions in 2017. Success followed them to SFA, and the Lumberjacks claimed the Western Atheltic Conference title in 2022.

Being a loyal person, Carthel has many candidates inside his coaching staff and outside the program to become ‘Jacks next offensive coordinator. The following list looks at some candidates that could be considered.

In-house candidates

Jared May, SFA quarterbacks coach

Storm and Carthel were on the staff together at West Texas A&M before joining forces in Commerce. If Carthel wants to fill the vacancy in-house, then May and Bleil are outstanding options. May has also been on the same staff with Carthel since 2012 in Canyon and served as co-offensive coordinator with Storm at Texas A&M-Commerce.

Tim Bleil, SFA tight ends coach and recruiting coordinator

Bleil is in his second stint under Carthel after serving as the running backs coach at Texas A&M-Commerce. He spent one season in Lamar as tight ends coach before arriving to coach the same position at SFA in 2020. 

Candidates who are current head coaches

Stephen Lee, Cisco

Carthel is familiar with one of Texas's best offensive football minds. Before leading the Wranglers to a 4-4 record in his first season as head coach, Lee orchestrated some of the best offenses ever witnessed at West Texas A&M and Mary Hardin-Baylor. UMHB won two NCAA Division III national titles under his guidance.

Barry Derickson, Sul Ross State

Derickson would be an outside-the-box hire for Carthel. Derickson turned the Lobos around in his first season as head coach while doubling SRSU’s points per game. The eight wins are the most in two seasons for the Lobos since the 2016-2017 campaigns. 

Current assistants at other schools

Adam Austin, Tarleton assistant football coach and pass game coordinator

One of the brightest young offensive minds in Texas currently resides in Stephenville. Austin was the offensive coordinator during six of the best years in Midwestern State football history. He was a finalist for NCAA Division II Coordinator of the Year in 2017.

Bill Best, Colorado State offensive line coach

Best has prior connections with Carthel (West Texas A&M in 2011) and SFA after spending four years as run game coordinator and offensive line coach from 2014-2017. Best is known for his ability to coach the offensive line. However, he has two years of experience coaching tight ends coach at Rice.

Brayle Brown, Colorado State-Pueblo co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach

Want a young offensive mind and a coach on the rise? I give you Brown, who has spent the last two years as offensive coordinator at Colorado State-Pueblo. He has ties to Texas, having begun his coaching career at MSU, and has been an offensive coordinator for five of his seven years in coaching.

Josh Miller, Purdue offensive analyst

Seeing many of these names tied to the legendary Bill Maskill should be no surprise. Miller was the Mustangs' offensive coordinator in 2022 before spending the 2023 campaign with Purdue. Miller has a wealth of coaching in multiple positions, including twice as a linebacker coach.