After 18 years with Rick Stockstill at the helm of its program, Middle Tennessee State University is poised to move in a new direction.
Sources tell FootballScoop that MTSU and athletics director Chris Massaro are ready to make a change after the Blue Raiders just posted their third losing season in the last five years.
MTSU fell 23-20 at Sam Houston State, a program transitioning from FCS to FBS, Saturday in its season-finale.
The Blue Raiders closed the year just 4-8, and they've lost six or more games in six of the past seven years -- though Stockstill has made them consistently competitive with 10 bowl berths in his 18 seasons.
MTSU lost five games this season by a touchdown or less; it also beat just three FBS foes and was blown out by rival Western Kentucky.
Attendance also has dropped for the Blue Raiders, who averaged just more than 13,200 fans this season in 31,000-seat Floyd Stadium. MTSU has announced crowds of fewer than 10,000 in four of its last eight home games.
Still, Stockstill has been a strong ambassador for the school located in the center of the Volunteer State and within one of the nation's fastest-growing population regions.
It was Stockstill who led MTSU to its first-ever FBS bowl game in 2006; he also helped the Blue Raiders finish first or second in their conference or within their conference division eight different times.
Stockstill in 2022 was signed to a contract extension that ran through to 2029, with a buyout of some $5 million.
MTSU has been both a SunBelt and Conference-USA member during Stockstill's tenure.
But the Blue Raiders have noticeably dipped in C-USA since 2019, with three fifth-place and two fourth-place conference finishes within that time.
With a recruiting radius that stretches comfortably from Nashville to Birmingham to Atlanta, the MTSU job is expected to draw significant interest. A couple of early names sources indicated to FootballScoop to watch are Tennessee running backs coach Jerry Mack and FIU deputy head coach Josh Eargle.
Mack is a Tennessee native, growing up in Memphis, and already has been a successful head coach with three MEAC titles at North Carolina Central. The Arkansas State grad has helped shape a Vols backfield that has been among the best in the SEC the past two seasons, and Mack also has been a dynamic recruiting force for the Vols.
Eargle also has deep Tennessee ties. A former offensive coordinator at Austin Peay, Eargle also served on staff at the University of Memphis. He's been on staff at Kansas, LSU and Southern Miss, among other stops.
Anthony Jones, who starred at UT-Chattanooga and has coached in the Memphis prep ranks as well as at the University of Memphis, is another potential candidate. Jones has flourished at TCU, where he's the running game coordinator and helped the Horned Frogs advance to the College Football Playoff championship a year ago.