Chris Miltenberg’s surprising departure from Stanford for UNC has left vacant one of the most prestigious jobs in all of NCAA track and field and cross country. Whomever assumes the role as the next Cardinal boss will likely come equipped with a history of success at the top of the college sport, either as a head coach with championship experience or an up-and-coming assistant. While it’s unclear as of now if Stanford will again hire a distance-first coach á la Milt, the school's strong history in cross country suggests that a similar selection will be made this time around.

Below are some prominent NCAA coaches who might be considered for the job, in no particular order.

Joe Franklin, New Mexico Head Coach

Franklin has developed the Lobos into one of the premier women’s distance programs in the country, winning cross country national titles in 2015 and 2017. The consistency Franklin has instilled in Albuquerque is also staggering: the Lobo women have finished top-10 at the cross country championships for nine straight seasons.

New Mexico men’s roster was hit hard last summer by budgetary cuts, but Franklin has had success on that side as well. Most recently, Josh Kerr won two NCAA titles and set the 1,500m collegiate record in 2018.

Mike Smith, Northern Arizona Director of T&F/XC

Another coaching star in his 30s with Georgetown roots, Northern Arizona’s Mike Smith checks a lot of the same boxes as Miltenberg. Smith took the reins from Eric Heins after the NAU men won their first cross country title in 2016, and he’s proceeded to build the Lumberjacks into a powerhouse who have won three straight championships.

Maurica and Andy Powell, Washington Director of T&F/XC/Head Coach

The Powells just took over at Washington last summer, but the Stanford alums' Palo Alto connection is too strong to ignore. Both Maurica, the current Washington director of track and field and cross country, and Andy, the head coach, won multiple cross country national titles while leading Oregon’s women and men, respectively. They helped the Ducks win many more national titles on the track as well in their 13 years in Eugene. The Powells’ were a driving force in returning Oregon’s distance teams to annual national contention.

Their ability to quickly assemble a viable contender was evident this past fall at NCAA XC as the Washington women went from 21st in 2017 to ninth in Madison, while the men’s leap was even more dramatic, improving from 22nd to sixth in that span. The pair may have no interest in leaving Seattle after just arriving on campus, but you can be sure that they are generating strong interest on The Farm.

Diljeet Taylor, BYU Associate Head Coach

Taylor coaches a women’s program at BYU that excelled in cross country and on the track in 2018-2019. The Cougars recorded their best NCAA XC finish since 2003 by placing seventh in Madison, led by a breakout season from junior Erica Birk. Anchored by Birk, BYU notched a runner-up NCAA DMR finish four months later.

Taylor has Bay Area ties that make her one to watch here. Before coming to BYU in 2016, she was the director of track and field and cross country at Cal State Stanislaus, her alma mater, from 2013 to 2016.

Helen Lehman-Winters, Oregon Associate Head Coach

Speaking of Bay Area ties, current Oregon women’s associate head coach Helen Lehman-Winters was hired by the Ducks last year after 15 years as the head coach at San Francisco. In her final two seasons at USF, Lehman-Winters led the women’s team to a sixth and second place NCAA XC finish in 2016 and 2017, respectively.

In her first season in Eugene, Lehman-Winters was tremendously successful, as she helped the Duck women finish top five in cross country, indoor and outdoor track, including third place in cross country and indoor. Like the Powells, she may be hesitant to leave a job after just one season, but her long history in California suggests she will get a look: not only did Lehman-Winters coach at USF for 15 years, but she also worked at UCLA and competed at UC Santa Barbara before graduating from Cal.

Corey Ihmels, Boise State Head Coach

The Boise State head coach has built the Broncos’ program from the ground up, taking a women’s team that had never qualified for NCAA XC before his arrival in 2013 to four top-15 finishes in the last five years, including back-to-back sixth place finishes. The program has produced individual national champions in his tenure as well, most recently with Allie Ostrander winning three straight NCAA steeple titles.

Ihmels coached at Iowa State before taking over at Boise, where he oversaw the careers of NCAA champions Lisa Koll and Betsy Saina. 

Other names to watch…

Mick Byrne, Wisconsin Director of T&F/XC

Dave Smith, Oklahoma State Director of T&F/XC

Ryan Vanhoy, Ole Miss Associate Head Coach