Cal inexplicably fired head football coach Sonny Dykes on Sunday. While the firing was late, there are several quality coaches available to fill the opening.

1. Chip Kelly, Free Agent: Of course Chip Kelly would be at the top of this list. Why wouldn’t he be? He’s a proven winner at the collegiate level, runs the spread offense and is a terrific recruiter. Kelly also has ties to high school coaches in Northern California from his time at Oregon. Kelly would be a no-brainer but I don’t think he wants the job.

2. Mark Helfrich, Free Agent: Helfrich is a good coach. One bad season does not mean he doesn’t deserve a second chance. He knows the conference, knows how to recruit in the conference and he runs a version of Kelly’s spread offense. He would be a solid hire.

3. Jake Spavital, Interim Head Coach, Cal: Spavital is currently the interim head coach at Cal. The 31 year old is rising star in the profession with stops at Texas A&M and West Virginia on his resume. Spavital knows the spread offense and the players know him. He is a solid recruiter who has a track record of landing quality skill players. Spavital would inject life into the program while maintaining continuity.

4. Tee Martin, Offensive Coordinator, USC: The former Tennessee quarterback will be a good head coach someday. I think Martin would be a great fit here. He is a terrific recruiter, has strong ties with high school coaches in California and he coordinated one of the best offenses in the country in 2016 at USC. I’m sure Cal would be interested in Martin but I’m not sure he would want the job.

5. Justin Wilcox. Defensive Coordinator, Wisconsin: Wilcox salvaged his coaching career by coordinating a top ten defense at Wisconsin this past season. Having coached at Washington and USC, Wilcox knows the PAC-12 well and he has strong west coast ties which would help him in recruiting. There is some question as to whether or not Wilcox would want it but his name has emerged in connection with the opening.