Georgia hasn’t even played its first game in the 2020 season and it’s already having some of its assistants mentioned as future head-coaching candidates for an opening.

That’s largely due to the fact the Southern Miss head coach Jay Hopson stepped down following the Golden Eagles’ first game of the 2020 season, a loss to South Alabama. Even in a year where financial concerns might make it a less active coaching carousel, coaching rumors are still going to pop up throughout the season.

With Southern Miss, a Conference USA school, now open, a handful of names have been thrown out there as possible future head coaches for the program, including two at Georgia.

The first candidate is offensive coordinator Todd Monken. Stadium’s Brett McMurphy mentioned Monken as a candidate, largely due to the past success he had at the school. Monken served as the head coach at the school from 2013-15, with the Golden Eagles winning 9 games in 2015. Hopson actually replaced Monken starting in the 2016 season.

Monken left the job to become the offensive coordinator for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Monken made his return to the college game this offseason, as he is now in his first season as the Bulldogs’ offensive coordinator.

Related: Georgia OC Todd Monken shares thoughts on UGA skill players, including a ‘relative surprise’

Another name is also in his first year at Georgia, as The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman mentioned that Matt Luke would be a logical candidate for the job. Luke spent the past three seasons as the head coach at Ole Miss. He is also from the state as he hails from Gulfport, Miss. Luke took over as the offensive line coach for Georgia after Sam Pittman departed for the Arkansas head coaching position.

In each of the past two seasons, Georgia has had an assistant coach hired away to be a head coach elsewhere, with Pittman leaving for Arkansas in 2019 and Mel Tucker, Georgia’s former defensive coordinator, took the Colorado job in 2018.

In addition to Luke and Monken, defensive coordinator Dan Lanning figures to be an attractive head coaching candidate come the offseason. He is now entering his second season in the role and the Bulldogs figure to have one of the top units in the country and is well-regarded as a recruiter.

Related: Rising coaching star Dan Lanning becomes Georgia football’s highest paid assistant

The Bulldogs and their new-look offense will get a chance to show their improvements on Sept. 26, when they open the 2020 season against Pittman and Arkansas.

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