My unprofessional opinion ... that will inevitably be wrong. But I'm going to say the stars are aligning for the next coach to be Dan Mullen. My thoughts below ...
Tier 1 (in order)
1) Dan Mullen. He's my first call, and I make him tell me no. He put Miss St on the map for an extended period of time. Nobody has won at the same level there since. Same thing with Florida ... he's won more than anyone there in the last 2 decades not named Urban. I think the personality fit was terrible with Florida, their fans & expectations. His family hated it too per reports. I think he would be a slam dunk with ours. I'd LOVE to see him bring in Corey Dennis as OC/QB coach. Both come from the Urban Meyer tree. Corey would immediately help with QB development & QB recruiting ... 2 things vital to Dan's success (was the only reason he did so poorly his last year at FL in my opinion). Plus he already lives in GA and his family likes it here from my understanding. He literally checks every realistic box I have. Just make it happen!
Tier 2
2a) Jamey Chadwell. Pretty obvious why. He's built a routinely strong program at Coastal Carolina (as well as other stops along the way) and I love his offense.
2b)Gus Malzahn. For the same exact reasons I want Dan, I would want Gus. I just want Dan a lot more ... probably because I am of the belief Mullen got the short end in FL, and he's one of the few blue chip coaches out there.
Tier 3
3) Bill O'Brien. Not the most exciting hire, but what he did with Penn State was nothing short of outstanding. He'd steady the program, likely leave in a few years when he did, and then we'd be a much more attractive option to potential coaches. I think there is a disconnect between Alabama's fans and his results too. Is he the best OC? No, but he's a great coach. I'd like to see him bring in a guy like Brennan Marion to be his OC (check out the Go Go offense created by Brennan ... it's fun). I think BOB could implement some components of that offense, and we'd be better for it.
4) Everyone else. The Dell McGee's, Coach Prime's, Garrett Riley's, etc of the world. As long as they are coming with experience either at the P5 level showing success as a coordinator OR the ability to develop a lower tier program, I will be cautiously optimistic of the hire. The more you hang your hat on recruiting without the benefit of showing success - the more the scale tips to cautious than optimistic. Thanks Geoff.
Also worth a note ... Dan Mullen, Gus Malzahn and Bill O'Brien have all crossed paths with the new AD. He's seen them all up close so he'd have the inside scoop/confidence from that experience if he pulls the trigger on any of them.