LITTLE ROCK (KATV) — The search is officially underway for a new head coach at the University of Arkansas.

While there is plenty of time to go before legitimate coaching options surface, it’s still worth taking a look at potential candidates to replace former head coach Sam Pittman at Arkansas.

KATV has five candidates who could be under consideration for the opening in Fayetteville.

Bobby Petrino, Arkansas interim head coach

Let’s get some things straight about Bobby Petrino.

1. While it may not necessarily be a “bad” hire, it would be the laziest.

Arkansas is fortunate at this very time. The Hogs have an interim head coach who has more than enough head coaching experience to lead the Razorbacks in the right direction. However, hiring Petrino full-time would be the laziest thing the university could do. It’s effortless to hire a head coach from within; it takes effort to go out and conduct a nationwide search, which is what Arkansas Athletic Director Hunter Yurachek said he will do.

2. Don’t expect a repeat of his last tenure.

College football is a lot different now than it was 14 years ago. In the age of conference realignment and NIL, Arkansas has seemingly fallen behind its conference competitors, including the new additions of Texas and Oklahoma. What Petrino built during his time at Arkansas was special, but it would be extremely difficult to replicate today, as the landscape is not the same.

None of that is to say Petrino can’t find success at Arkansas his second time around. But, as it stands now, there are more intriguing candidates, and Hog fans should temper their expectations should Petrino be named as the new head coach.

Rhett Lashlee, SMU head coach

In all honesty, there may not be a better candidate for the Arkansas job than SMU head coach Rhett Lashlee. Lashlee is a Springdale, Ark., native who has been one of the brightest offensive minds in college football since he was handed a headset and playsheet in 2011.

In the first 12-team College Football Playoff, Lashlee led the SMU Mustangs to their first College Football Playoff appearance. Lashlee revived the SMU football program, and he could be exactly what Arkansas needs to get out of the bottom of the SEC.

Glenn Schumann, Georgia defensive coordinator

Schumann is undoubtedly one of the youngest and brightest minds in college football. Schumann worked his way up from a student assistant at Alabama to a defensive guru at the University of Georgia. Schumann is an expert linebacker coach and playcaller who has yet to take a head coaching job.

If you’re Arkansas, you shouldn’t gamble on another first-time head coach. But, there is an exception: Glenn Schumann. Schumann has all the makings of a future star head coach, given his Alabama and Georgia coaching pedigree. Arkansas would be a good job to keep Schumann in the SEC and build his name as an SEC head coach.

Gus Malzahn, Florida State offensive coordinator

Malzahn could be compared closely to Petrino. Both are great coaches of yesteryear, but still have some gas left in the tank. Malazhn just wrapped up a four-year stint at UCF before landing in Tallahassee as Florida State’s offensive coordinator.

Malzahn’s history in Arkansas goes back to when he was a player for the Hogs in 1984. Malzahn became a Northwest Arkansas coaching legend before he landed the head coaching gig at Auburn. Malzahn, like Petrino, is on the older side, but can still coach the heck out of an offense. Malzahn would be an easy call given his history in the state. It also couldn’t hurt to kick the tires and see if there is interest in returning to the SEC.

Jon Gruden, Former NFL head coach

This name is the most off-the-wall, “Might not happen, but could be a possibility,” choice there is. Gruden is debatably one of the most influential and controversial figures in today’s game. Despite Gruden’s checkered past, he’s slowly made his way back into the spotlight as a personality with Barstool Sports.

There are two major caveats to this candidate. While he may have a (debatably) proven pedigree in the NFL as a head coach, Gruden has never held a head coaching position in college, or a coordinator position for that matter. It’s also been 34 years since he coached at the collegiate level, when he was a wide receiver coach for the University of Pittsburgh.

NFL Hall of Fame coach Bill Belichick became the head coach at the University of North Carolina, and it became fairly evident early on that even the best of NFL coaches have a learning curve in college athletics. North Carolina is 2-2 on the year, with two ugly losses to TCU and UCF.

Gruden may be an intriguing name, but it’s also one to be taken with a grain of salt, as it doesn’t exactly make sense for the University and Gruden himself. Still, stranger things have happened in college athletics.

There is a good balance of old and young coaches in this list, and there are endless ways Arkansas can pursue its next head coach.

Do you think Arkansas would be better suited to be led by a veteran coach or a first-timer?