The Illinois Fighting Illini have yet to kick off the 2015 season, but they’ve already decided it was time for a change.

Illinois athletic director Mike Thomas announced on Friday that head coach Tim Beckman had been fired due to an internal investigation. It was alleged that Beckman pressured several players to play while injured and mistreated players who left the team that hoped to remain on scholarship at the university. Because of the nature of his dismissal, Beckman will not receive the $3.1 million left on his contract.

Beckman was more than likely a sitting duck even without the investigation. Illinois has struggled in his three years as head coach, leaving him with a 12-25 record at the school. His final game as the Fighting Illini head coach saw the team take a 35-18 loss to Louisiana Tech in the Heart of Dallas Bowl. The inexcusable handling of players simply sped up his departure from the team.

Where does Illinois go from here? Here are five candidates that I believe Thomas should consider.

Jeff Brohm, Western Kentucky HC – The former Louisville quarterback served as the Illinois quarterbacks coach in 2010 and 2011 while Ron Zook led the team, which gives him some familiarity with the program. Brohm took over the Hilltoppers’ program last season following Bobby Petrino’s return to Louisville and produced a 8-5 record. Western Kentucky also pulled off one of the biggest upsets of the season, defeating then-No. 19 Marshall 67-66 to end the regular season.

At 44 years old, Brohm is still raw as a head coach. If Western Kentucky can match last year’s numbers, he should be in the running for this job.

P.J. Fleck, Western Michigan HC – Fleck seems to be the favorite among those who took to Twitter when the news broke. Fleck was the youngest head coach in the country when the 31-year-old took over at Western Michigan after the 2012 campaign. The 2013 season was a rough one, but the Broncos responded last year with an 8-5 season that included wins over rivals Eastern Michigan and Central Michigan. Like Brohm, Fleck can improve his chances at this job if his team remains competitive this season.

Rod Carey, Northern Illinois HC – Northern Illinois is making a push for Miami Ohio’s nickname “The Cradle of Coaches.” First, there was Jerry Kill, who replaced longtime Huskies head coach Joe Novak and had success before leaving for Minnesota. Kill’s replacement was Dave Doeren, who won the Mid-American Conference championship in consecutive years before bolting for N.C. State.

Carey may be the next Northern Illinois head coach to cash in his chips. A former center at Indiana, Carey had the tough task of coaching the Huskies in the 2012 Orange Bowl but did a solid job in the team’s 31-10 loss to No. 13 Florida State. Carey has matched Doeren’s success in his two seasons, as the team has won 23 games in that time and won the MAC last season with a 34-point win over Bowling Green. His familiarity with recruiting and winning in the state makes him a perfect candidate for the job.

Bill Cubit, Illinois interim HC – Cubit finds himself in a unique situation. As the interim head coach, he has the chance to try out for the season and show Thomas and the fans if he can handle the duties of Fighting Illini head coach. The 61-year-old has plenty of head-coaching experience; he spent eight seasons at Western Michigan and led the Broncos to four winning seasons in that time. The end of his time in Kalamazoo wasn’t ideal, but he has a fighting chance of leading Illinois to a decent season.

Greg Schiano, former Buccaneers HC – It’s a matter of when–not if–Schiano comes back to coaching. While his time in Tampa Bay was controversial, he has proven himself as a program builder in the past. He took over at lowly Rutgers in 2001 and turned them into annual Big East contenders while leading the team to six bowl games and six winning seasons. He stands as my darkhorse candidate because of his departure from the Bucs and the public eye, but Illinois could do much worse than him.