It's now under 85 days to kickoff of the 2013 season, so here's the first installment of my summer reading program to help you all to get ready for the upcoming season. We still miss you, Alan Malamud.
It's time to take a ride on the ol' Coaching Carousel!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
31 new head coaches will roam the sidelines during the 2013 season. Here's a snapshot of all the hires.
Arkansas
OUT: John L. Smith/ IN: Bret Bielema
The departure of John L. Smith signals the end to nightmare that was the Bob Petrino era in Fayetteville. The move of Bielema from Wisconsin to Arkansas is a real head scratcher. He had just led Wisconsin to their third straight Rose Bowl and had a stranglehold on the Big Ten. Bielema left all that behind in the blink of an eye for the job with the Razorbacks. He never even informed AD Barry Alvarez that he was even thinking of leaving. He just told Alvarez he was leaving after accepting the job offer from Arkansas. That incredible breach of coaching etiquette basically burned all Bielema's bridges at Wisconsin, so he better succeed with the Razorbacks.
Arkansas State
OUT: Gus Malzahn/ IN: Bryan Harsin
If you think the words "Arkansas State" and "High Expectations" don't belong in the same sentence, think again. The Red Wolves are coming off back-to-back 10-win seasons that were capped with a pair of Sun Belt titles and bowl appearances. Bryan Harsin comes to ASU after spending the last two seasons as the OC at Texas, but the bulk of his experience comes from Boise State. He spent 10 years in the Bronco program and served the last five seasons as the OC for HC Chris Petersen.
Auburn Tigers
OUT: Gene Chizik/ IN: Gus Malzahn
Malzahn is the winner of the reality show, Survivor: Coaches Island. After delivering Mitch Mustain and several other teammates to Arkansas from Springdale High in exchange for the OC job there in 2005, he's managed to work his way from Arkansas to Temple to Tulsa to Auburn to Arkansas State and now back to Auburn leaving a lot of garbage behind in his wake. He's never been anywhere though where he hasn't produced good results. Auburn fans hope they get the good from Malzahn without the garbage.
Boston College
OUT: Frank Spaziani/ IN: Steve Addazio
Frank Spaziani went 22-29 at BC with the team's win total dropping in each of his four seasons at the helm. Last year's 2-10 finish was the worst for any BC team since the Eagles went 0-11 in 1978. Steve Addazio comes into the job after being the HC at Temple for past two seasons. However, the brightest part of his coaching resume is that he was on Florida staff from 2005-2010 where he worked his way up form OL coach to the OC.
California
OUT: Jeff Tedford/ IN: Sonny Dykes
Jeff Tedford won more games than any other head coach in Golden Bear history. He was also fired after his squad went 3-9 last season. In his stead comes Sonny Dykes from Louisiana Tech. Dykes led the Bulldogs to a 22-15 record over his three seasons there. His 2012 team went 9-3 while averaging 51.5 points and 577.9 yards of offense per game. It's clear that Cal administration hired a coach that they believe can put an exciting brand of football in the newly renovated Memorial Stadium.
Cincinnati
OUT: Butch Jones/ IN: Tommy Tuberville
Cincinnati has become a stepping stone school in the FBS. Mark Dantonio left the school after the 2006 season for Michigan State. Next, Brian Kelly left after the 2009 season for Notre Dame and then Butch Jones left after last season to take the reins at Tennessee. Now, the Bearcats welcome Tommy Tuberville to campus. However, Tuberville is not a coach on the rise. He's a coach looking for redemption after his dismal three year run at Texas Tech produced just a 9-17 record in Big XII play and the infamous moment where he ripped the headphones off one of his assistants during a game. If Tuberville gets his act together he might stay awhile at UC.
Colorado
OUT: Jon Embree/ IN: Mike MacIntyre
The Colorado program hit rock bottom in the two seasons that Embree was at the helm in Boulder. The slide had been going on for years and accelerated under Embree's predecessor Dan Hawkins. The Buffaloes may have made one of the best hires of the year when they took Mike MacIntyre from San Jose State. He turned the Spartan program from a loser that was on the chopping block due to budget cuts into a 10-win squad that beat Bowling Green in the Military Bowl. He'll get way more support than he ever got at SJSU and is a coach on the rise.
Florida International
OUT: Mario Cristobal/ IN: Ron Turner
Cristobal took over a winless team in 2007 and in his fourth season the Panthers won the Sun Belt crown and beat Toledo 34-32 in the Little Caesar's Bowl. However, the Panthers limped to a 3-9 record in 2012 and he was fired. The big rumor was that he was going to be replaced by Butch Davis. Instead, Ron Turner got the nod. I wonder if he'll offer his brother Norv a job soon?
Georgia State
OUT: Bill Curry/ IN: Trent Miles
Bill Curry retired after taking this program from inception to the FBS in just four seasons. Trent Miles gets the job after bringing Indiana State back to respectability from 2008-2011. Before being at Indiana State, Miles had been all over the map as an assistant with gigs from Hawaii to Notre Dame and almost everywhere in between.
Idaho
OUT: Robb Akey/ IN: Paul Petrino
Akey had no ties to the Idaho program, but had been in the Palouse as an assistant to both Mike Price and Dill Doba at Washington State. Akey's squads went a miserable 20-70 in his six seasons in Moscow and he was fired eight games into the 2012 season. Paul Petrino comes in trying to shake off the stigma of being Bob Petrino's brother. However, the hire isn't as strange as it sounds as he does have ties to the area. Petrino was born in Butte, Montana and played QB for his father, Bob Petrino, Sr. at NAIA power Carroll College in Helena, Montana. This is his first HC job on any level.
Kent State
OUT: Darrell Hazell/ IN: Paul Haynes
Coaches who have good seasons in the MAC, usually find their way to the Big Ten. This is true of Darrell Hazell. After leading the Golden Flashes to an 11-3 record and a league title in 2012, he found his way to Purdue. Taking Hazell's place is Paul Haynes. His area of expertise is defense. He's been the DC at Ohio State and Arkansas. He's returning to his Alma Mater, where played from 1987-1991.
Kentucky
OUT: Joker Phillips/ IN: Mark Stoops
Phillips went just 13-24 in his stint with the Wildcats. That made him the 9th straight HC to leave the bluegrass state with a losing record. In fact. since Bear Bryant left UK after the 1953 season, Blanton Collier is the only HC to leave with a winning record at 41-36-3. Stoops takes the reins after serving as the DC at Florida State. He's the youngest of the Stoops brothers. He served on Mike Stoops' staff at Arizona from 2004-2009 as the DC/ defensive backs coach.
Louisiana Tech
OUT: Sonny Dykes/ IN: Skip Holtz
After Sonny Dykes took his light-up-the-scoreboard offense to CAL, Skip Holtz landed on his feet at LaTech after being fired by USF. The Bulldogs move into Conference USA this season and they hope Holtz can repeat the success he had when he led East Carolina to consecutive C-USA crowns in 2008-2009. Holtz will have his work cut out for him as he has only 6 returning starters, (2O/4D) back on both sides of the ball.
North Carolina State
OUT: Tom O'Brien/ IN: Dave Doeren
O'Brien left Boston College after the 2004 season for NC State. His teams never quite got over the hump and he was let go after compiling a less than stellar 40-35 record. Doeren survived the stigma of being a Grad Assistant at USC during the Hackett era to become a fine head coach. He went 23-4 in two seasons at Northern Illinois which culminated in the Huskies 2013 Orange Bowl appearance. The Orange Bowl bid was the first BCS bid in MAC history.
Nevada Wolfpack
OUT Chris Ault/ IN: Brian Polian
Ault, the father of the Pistol offense retires after a couple of stints as the HC at Nevada. His 233-109-1 record included taking the Wolfpack from the 1-AA ranks to being a successful FBS program. Trying to fill his shoes is Brian Polian. The Polian name may sound familiar to you, his dad is NFL super executive Bill Polian. The younger Polian has spent all of his coaching career in the college game and has the reputation of being a great recruiter. However, is he ready to be a HC at the FBS level? He's only served as a special teams coordiantor at his previous three jobs with Texas A&M, Stanford and Notre Dame. Only time will tell with this hire.
OUT: DeWayne Walker/ IN: Doug Martin
The New Mexico State job is a coach-killer. This year another victim was added to the list as DeWayne Walker got the axe after compiling a dismal 10-40 record over the last four seasons. The Aggies have replaced Walker with Doug Martin who spent last season as the OC and QB coach for Boston College. Martin is returning to NMSU after serving as the OC for the Aggies in 2011. If Martin can rebuild the program it will be a bigtime accomplishment as NMSU hasn't been to a bowl game since 1960. In the 1960 Sun Bowl, HC Warren Woodson's Aggies beat Utah State 20-13 to finish the season at 11-0, claiming both the Border Conference championship and a #19 ranking in the AP Poll.
Northern Illinois
OUT: Dave Doeren/ IN: Rod Carey
Carey only has to come in and be as good as Doeren who went 23-4 in two seasons at UNI. Carey was the OL coach for the Huskies and was promoted to HC the day after Doeren ran off to NC State and is already 0-1. The Huskies got smacked by Florida State 31-10 in the Orange Bowl. UNI fans hope Carey has an easier time with MAC opponents in 2013.
Oregon
OUT: Chip Kelly/ IN: Mark Helfrich
Chip Kelly traded the many horrid shades of Oregon green for the midnight green of the Philadelphia Eagles, leaving Eugene a step ahead of NCAA investigators. Mark Helfrich became the third straight Oregon OC to become HC of the Ducks. However, nobody is really interested in how Helfrich will do at UO. Everyone really wants to know if the NCAA sanctions the Ducks back to irrelevancy.
Purdue
OUT: Danny Hope/ IN: Darrell Hazell
Hope is both gone and back in West Lafayette. Danny Hope replaced Joe Tiller as HC back in 2009. He compiled only a 22-27 mark over four seasons in charge. He was fired at the end of the regular season before Purdue was smashed in the Heart of Dallas Bowl by Okie State, 58-14. (Note: The fact I typed that last sentence shows that there are way too many bowl games.) So, In comes Darrell Hazell from Kent State where he turned the team around from being a MAC doormat to an 11-win squad that in 2012 with an appearance in the GoDaddy.com Bowl. So the Purdue faithful have new hope that Hazell can work that same magic with the Gold And Black.
San Jose State
OUT: Mike MacIntyre/ IN: Ron Caragher
MacIntyre left some big shoes to fill in San Jose. All he did was take the left-for-dead program and build it into an 10-game winner in three seasons. Caragher comes in as a California guy who played QB at UCLA. Never heard of him? He never saw the field. He was a backup to Troy Aikman. He went on to serve on Buffet Bob Toledo's staff at UCLA as a grad assistant. Then after a three year stint as the running backs coach at Kentucky, he succeeded Jim Harbuagh as the HC at the University of San Diego from 2007-2012. Word in the coaching circles is that he is a coach on the rise with UCLA already eyeing him if Jim Mora fails in Westwood.
Southern Mississippi
OUT: Ellis Johnson/ IN: Todd Monken
Ellis Johnson was run out of town on a rail after one season at USM. Why? Maybe because the Golden Eagles finished the season at 0-12, making them the only FBS squad in the land to finish with a winless record. He may have also been fired because someone in the administration at USM realized that they hired a guy whose only real head coaching experience came from three seasons at The Citadel. Monken comes into the job after being the OC at Oklahoma State, which makes him the third HC in the last four at USM to come from the Cowboys. If Monken just goes .500 in his first year, USM fans will be impressed.
Syracuse
OUT: Doug Marrone/ IN: Scott Shafer
Marrone has shuffled off to Buffalo to run the Bills. The Orange didn't conduct a big search for their next HC by promoting from within DC Scott Shafer. Shafer has been around the college scene for awhile serving on several staffs in the Big Ten and the MAC as the DC, but his biggest claim to fame as an assistant is he was the DC for Jim Harbaugh in Stanford's famous upset of USC as 41 point underdogs in 2007. His defenses have always put up great numbers in regards to sacks and tackles for loss.
Tennessee
OUT: Derek Dooley/ IN: Butch Jones
Derek Dooley was shown the door at Tennessee even before the 2012 season ended. He went 15-21 in his almost three seasons in Knoxville. Butch Jones gets that job after several high profile coaches turned the Vols down flat. So, the Orange faithful are not to thrilled with Jones. However, it should be remembered that Jones did build Cincinnati back up after Brian Kelly left for ND following the 2009 season. He went 23-14 with the Bearcats with two bowl appearances.
Temple
OUT: Steve Addazio/ IN: Matt Ruhle
With Addazio taking the Boston College job, Mark Ruhle steps back into familiar territory. Ruhle served on Al Golden's Temple staff from 2006-2011 working his way up from DL coach to OC during that time. Getting the program to be as agood as when Golden was in charge won't be easy. His three returning offensive starters are all on the line, leaving him with a very green group of skill position players. However, Ruhle does know the lay of the land for recruiting kids to Temple. So things could be good for the Owls in the coming years.
Texas Tech
OUT: Tommy Tuberville/ IN: Kilff Kingsbury
With the Tommy The Headset Ripper gone, the Red Raiders have turned to their former star QB to lead them. Kinsgbury will only be 34 when the season starts, but he has already built a good resume by being the co-offensive coordinator at Houston for three years under Kevin Sumlin. He then went with Sumlin to Texas A&M for 2012 season where he was the OC for Johnny Manziel's Heisman run. Kinsgbury will bring the Air-Raid offense back to Tech. The university has already ordered extra bulbs for the scoreboard in anticipation.
University of South Florida
OUT: Skip Holtz/ IN: Willie Taggart
The son of Lou only went 16-21 in three seasons with Bulls, never finishing higher than fifth in the Big East. So, Sean Kugler now is the Bulls HC after two seasons at Western Kentucky. Kugler only went 16-20 at WKU, but it is his link to the Harbaughs that got him the job. He played for Jack at WKU, then coached for him at WKU. He also served on Jim's staff at Stanford from 2007-2009 where he coached running backs on The Farm.
UTEP
OUT: Mike Price/ IN: Sean Kugler
What if Mike Price hadn't been playing around with those strippers back in 2003? Would he be retiring form Alabama right now with Nick Saban running some other team somewhere? We'll never know the answer, but we do know Price is done. He's hung up his whistle and rode off into the west Texas sunset. In his place comes Sean Kugler. Kugler played for the Miners from 1984-88 and has been an assistant in the NFL for the 10 of the last 11 seasons for the Lions, Bills, and Steelers working with the offensive line. He also comes to UTEP cheap. His 280,000 thousand dollar annual salary is the second lowest in the FBS behind Louisiana-Monroe's Todd Berry who makes 250,000 a year.
Utah State
OUT: Gary Andersen/ IN: Matt Wells
Andersen took the open Wisconsin job after his 2012 team went 11-2 with a dismantling of Toledo, 41-15, in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl. Matt Wells was promoted from OC to HC in December. He's a former Aggie QB and has spent five years as the QB coach at Navy. This is his first HC gig.
Western Kentucky
OUT: Willie Taggart/ IN: Bob Petrino
Willie Taggart left the Hilltoppers to roam sidelines at South Florida. The new big cheese at WKU is that cheesy wannabe Hell's Angel himself, Bob Petrino. Why did WKU hire this guy? He has proven over the years that he has no integrity. What parent would entrust the football health and welfare of their son to him? He's the worst hire of the offseason.
Western Michigan
OUT: Bill Cubit/ IN: P.J. Fleck
Cubit was let go at WMU after eight seasons with a 51-47 record and three bowl appearances. In comes Fleck who's only 32 and has never been even a coordinator at any level. He worked as an assistant under Jim Tressel at Theee OSU and with Greg Schiano at both Rutgers and the Buccaneers. Fleck is also the answer to a great Trivia question. He's the first FBS head coach ever hired who was born in the 1980s.
Wisconsin
OUT:Bret Bielema/ IN: Gary Andersen
Every AD in the country has a short list of coaches to call when his HC leaves suddenly or his fired. Barry Alvarez went to that list and snapped up Gary Andersen from Utah State after Bret Bielema bolted for Fayetteville. I think the sales pitch was easy. Alvarez offered Anderson, real coca-cola, real beer, and a Starbucks card. Andersen's a great hire. He turned around a lifeless Utah State program and he now inherits a Badger squad with 14 returning starters off last season's Rose Bowl team. Andersen could make Wisconsin fans say "Bret Who?" in a couple of seasons.
Up next folks on this year's summer reading tour is a look at the conference shuffle. Are you ready for the American Athletic Conference?
-The Commissioner
