Hey All,
It is early August and that means it's time to brush up on your summer reading for the upcoming college football season. So, here's your first assignment for the summer. It's time to take a ride on the coaching carousel. We still miss you, Alan Malamud.
Buffalo
OUT: Jeff Quinn
IN: Lance Leipold
Jeff Quinn took the Buffalo job when then HC Turner Gill bolted for the Kansas gig after the '09 season. Quinn's squads ran up a dismal 20-36 record before he was fired in October of last year. His replacement, OC Alex Wood guided the Bulls to a 2-2 mark down the stretch but was never really in consideration for the HC job. Buffalo AD Danny White, (not that Danny White), then went out and hired Lance Leipold. Who is Lance Leipold? Leipold was the coach of D-III Juggenaut Wisconsin- Whitewater. In his eight seasons at the helm of the Warhawks he ran up a 109-6 record with 6 National Titles. Leipold is a proven winner, but can he make the jump to an FBS school and all that entails?
Central Michigan
OUT: Dan Enos
IN: John Bonamego
Dan Enos' Chippewas were getting their offseason after posting a 7-6 record in 2014. Then Enos left CMU to take the OC job at Arkansas. That left CMU scrambling to find a replacement and they settled on John Bonamego. Bonamaego is an alum and has been an assistant in the NFL for the last 16 seasons. However, all he has ever coached is special teams. This hire did not impress the CMU faithful or the college football world in general. This seems like a desperation hire.
Colorado State
OUT: Jim McElwain
IN: Mike Bobo
Jim McElwain's three year tour of the Mountain West Conference earned him a trip back to SEC country. Before being the man that resurrected Ram football, he was Nick Saban's OC at Alabama for four years. McElwain has moved on to the HC spot at Florida. So, the CSU braintrust is rolling the dice on another SEC OC. Mike Bobo comes into this job not only as an SEC lifer, but a Georgia lifer. He quarterbacked the Bulldogs from 1994-97. He followed that up by coaching at UGA for the last 14 years. Since 2007, he has been the OC. The question marks about this hire lie the the culture shock that Bobo will encounter. He'll be leading a program with not nearly the resources or fan support that he is used to. He will find out quickly that football is not treated like religion in Colorado.
Florida
OUT: Will Muschamp
IN: Jim McElwain
Will Muschamp took over the Florida program after then HC Urban Meyer retired for "health reasons" which most firmly believed were tied to Tim Tebow's eligibility running out. The defensive-minded Muschamp put together three mediocre seasons and one good one in which his teams looked offensively challenged every game. The lowlight of his tenure was a home loss to then FCS power Georgia Southern who beat the Gators without completing a forward pass. Muschamp was let go and Jim McElwain stepped in. He has deep SEC ties and a fine offensive mind. The big knock on McElwain is that he's not a great recruiter, which is a problem that's easily overcome with the hiring of great assistants who recruit well. Florida fans aren't impressed because he isn't a big name hire. McElwain may not be a big name, but he's a solid coach who can turn the Gators around.
Houston
OUT: Tony Levine
IN: Tom Herman
Tony Levine was fired before Houston could play their Armed Forces Bowl game v. Pittsburgh last year. Levine's squads were a pedestrian 21-17 over three seasons. He inherited a squad that seemed to be on the upswing after Kevin Sumlin bolted for Texas A&M. They underachieved and now Levine is underemployed. In comes Tom Herman who might have had one of the best years an assistant could have. He was TheeeOSU's Offensive Coordinator and QB coach last year. He basically helped the Buckeyes win a national title with a third string QB. That earned him the Broyles Award as the nation's top assistant and the job at UH. Herman does have Texas ties as he did spent 11 seasons coaching at Sam Houston State, Texas State, and Rice where he produced All-Americans as a position coach and had offenses that lit up the scoreboard when he became an offensive coordinator. Seriously, he turned Rice QB Chase Clement into the C-USA MVP in 2008. The only knock on the guy is that he has never been a HC at any level.
Kansas
OUT: Charlie Weis, Clint Bowen
IN: David Beaty
After four games into the 2014 season, Charlie Weis, Mr. Schematic Advantage himself, the man whose greatest accomplishment as a college HC was a narrow loss to USC, was fired by the Jayhawks. Weis compiled a 6-22 overall record and a 1-19 Big XII record while at the helm of KU. His replacement, Clint Bowen didn't fare much better going 1-7 to finish the year. Bowen however is a true Kansas man. He grew up just outside of Lawrence and led his high school team to the state football title and played DB at Kansas. So, when David Beaty got the KU job, his first order of business was to retain Bowen as his DC/Safeties coach. Beaty comes from Texas A&M where he was the receivers coach under Kevin Sumlin. Beaty is not an impressive hire according to the pundits, but he does have strong Texas ties for recruiting and his top assistant will help make his transition to Kansas easier. Just getting this squad to .500 over the next three seasons would be impressive.
Michigan
OUT: Brady Hoke
IN: Jim Harbaugh
Brady Hoke was a guy who just couldn't get the Wolverines over the hump. With TheeeOSU and Michigan State beating the Maize and Blue on a regular basis and attendance at The Big House dwindling, the folks in Ann Arbor were looking for a savior. They think they have it in Harbaugh. Yes, Harbaugh has a short shelf life and ran himself out of the 49ers job, but he has all the credentials that Michigan Fans crave. He is basically a direct descendant of Bo Schembechler. Harbaugh played for Bo, he's as tough as Bo and that Michigan toughness is what the program lacks. In this first year as the HC of Michigan, the Wolverines will play hard, be in every game and pull a few upsets along the way. Also, wouldn't Harbaugh v. Meyer every year for a few years remind us all of Bo v. Woody?
Nebraska
OUT: Bo Pelini
IN: Mike Riley
To quote Val Kilmer AKA Doc Holliday from Tombstone, "Poor soul, you were just too high strung." That quote seems to sum up Bo Pelini's tenure in Lincoln. Every week over the past few seasons it seems that a Bo Pellini meltdown was gonna be part of ESPN's highlight package. The Cornhusker faithful and the administration had had enough of his antics and his good, but not good by Nebraska standards teams and let him go after sporting a 62-27 record over seven seasons. Longtime assistant Barney Cotton led the Huskers in their Holiday Bowl loss to USC. Then one of the strangest things happened in all of the 2014 college football season. Mike Riley, the number one son of Corvallis and the dean of Pac 12 football coaches left Beaverland for Lincoln. Riley seemed to have it all in the small community of Corvallis, but maybe the rise of Oregon and a need for a new bigger challenge caused Riley to move. Remember this is the same man who as a High School star QB and pride of Corvalis who chose to leave the state to be a QB at Alabama way back when.
Oregon State
OUT: MIke Riley
IN: Gary Andersen
After Mike Riley stunned the college football world by leaving Oregon State for Nebraska, Gary Andersen pulled off a stunner of his own by leaving Wisconsin for the Beavers. Andersen had managed to turn around the Utah State program before spending the last two seasons at Wisconsin. Maybe his last game with the Badgers had something to do with his exit. I'm sure it is hard to live down a 59-0 beating at the hands of TheeeOSU in the Big Ten Title game. However, what seemed to really bother Andersen was the fact that Wisconsin's entrance requirements all but shut off his Juco pipelines and caused him to lose kids to programs with less stringent requirements. So, basically, Oregon State attracted Andersen because they have low standards. I'm sure that makes the Beaver faithful feel good about themselves.
Pittsburgh
OUT: Paul Chryst
IN: Pat Narduzzi
Paul Chryst had just finished his second season at the helm of the Panthers when his dream job opened up at Wisconsin. When Chryst departed for Dairyland, the powers that be wanted to hire a big name for the job. They got one in Narduzzi. Narduzzi was the DC at Michigan State from 2007-14. His stingy, hard hitting defenses at State were revered throughout the nation and he got quite a reputation as one of the best assistant coaches in college football. Narduzzi came into the job and already stirred up things by claiming that Pitt's rivalry with Penn State is bigger than their rivalry with West Virginia. That's a funny thing to hear since Pitt hasn't played PSU since 2000 or WVU since 2011. Narduzzi is a no-nonsense, defensive minded coach with a penchant for toughness. Seems like he'll fit in at Pitt just fine. The only big knock with Narduzzi is that he's never been a HC at any level.
SMU
OUT: June Jones, Tom Mason
IN: Chad Morris
Just two games into the 2014 season, the Mustangs were 0-2. They lost those games by a combined score of 88-6 and June Jones stepped down from the HC position citing "personal issues." Tom Mason took over the program as the interim HC. The team went 1-9 down the stretch with the Mustangs one win coming in their final game of the year. With the SMU program in shambles, a search was on for a Texas man to head the program. Chad Morris is that man. Morris is a Texas A&M grad who was the HC of five different Texas High Schools. He went 169-38 at those schools, coaching Lake Travis High to the 2008 and 2009 4A state titles. He then spent a year as the OC at Tulsa before moving onto Clemson where he was the OC/QB coach for the last four seasons. Morris is regarded as a true rising star in the coaching ranks and SMU is believed to have knocked it out of the park with this hire.
Troy
OUT: Larry Blakeney
IN: Neal Brown
This is the first head coaching change at Troy since December 3, 1990. Larry Blakeney took the job and ran with it for the next 24 seasons. He guided the Trojans from a Division II independent to Divison I-AA independent and then to being a power of the Southland Conference. From there he saw the Trojans make the leap to the big time of Divison I in 2002. Since 2004, the Trojans have been a mainstay of the Sun Belt Conference. Blakeney retired with a record of 178-113-1 and absolute legend status on the Troy campus. Neal Brown will now step into the legend's footsteps. Brown comes in as the second youngest HC in the nation at 34 years old. Brown swiftly rose up the coaching ranks after starting as a TE/OL coach at Umass in 2003. He has spent the last two years as the OC/QB coach at Kentucky. The upside for Brown is that he is expected to fill the program with youthful energy. The con is that he's never been a HC before on any level.
Tulsa
OUT: Bill Blankenship
IN: Philip Montgomery
Bill Blankship was realeased by Tulsa after a 3-9 record in 2014. Blankenship finishes with a 24-27 overall record, but his Golden Hurricane squad did post an 11-3 record in 2012 and won both the C-USA title and the Liberty bowl that season where they beat Iowa State to avenge their season opening loss to the Cyclones. However, Blankenship couldn't keep the level of talent there that former HC Todd Graham, (and current ASU HC), had left him. into this picture steps Philip Montgomery. Montgomery spent the last seven seasons as the OC at Baylor. Montgomery will try to bring that same explosive offense to Tulsa. The knocks on Montgomery is that he has never been a HC on any level and has only worked in one system for almost his entire career. He had been on Art Briles' staff at everywhere from Stevensville High School (TX) through the 2014 campaign at Baylor.
UNLV
OUT: Bobby Hauck
IN: Tony Sanchez
Bobby Hauck had a great run at Montana from 2003-2009. He led the Griz to either wining or having a share of seven straight Big Sky Conference titles. Hauck parlayed that success into the job at UNLV. Hauck could never duplicate the success he had at Montana with UNLV and resigned on November 28, 2014 with a 15-49 overall record. Hauck's Rebels only sported one winning record, going 7-6 in 2013 and losing in the Heart of Dallas Bowl to North Texas. People tend to gamble in Las Vegas and The UNLV administration took one by hiring Tony Sanchez to replace Hauck. Sanchez comes straight into UNLV from the high school ranks. For the last six seasons he was the HC at Bishop Gorman High School where his teams ran up an 85-5 record and six state championships. Sanchez has immediately tried to ease his transition to the FBS by hiring experienced assistants. However, no coach has ever made the transition from high school to the FBS level and sported a great record. Gerry Faust is the poster child for these coaches with his mediocre years at Notre Dame. Sanchez also faces two institutional hurdles as he takes the UNLV job. UNLV has worse football facilities than Bishop Gorman. Bishop Gorman is financially backed by the family that started the UFC. At last check UNLV doesn't have that kind of financial support. Also, UNLV's culture of losing is coming up on three decades long. The last HC to leave UNLV with a winning record is Harvey Hyde. From 1982-85, Hyde amasssed a 26-19-1 record while in charge of the Rebels.
Wisconsin
OUT: Gary Andersen
IN: Paul Chryst
Wisconsin was pretty much left in a lurch after Andersen left for Oregon State. Other reasons for Andersen's departure have been already mentioned, but one starts to wonder what kind of AD Barry Alvarez is if his last two HC's left the program abruptly without a second thought. Hmmmm. Paul Chryst comes into the HC job as a guy who has been around. He started as a GA back in 1989 for West Virginia and has worked everywhere form the old World League of American Football to the CFL the NFL, Division III, the FCS and the FBS. The word is that he got the job because of his ties to Wisconsin. He was a TE end coach there and the OC from 2006-11. Christ comes from Pitt where he was the HC there from 2012-14. The big knock on Chryst is that his teams at Pitt never won more than seven games. This may be a comfort hire for Wisconsin, trying to get back to a guy "that gets Wisconsin" as opposed to previous HC Gary Andersen.
This Week's Three Notes About Nothing
I finally learned how to grill steaks just about perfectly. Thank you Craig Andrich!
I never thought the paint color combination of Surf City and Linen Sand would be a part of my life.
I've recently started to enjoy visits to the hardware store.
Until next time, remember that a great season starts with a great fall camp.
-The Commissioner
