Hey All,
Its' time to start looking towards the 2018 season and that means starting our summer reading portion of this blog. As has become tradition here, we'll kick it off with another ride on the Coaching Carousel. We still miss you, Alan Malamud.
Arizona
OUT: Rich Rodriguez
IN: Kevin Sumlin
Rich Rodriguez was the HC at UofA for six years, the first three were good with the 2014 Wildcats wining 10 games for only the second time in school history to go with a Pac 12 South title and an appearance in the Fiesta Bowl. Then the wheels fall off. The team went 7-6, 3-9 and 7-6 over the last three seasons. While the poor play had the Wildcat faithful unhappy, what knocked RichRod out of the job was when a former administrative assistant filed a multimillion-dollar sexual harassment claim. A three month investigation by UofA ended with his dismissal last January. Then, to everyone's surprise Kevin Sumlin came to Tuscon.
Sumlin comes to UofA from Texas A&M where his tenure there was interesting to say the least. Sumlin was at TAMU six seasons. However, the only things most folks remember about his tenure are the antics of QB Johnny Manziel, the team's epic collapse against UCLA in 2017 and the scorn of the big boosters along with death threats Sumlin and his family received after that game. One thing that should be remembered is that Sumlin can recruit well. Maybe he will thrive in the more laid-back Tucson environment with far less distractions and arguably far lower expectations for their football squad.
Arizona State
OUT: Todd Graham
IN: Herman Edwards
Hey, you folks all remember Todd Graham? He was the classy guy who notified his Pitt team by text message that he was leaving them for ASU back in 2011. Graham's first three years at ASU were somewhat of a success as he posted a 28-12 record and led his squad to three bowl appearances. Then, funny enough when he had to coach his own recruits, the Sun Devils went down hard in the dessert. The team hovered around .500 for the last three seasons. During his time in Tempe, Graham donated 500,000 dollars of his own salary to ASU's new football facilities and helped lead the fundraising cause for the rest. Sad thing is he will never coach a day in the new football digs. The man who inherits Graham's fundraising efforts is Herman Edwards.
Edwards hasn't roamed a sideline with any seriousness since he "led" the Kansas City Chiefs to a 2-14 record back in 2008. So how did Edwards get this job? Look no further than Ray Anderson, Edwards former agent from his playing days. Writers and talk show hosts have dissected this hire a million different ways. It seems to be simple to see that Anderson, in his fourth year as AD wanted to get his own guy into the job and Edwards is his guy. Anderson believes Edwards can guide the team to better success at a time when their facilities have been greatly upgraded. It looks like Edwards and Anderson will be a pair that will claim accolades if all goes well or be shown the door together if it doesn't. Edwards didn't start off well with the team and their parents when he stirred up some bad blood when he announced in spring football that he would resort to cutting players from the squad. That's not a great message to send to get kids to come to your school and face penalties for transferring whether they leave on their own or are cut. No matter what else Edwards does we know he will coach to "win the game!"
Arkansas
OUT: Bret Bielema
IN: Chad Morris
Bielema left Wisconsin for Arkansas after seven years in Madison. In his last three years there he took the Badgers to the Rose Bowl. Expectations were high for him in Fayetteville and his teams could never live up to them, managing to notch just eight wins once in his five years in charge. The Hogs limped to a 4-8 mark last year and Bielema was given his walking papers. Chad Morris was then given the job to turn around the Razorbacks. Many folks around the country thought the hiring of Morris was a head scratcher because his teams went just 14-22 over his time at SMU. however, Morris has quite an impressive resume.
Morris spent 16 years as a HC in Texas at five different high schools. His best work was at Lake Travis High where her led the school to back-to-back undefeated state titles in 2008 and 2009. After that Morris spent a year at Tulsa where he served as the Assistant HC, OC and QB coach. after a good season there he was snapped up by Clemson where his high powered offense helped the Tigers post a 42-11 record from 2011-14. Morris did the near impossible at SMU and led the Ponies to a bowl game in his third season. That's how he came to the attention of Arkansas and they handed him the reigns to the program late last year. Razorback fans can expect the complete opposite philosophy of the previous regime. While Bielema's teams were three yards and a cloud of dust, Morris describes his up tempo attack as "Full tilt boogie." His offensive philosophy is to "Pop the clutch and lay the hammer down." Hog fans should give Morris a little time to change the squad over to one that can race in fast lane.
Florida
OUT: Jim McElwain
IN: Dan Mullen
In 2014, Jim McElwain was named the new HC of the Gators. He was a guy who had worked up the ranks and had just taken Colorado State from 4-8 to 10-3 and a Las Vegas Bowl berth. Prior to that, he was Nick Saban's OC/QB coach at Alabama from 2008-2011. The folks in Gainesville had high hopes for him to turn around the program after the disaster that was the Will Muschamp era. The Gaotrs went 10-4 and 9-4 in his first two seasons and McElwain was named the SEC Coach of the year in 2015. Things then went downhill at breakneck pace as controversy seemed to follow the program at every step. The scandals ranged from the odd, where a photo hit the internet allegedly showing McElwain naked and locked in a sexual position with a shark. It was later proven not to be McElwain in the photo. Next, came the unproven stories, where he said he and his staff were receiving numerous death threats. Then, there were the credible stories that told of how McElwain and his superiors never got along from the very day he had been hired. There were then the final round of stories that were of the criminal variety. 10 players were suspended for the 2017 opener vs. Michigan due to a fraud scheme where they were buying electronics form the UF bookstore with insufficient funds and selling the items for cash. Four of the players were allowed to return to the team, but ironically McElwain was not. He was fired last October after the Gators were trounced, 42-7 by Georgia. You would think the McElwain story ends there, but it doesn't. He bought out his own contract at Colorado State to take the Florida job and he now still owes CSU a little over million dollars. Ouch. Here's the link form the Denver Post about his financial woes. In Deep in the Rockies After all this, Dan Mullen comes in as as nothing but an improvement to for the Gators.
Mullen was the man who made Mississippi State a tough team to beat. He had always done more with less in Starkville. Gainesville is not Starkville and the big question is can he now do well with more? Some coaches do have trouble coaching from a place of strength and UF will do everything to put him and the program in that place of strength.
Florida State
OUT: Jimbo Fisher
IN: Willie Taggart
Jimbo Fisher won a national title and three ACC title in his eight years at the helm of FSU. He also demanded and got big raises for his assistants, millions in upgrades to staff facilities and a new indoor practice area. After a 7-6 failure of a 2017 season, Fisher bolted for Texas A&M while raising a big stink along the way by telling USA today last December 4th, "You can have Vince Lombardi, Tom Landry, Chuck Noll- you can have the greatest coaches in the world, but if you administration doesn't see things the way you see things and allow you to do things that way, nothing can be achieved." Ummmm huh? Okay Jimbo. Whatever. In comes Willie Taggart to receive the gift of all he left behind.
Taggart arrives at FSU under his own cloud of angry fans left in the wake of his departure. Taggart spent 2017 as the HC of Oregon. He was brought in to get the Ducks back in flying shape after the program had regressed under Mark Helfrich. Taggart overcame a lack of roster depth and injuries to lead the ducks to a 7-5 season. He then dropped Oregon like a hot rock when the FSU job opened up. Florida State is Taggart's dream job and he should have success if the 'Noles have at least one fewer injury than last year. Before spending less than one calendar year in Eugene, (seriously, this reporter wouldn't last a full year in Eugene, either), He was the HC of the South Florida program that shattered offensive records and challenged for the coveted group of five slot in the New Year's Day Bowls. Taggart's philosophy will be one of speed. Fast defenses and a speed based offense should keep the 'Notes faithful happy for at least a few seasons.
Georgia Southern
OUT: Tyson Summers
IN: Chad Lunsford
Back in 2016, this football pundit called the hiring of Tyson Summer to replace Willie Frtiz, "...one of the most lackluster hires of the offseason." Summer came to GSU as a Georgia boy returning home from Colorado State with new ideas for the program. His return home was a short one. He was promptly run out of town after following up a 5-7 2016 with a 0-6 start to the 2017 slate. Chad Lunsford, the ST coach was installed the interim HC and the Eagles went 2-4 over the final six games of they year. Lunsford then wowed the GSU athletic braintrust with his love and enthusiasm for the program and interim tag was taken off after the season. Lunsford has coached under previous GSU HC's Willie Fritz and Jeff Monken. The big thing that Lunsford promises is to return GSU to what made them a good team in the first place; Power option football. The kind of football that let the Eagles pull of their epic upset of Florida in 2013. He needs to succeed right away as it is apparent that his bosses have little patience for mediocrity.
Kent State
OUT: Paul Haynes
IN: Sean Lewis
The Paul Haynes era ended quietly last fall. Kent State went 14-45 during his tenure and he was shown the door. In his place comes Sean Lewis. Lewis is now the youngest HC in the FBS at 31 years old! His brief coaching career and rise is tied to Syracuse HC Dino Babers. Lewis landed a job on Babers' staff at Eastern Illinois in 2011 and went with Babers to Bowling Green and then Syracuse where he worked his way up form WR coach to Co-OC and QB coach for Babers. Lewis doesn't have a long resume and has no HC experience. However, one would think he'd have to be better than what they've had the last five years at KSU.
Louisiana (The school formerly known as Louisiana-Lafayette)
OUT: Mark Hudpseth
IN: Billy Napier
Mark Hudpseth came to Louisiana and immediately energized the program. He led the Ragin' Cajuns to four straight New Orleans Bowl berths. Attendance skyrocketed and folks were happy. Then, the NCAA nailed one of Hudspeth's assistants for improper benefits and 22 wins were vacated and 11 scholarships lost. The Ragin' Cajuns went down hill after that and Hudspeth was fired last fall.
Billy Napier steps into the breach as one of the coaches who revived his career after being dipped in the magic healing waters of Saint Nick of Tuscaloosa. Napier had gone from playing QB at Furman to the OC at Clemson in seven short years. However, Clemson's offense couldn't find the end zone and he was fired after the 2010 campaign. Napier then joined Nick Saban's staff at Alabama as an analyst and resurrected his career. He would spend four seasons total at Alabama and was the Crimson Tide's WR coach form 2013-16. 2017 saw him make the move to be the OC for Todd Graham at Arizona State. Napier, at 39, is one of the youngest HCs in the nation, but youth and energy may be the thing that the Ragin' Cajuns need to pull their program out of the ditch.
Mississippi
OUT: Hugh freeze
IN: Matt Luke
The biggest bombshell to drop last year in former Ole Miss HC Houston Nutt's lawsuit for wrongful termination came in phone records provided during the discovery phase of the trial. Phone records that revealed then current Rebels HC Hugh Freeze, who was known as quite a Bible-thumper, had called a dozen escort services from his university issued phone. Ole Miss found Freeze to be guilty of "moral turpitude." He then resigned in disgrace from his job last October. Matt Luke was handed the job on an interim basis and was hired as the full-time replacement for Freeze last December. Many scribes have theorized that Luke was just a stop-gap hire to guide the team through NCAA sanctions that also occurred on Freeze's watch. However, Luke is an Ole Miss lifer as a player and coach in Oxford and he really wants to keep this job sanctions or not. He is a good choice for the team at this time.
Mississippi State
OUT: Dan Mullen
IN: Joe Moorhead
Dan Mullen left MSU for the Florida job much to the chagrin of Bulldogs fans at the end of last season. Despite being just 33-39 in six years, Mullen built MSU into one of those teams you just don't want to catch on a bad day in the SEC. Then, while the Bulldogs were still recovering from the loss, they replaced him with a Yankee, and Connecticut one to boot!
Joe Moorhead hails from Pittsburgh, but it was his stint as the OC for UConn that led to him eventually getting the HC job at MSU. The UConn job led to Moorhead getting the HC gig at Fordham. While at Fordham, Moorhead built the Rams into an FCS playoff squad with three trips to the second round of the playoffs in four seasons. Moorhead left the Rams for the become the OC at Penn State in 2015. I think we all know just how explosive the Nittany Lions' offense has been the last three seasons. While this may not be the most glamorous hire of the offseason, it appears to be one of the most solid.
Nebraska
OUT: Mike Riley
IN: Scott Frost
Mike Riley's move to Nebraska in 2015 was a head scratcher to the college football world. Riley, the man who always felt Oregon State was his home, had seemed to find an idyllic existence in Corvallis. He gave it all up and three years later was fired by the Huskers with a 19-19 record. Now, as one state's favorite son exits in Riley, another one returns in Scott Frost.
Nebraska's number one son returns home... again. Frost once stunned the state when he, then a top QB recruit back in 1993, turned down legendary Huskers HC Tom Osborne and chose to play at Stanford. After two lackluster years in Palo Alto, Frost transferred back to the Big Red and was treated as a prodigal son. Three seasons after that he was the QB of the 1997 Nebraska team that shared the national title with Michigan. Frost now returns to Lincoln not as prodigal son, but as savior. Frost comes back after taking a winless Central Florida team in 2015 to an undefeated season in 2017 with a win over Auburn in the Peach Bowl. Frost's energy will draw recruits to Lincoln and if the wins start to pile up, Frost will soon have the Big Red back as a national title contender.
Oregon
OUT: Willie Taggart
IN: Mario Cristobal
After Willie Taggart dropped Oregon like a used pair of Nike's for Florida State, UO was left in a lurch. The new early signing period was looming and the Ducks desperately wanted to hold on to their current recruiting class. That's where Cristobal comes in.
Cristobal is one of the few assistants that didn't run off with Taggart. That may be because he wasn't a longtime assistant for Taggart. He came to Oregon by way of Alabama, where he was the AHC and OL coach for Nick Saban from 2013-16. Saban is given credit for reviving his Cristobal's career after a bad stint as the HC at FIU from 2007-2012. He was the Ducks Co-OC and OL coach in 2017. He also happens to be a great recruiter. He was named the interim HC on December 5th of last year. It was possibly the shortest interim tenure ever. He was then named the new full-time HC three days later. Some pundits are saying this is a risky hire by the Ducks. It doesn't seem to be that risky. Cristobal is a good coach with a strong resume and he's put quality assistants around him. He may be the best hire of the five new HCs in the Pac 12 this season.
Oregon State
OUT: Gary Andersen
IN: Jonathan Smith
The Gary Andersen era at OSU was a disaster. Andersen came in after longtime HC and Beaver legend Mike Riley left comfortable Corvallis for Nebraska after the 2014 season. Which was a move that surprised as many folks as when Andersen then left Wisconsin for Beaverland. Andersen's teams were so awful and he grew so frustrated with it all, he left OSU last October and just terminated his contract, leaving 12.4 million dollars on the table. After a huge sigh of relief, OSU was able to coax Jonathan Smith to come home.
Smith started at QB for four years for Oregon State under HC Dennis Erickson. He led the 2000 Beavers to an 11-1 record that included a 41-9 whipping of Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl. He started his coaching career working as a GA for Ercikson at OSU and followed him to Idaho where he worked for three different HCs and became the QB coach. In 2012, he assumed the same job with Chris Petersen at Boise State. He made the move to Washington with Petersen and has been the OC/QB coach for the Huskies the last few seasons. He as never been a HC, but Oregon State is hoping that he can rebuild and stabilize a program that has gone off the rails in recent years.
Rice
OUT: David Bailiff
IN: Mike Bloomgren
In 2013, Rice went 10-4, won the C-USA West and played in the Liberty Bowl. HC David Bailiff looked like he was building a solid program in Houston. Then, everything went downhill. Rice went 8-5, 5-7, 3-9, and 1-11 from 2014-17 and Bailiff was fired. Rice then went out and cherry picked Mike Bloomgren off David Shaw's staff at Stanford. Bloomgren does not have any head coaching experience, but has been a valued assistant for Shaw. He started out as Stanford's Running Game Coordinator and OL coach in 2011 and worked his way up to AHC/OC/OL position last year. Rice also tabbed Bloomgren for one other reason. They believe his ability to work at Stanford means he can succeed in a similar academic environment at Rice. I don't think this is a great comparison. Stanford is a glamour academic school, like Northwestern and Duke. Rice falls short in that department. However, only time will tell if Bloomgren can turn it around for the Owls.
South Alabama
OUT: Joey Jones
IN: Steve Campbell
Joey Jones came to South Alabama with a pedigree that opens doors in the state. He had played for Bear Bryant. He took the South Alabama program from inception as an FCS Independent to the FBS level as a member of the Sun Belt Conference. However during Jones' seven years at the FBS level, the team settled into the cellar of the Sun Belt with a 29-46 record. Jones was shown the door and the Jaguars went out and found a man that can take them to the top of the league in Steve Campbell.
All Campbell has ever done is win. In his playing career at Southeast Louisiana and Troy State he started 43 straight games at center and won a D-II national title with the Trojans. He made his rounds as a young assistant, coaching everywhere from Auburn to JC ball. His first HC job came at Delta State where he won a D-II national title. He then moved onto Southwest Mississippi JC. In 10 years there, he compiled an 87-22 record and the 2007 JC national title. After that he took over the Central Arkansas program. In four years he took the Bears deep into the FCS playoffs twice. If he can keep his success rolling at South Alabama, The Jaguars will become the class of the league and Campbell will be on track for a Power 5 job.
SMU
OUT: Chad Morris
IN: Sony Dykes
Chad Morris picked up the pieces leftover from the June Jones era in Dallas and turned the Ponies into a team on the rise. He then left the team before their bowl game to take the Arkansas job. The SMU braintrust quickly settled on Sonny Dykes as their next head coach. Dykes had been out of football for the 2017 season after he was let go from Cal at the end of 2016. Usually in this case of a new HC coming in, the new coach lets an interim HC handle the team until the bowl is over, then he takes over the program. That didn't happen here. Dykes, who was known for his poor decision making at Cal, showed his new employer that he can make bad decisions there too. Dykes "coached" SMU to a 51-10 loss to Louisiana Tech in the Frisco Bowl. Dykes' teams at Cal were known for large offensive production and poor defenses. Dykes also has a history of friction with his bosses. If these trends continue, Dykes' tenure will be a short and painful one in Big D.
Tennessee
OUT: Butch Jones
IN: Jeremy Pruitt
The university-wide embarrassment that became a national embarrassment known as the Tennessee Head Coaching search is finally over. Volunteer fans have never been known for their sanity. Just remember that these are the folks who almost burned down Knoxvlle after Lane Kiffin left for USC back in early 2010. Last year, after the Butch Jones era finished its' spiral into oblivion, AD John Curie settled on current Theee Ohio State DC Greg Schiano as the next man to lead the Vols. Schiano had a long resume that includes being the HC at Rutgers and at Tampa Bay in the NFL. Volunteer nation was not pleased to say the least. They had their hearts set on Jon Gruden. Social media exploded and then went ballistic when a charge surfaced that Schiano was part of the Jerry Sandusky cover up at Penn State. Whether true or not, social media ran with it and Curie was destroyed in the digital realm with even three Tennessee State representatives deploring the hire. Live demonstrations were held on the Tennessee campus to protest the hire as well. The backlash built to a tipping point, where AD John Curie was fired and Schiano was never hired. Now, the new AD is old Vols HC Phillip Fullmer. He was openly critical Curie for a long time and had openly lobbied for his job. He quickly hired Alabama DC Jeremy Pruitt and Volunteer fans have calmed down... for now. Now, for some actual football talk.
Pruitt is yet another disciple of Nick Saban. Pruitt played as a DB on the 1996-96 Alabama squads and then bacame a successful high school coach at Alabama powers Plainview, Fort Payne and Hoover. He made the jump to the big time as Bama's Director of Player Development in 2007 and worked his way up to DB coach before being hired ass the DC/DB coach at Florida state in 2013. He then held the same position at Georgia in 2014 and '15 before returning to Bama as DC/ILB coach for Saban. Positives of Pruitt are the he is a great recruiter and his defenses are always highly ranked. The knock on Pruit is that he has always been at top notch programs and it is wondered if he can dig Tennessee out of the ditch with their lack of overall talent. Butch Jones left the cupboard bare in Knoxville and that means for Pruitt to succeed, he'll need two things that Volunteer fans don't have; sanity and patience.
Texas A&M
OUT: Kevin Sumlin
IN: Jimbo Fisher
Sumlin and Fisher have both mentioned about how they left their former jobs to take their current ones. Let's focus on what Aggie Fans want Fisher to bring to Kyle Field. The Aggies don't want much. They simply want what Fisher did from 2012-14 at Florida State. during that three season stretch, the Seminoles compiled a 39-3 record with an Orange Bowl win in 2012 and a National Title Game win in 2013. Sometimes, I think that TAMU fans would just be happy with a few wins over Alabama. Things won't be easy early for Fisher. The Aggies face Clemson and Alabama both in September. If TAMU survives their rough September, a good bowl game could be had by the Aggies. However, concerns about Fisher's attitude remain with most fans due to the fact that with all he was given at FSU, he still complained about what wasn't given. This intrepid reporter wonders just how long will the folks in College Station will put up with that act?
UCF
OUT: Scott Frost
IN: Josh Heupel
Where Scott Frost heads home, Josh Heupel wants to be anywhere but home. After a brief but great time at UCF, Frost left sunny Orlando for cold Lincoln. Heupel now leaves Norman in his rearview mirror for Orlando. Heupel won the Heisman in 2000 as he quarterbacked the Sooners to the National title. Heupel became a Stoops family disciple in his coaching career, staring off as a GA for Bob Stoops at OU in 2004, then followed brother Mike Stoops to Arizona where he was the TE coach. He returned to OU as the QB coach in 2006 and worked his way up to the OC position in 2010. In 2014, the Sooners were embarrassed by Clemson in the Russell Athletic Bowl, 40-6. Heupel was then fired a few weeks later. He then went and served as the OC/QB coach for Utah State in 2015 and Missouri in 2016-2017. A lot of coaches wanted the UCF job, but the administration went with Heupel hoping they can catch lightning in bottle with another young assistant coach.
UCLA
OUT: Jim Mora
In: Chip Kelly
Jim Mora came to UCLA after the bRuins had hit rock bottom during the end of the Rick Neuheisel's time in Westwood. With crosstown rival USC reeling under legendarily harsh NCAA sanctions, the bRuin faithful looked to Mora to lead UCLA to an era of dominance in Los Angeles. The Bruins never quite lived ups to those expectations. Yes, they did beat USC in Mora's first three seasons and did make an appearance in the Pac 12 title game, but then went quickly downhill in his final three seasons. The Bruins bottomed out at 4-8 and 5-6 in 2016 and 2017. Mora was then shown the door as new bRuin money from boosters, including the Wasserman family, paid a ransom to bring Chip Kelly back to the college game.
Its hard to say that many other coaches had as big an impact on the modern college game as Chip Kelly. He brought his Up-Tempo offense to Oregon as the OC for HC Mike Bellotti in 2007 and the game has never looked the same. It seems everyone but Stanford, Georgia Tech and the service academies run Up-Tempo Offense. The impact was much the same way that after Bill Walsh's success with the 49ers. It that era everyone east Orono, Maine their ran Walsh's vaunted West Coast Offense. Kelly, staked with Phil Knight's cash turned the Oregon into an offensive machine in Eugene that won a lot of games. The doubts about Kelly's return to the college game after a couple of failed NFL stints are two-fold. One, most college coaches return to the game don't go well. Just took at Bill Walsh's second stint at Stanford. Second, most of the things that made Kelly's offense so scary and powerful have been legislated out of the game. It will be interesting to see if Kelly can win at a basketball school that lives in the shadow of USC.
UTEP
OUT: Sean Kugler
IN: Dana Dimel
Former Miner alum Sean Kugler stepped down as HC after UTEP got off to an 0-5 start last year. The Miners never got it together over Kugler's four years as their 18-36 record indicates. The interim HC, former Wazzu and UTEP HC, and known strip club supporter, Mike Price, didn't fare any better and the Miners lost their final seven games to finish the year with a great big doughnut in the win column at 0-12. The man brought in to clean up this mess is Dana Dimel.
Dimel hasn't walked the sidelines as an HC since the 2002 season. That season was the end of a horrible three year stint at Houston where his teams sported a pathetic 8-26 record. Before that he led Wyoming to a 22-13 record from 1997-99. Aside form those two HC stints Dimel has spent most of his coaching career working for Bill Snyder at Kansas State in various capacities ranging form GA to OC. The reaction to Dimel has been positive around El Paso and he does come at cheap rate. The question is will UTEP get a lot of bang for their buck?
Until next time folks, remember that coaches are believed to be only as smart as their record indicates.
-The Commissioner
