College football coaching hires
After another busy offseason that saw plenty of turnover in the college football coaching ranks with more than two dozen openings, including a big one in the Sunshine State, College Insider Matt Murschel offers his grades.
Another busy offseason saw plenty of turnover in the college football coaching ranks with more than two dozen openings. I graded each of the hires:
■ MIAMI: Mark Richt
The Buzz: Lady Luck smiled on Miami after Georgia “parted ways” with Richt. The Hurricanes football program landed a big-name hire whose familiarity with the school as a player and alum should appease a fickle fan base eager to return to The U’s glory days.
Grade: A+
■ VIRGINIA TECH: Justin Fuente
The Buzz: For the first time in close to three decades, Virginia Tech searched for a new football coach. The Hokies scored big by hiring Fuente, who turned Memphis into a winner in just three seasons.
Grade: A+
■ SYRACUSE: Dino Babers
The Buzz: Babers turned Eastern Illinois and Bowling Green into instant contenders thanks to a spread offensive system that racked up yards, points and wins. For a program like Syracuse that finished ranked No. 119 out of 128 programs in total offense in 2015, it’s a great hire.
Grade: A
■ VIRGINIA: Bronco Mendenhall
The Buzz: Virginia officials made a big splash by hiring Mendenhall. He spent the past 11 seasons guiding BYU to 99 wins and seemed content to remain with the Cougars, but the opportunity to compete for a national title in the ACC lured him away.
Grade: A
■ UCF, Scott Frost The Buzz: UCF’s new athletics director, Danny White, was known for his “outside the box” thinking and he did just that with his hiring Frost. The polar opposite of former coach George
O’Leary, Frost’s high-octane style and offensive creativity bodes well for a program coming off an 0-12 season.
Grade: A
■ IOWA STATE, Matt Campbell
The Buzz: Iowa State athletics director Jamie Pollard scored big with the hiring of Campbell, who molded Toledo into one of the top programs among the Group of 5 conferences.
Grade: A
■ GEORGIA, Kirby Smart The Buzz: Smart has been a hot coaching commodity for some time, but he always chose to remain on Nick Saban’s staff at Alabama. When his alma mater called, however, it was too good an offer to pass up. He’s already given the Bulldogs a boost in recruiting.
Grade: B+
■ MARYLAND, D. J. Durkin
The Buzz: Maryland officials chose to go with substance over hype when they hired Durkin, whose pedigree under both Urban Meyer and Jim Harbaugh made him one of the more sought-after coaches.
Grade: B+
■ UTSA, Frank Wilson The Buzz: One of the best recruiters in the country, Wilson’s hiring at UTSA gives the school a strong replacement for Larry Coker, who started the program from scratch.
Grade: B+
■ TULANE, Willie Fritz The Buzz: Just about everywhere he’s coached, Willie Fritz has turned programs into winners. He led his most recent school, Georgia Southern, to a conference title in its first season at the Football Bowl Subdivision level. Grade: B+ ■ RUTGERS, Chris Ash The Buzz: Ash is looking to become another successful branch of Urban Meyer’s coaching tree.
Grade: B+ ■ MINNESOTA, Tracy Claeys
The Buzz: Jerry Kill had the Minnesota football program on the right path before he abruptly stepped down last season amid health concerns. Claeys, a long-time assistant coach, was hired as the permanent replacement with hope of continuing Kill’s success.
Grade: B
■ TEXAS STATE, Everett Withers
The Buzz: Withers spent the previous two seasons at James Madison, where he led the Dukes to back-toback appearances in the FCS playoffs. He’ll take over a program just four years removed from moving up to the FBS. Grade: B
■ MISSOURI, Barry Odom
The Buzz: Odom finds himself with the unenviable task of replacing his mentor, Gary Pinkel, who was one of the most successful coaches in Mizzou history. Odom’s experience on the staff (since 2003) provides the program with some continuity moving forward.
Grade: B
■ MEMPHIS, Mike Norvell
The Buzz: Norvell was considered one of the upand-coming assistant coaches with an offensive-minded background. It will be his job to build on the success Fuente developed at Memphis the past two seasons.
Grade: B
■ BYU , Kalani Sitake The Buzz: Sitake is just the third coach hired at BYU since 2001, and he aims to extend that trend of longevity. His time at the school should help him with recruiting.
Grade: B
■ NORTH TEXAS, Seth Littrell
The Buzz: There’s no denying this job faces features many challenges, but
Littrell is an astute coach who has developed key skills during stops at Texas Tech and North Carolina.
Grade: B
■ LOUISIANA-MONROE, Matt Viator
The Buzz: Viator cut his coaching teeth first at the high school level in Louisiana before moving to McNeese State, where he became the school’s all-time winningest coach. Those Bayou connections will come in handy while leading the Warhawks.
Grade: B
■ TOLEDO, Jason Candle The Buzz: The good news for Toledo athletics director Mike O’Brien was that he didn’t have to look far for his next football coach. Candle was Matt Campbell’s replacement as the Rockets offensive coordinator in 2012 and now he’ll replace him as the team’s next head coach.
Grade: B
■ BALL STATE, Mike Neu The Buzz: Pete Lembo’s decision to abruptly resign to join D.J. Durkin’s staff at Maryland left Ball State a bit hamstrung. That is, until the school hired Neu, whose time at the school coupled with coaching stops in the AFL and NFL made him a viable choice.
Grade: C+
■ BOWLING GREEN, Mike Jinks
The Buzz: Bowling Green has won more than 55 percent of its games since 2000 despite losing four coaches during that period. Jinks fits the same mold as former coach Dino Babers, but he lacks any head coaching experience.
Grade: C+
■ EAST CAROLINA, Scottie Montgomery
The Buzz: East Carolina’s decision to part ways with Ruffin McNeil, who took the Pirates to four bowl games in six seasons, was strange at best. But replacing him with someone with no head coaching experience is even stranger. Grade: C
■ GEORGIA SOUTHERN, Tyson Summers
The Buzz: Summers is one of 15 new hires without any previous head coaching experience. He was the defensive coordinator at his previous two stops (Colorado State, UCF).
Grade: C
■ HAWAI’I, Nick Rolovich
Buzz: For a school mired in a budgetary crisis and a football program whose future is in doubt, there is little risk associated with hiring Rolovich — a former player in his first head coaching job. Grade: C
■ SOUTH CAROLINA, Will Muschamp
The Buzz: Winston Churchill said, “Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” I’m guessing Churchill wasn’t an athletics director. South Carolina has unbridled optimism for a coach who has previously struggled to win in the SEC level.
Grade: C
■ ILLINOIS, Bill Cubit The Buzz: The administration at Illinois has made a slew of bad decisions, so it was no surprise officials passed on a national coaching search and instead chose to retain Cubit, an interim coach for the 2015 season.
Grade: D
■ USC, Clay Helton The Buzz: You would think after two disastrous hires, USC athletics director Pat Haden might have taken his time with this one, but instead he went all in on Helton. Perhaps Haden can take solace in knowing Chip Kelly wasn’t available until Dec. 31.
Grade: D