Grades for every first-year coach
FIU’s Davis, FAU’s Kiffin leading the pack when it comes to early success
While 2017 is shaping up to be a monster year for movement in the college coaching ranks, 2016 was relatively tame. Only two elite programs went into the marketplace for new coaches, with Texas making the obvious hire of Tom Herman and LSU simply taking the interim tag off Ed Orgeron. Meanwhile, Bob Stoops’ surprise retirement in June didn’t cause much movement as the school simply moved Lincoln Riley from offensive coordinator.
With a month left in the season, we have a pretty good idea of how effective each new coach has been in their first year, so it’s time to go ahead and give them grades. And it might be a surprise who leads the pack. Grade: A
Butch Davis, Florida International: Though the amount of talent in South Florida should help any coach be competitive here, it’s still a tough job. And Davis, at 65, is knocking it out of the park with the Panthers at 5-2. His predecessor, Ron Turner, won just 10 games total in 31⁄ seasons. 2 Lane Kiffin, Florida Atlantic: Freed from Nick Saban’s shackles, Kiffin has found time not only to up his Twitter trolling game but also turn around a program that finished 3-9 in each of the last three seasons. After a shaky start, FAU is 4-0 in C-USA and has averaged 52 points in the league, beating the league’s traditional powers in Middle Tennessee and Western Kentucky. Grade: ALincoln Riley, Oklahoma: He has looked poised and totally prepared as Stoops’ successor, snagging a big early win at Ohio State. The only knock is a somewhat shaky defense, which was a problem before he became head coach.
Jeff Tedford, Fresno State: Though a home loss to UNLV last weekend knocked him down from an A, the 5-3 Bulldogs had allowed 34 points in their previous four Mountain West games combined. Last season, Fresno State went 1-11 and gave up more than 34 points six times. Five years removed from his Cal tenure, Tedford looks rejuvenated. Grade: B+
P.J. Fleck, Minnesota: This is not a talented Gophers team, but at 4-4 they still have a chance for the postseason and were competitive in losses to Michigan State and Iowa. Fleck has dialed down his “Row the Boat” schtick a notch and been solid in resetting the culture at Minnesota. Willie Taggart, Oregon: Though the Ducks are probably headed for 6-6, the product looks much better and more physical than it did last season, particularly on defense. Despite losing quarterback Justin Herbert to injury, they haven’t fallen off a cliff.
Jeff Brohm, Purdue: Though the shine has worn off a little bit with close losses in a row to Wisconsin, Rutgers and Nebraska to fall to 3-5, Brohm has made Purdue fun and somewhat relevant. There’s still plenty of work to be done, but Brohm has the Boilermakers on a trajectory to compete in the Big Ten West in the next few years. Shawn Elliott, Georgia State: After an embarrassing debut loss to Tennessee State, the Panthers have pieced together a solid season at 4-3 and project to be a bowl team for the second time in history with winnable games down the stretch. Grade: B
Justin Wilcox, California: Though the defense has slipped the last few weeks, the 37-3 upset of Washington State still resonates. Matt Rhule, Baylor: Despite the 0-8 record, Baylor is still playing hard and has been competitive against good teams. It’s a massive rebuilding job.
Randy Edsall, Connecticut: Though the Huskies aren’t good at 3-5, they’re at least watchable and somewhat of a threat on offense, which wasn’t the case
last season under Bob Diaco. Grade: B
Tom Herman, Texas: It would be disingenuous to say anything other than the Longhorns have been underwhelming at 4-4, given the expectation that Herman’s offense would be the key to a talented roster competing in the Big 12. Instead, Todd Orlando’s defense has been far more impressive.
Ed Orgeron, LSU: Though you have to give him credit for stabilizing things midseason, the loss to Troy still resonates. The Tigers have a shot to go 9-3, which would be a moderately successful first season. Charlie Strong, South Florida: Though they’re 7-1, the Bulls have far too often been sloppy and unimpressive and haven’t exactly overwhelmed a soft schedule. Their +14 turnover margin has kept them from a very disappointing season. Mike Sanford, Western Kentucky: Brohm’s offense is gone, and the Hilltoppers have really struggled to light up the scoreboard under Sanford. Tim Lester, Western Michigan: Fleck is a tough act to follow, but the 5-4 Broncos did pull out one of the season’s most exciting games, beating Buffalo 7168 in seven overtimes.
Geoff Collins, Temple: There wasn’t a whole lot of offensive talent left over from the Rhule era, but the 3-5 Owls could be in much better shape, having lost three one-possession games in the AAC. Major Applewhite, Houston: Beating South Florida on a late touchdown last weekend helped tremendously, but the Cougars have been pretty ordinary at 5-3. Unless they win out, Applewhite will have fallen short of expectations in Year 1. Grade: C/C
Tom Allen, Indiana: The Hoosiers are 0-5 in the Big Ten and haven’t cashed in numerous opportunities to pull an upset. Jay Norvell, Nevada: They’re scoring points, but 1-7 is still 1-7.
Luke Fickell, Cincinnati: There was a lot to clean up from Tommy Tuberville’s final years, but improvement hasn’t really been evident yet at 2-6.
Brent Brennan, San Jose State: The Spartans are probably the worst team in FBS at 1-8, having beaten only Cal Poly.
BOWL WATCH
Going into this weekend, 39 teams are already bowl eligible and another 26 are one victory away. But with 39 bowl games and 78 slots, Football Bowl Association executive director Wright Waters said this weekend is when his organization and the bowl directors start locking in whether there will be enough six-win teams to fill all the spots.
“We’re two ahead of where we were last year (at this time) as far as bowl-eligible teams,” Waters said. “We really start tracking it after this week.”
Analysis of the bowl picture by USA TODAY Sports projected 74 teams likely to reach six wins based on remaining schedules. Waters said he came up with the same numbers this week, meaning it’s possible a couple of bowl games will really be sweating coming down to the last weekend about whether they might have to take a 5-7 team.
If there are slots to fill after the 6-6 teams are taken, invitations are issued by strongest Academic Progress Rate.