Coaching Carousel

[chamrocck]

Here's my perspective and grades on a crazy season of college football's coaching carousel!  The A class are programs who hired with a focus on "We are here to play for championships!"  B class is "OK, I see you".  C class is "not sure, some mehs, but maybe one can be a program maker".  The D class is like "OK who's available next season?".  

 

Nebraska – Scott Frost – A+  We got our man.  Frost was the ONLY one for the job who fit all the criteria.  The Husker legend could become even more legendary and be the coach here for the next 20+ years.  Brings his entire coaching staff that just went undefeated.  Unites fanbase like no other hire could have.  Let’s get this party started!

 

UCLA – Chip Kelly – A  The Bruins for years have under-performed and been little brother to USC.  They make a splash hire which gives them instant credibility on the national scene and a bigger name coach than rival USC.  Kelly knows the Pac 12 and has a window right now to make UCLA relevant.

 

Texas A&M – Jimbo Fisher – A-  The Aggies showed some balls in parting ways with Sumlin which makes me believe they knew they could land Fisher.  Fisher is a big steal from FSU and gives Texas A&M the highest profile coach in the state (yes above Texas and the two NFL teams).  Aggies paid a lot so Fisher must have instant success or it could get ugly.

 

UCF – Josh Heupel – B  Solid hire to try to keep UCF rolling.  The fact that no other staff was retained because they followed Frost will be a challenge for the new coaching staff.  I thought UCF might go Sumlin but Heupel seems to me like the type of coach who followed after Chris Petersen left Boise State.  They will still have some success but not likely to replicate the success of the original program maker in Frost. 

 

Florida – Dan Mullen – B-  A safe hire when they struck out on their other choices.  Has much work to do putting a formidable offense back on the field at Florida.  If Gator fans are patient, Mullen could have long term success. 

 

Tennessee – Jeremy Pruitt – B-  It could have been a lot worse but I don’t see Tennessee winning the SEC anytime soon.  Pruitt knows his way around the SEC.  Will be interesting to see where their offense goes under a defensive minded coach. 

 

Mississipi St. – Joe Moorhead – C+  Unfamiliar with the SEC but probably the best they could hope for.  Could sneak up on some teams.    

 

FSU – Willie Taggart – C+  Recruiting ties in state seems to be his main positive attribute but Taggart has a losing record in his considerable time as a head coach.  Seems like FSU settled.  I expect Clemson to pummel them for the foreseeable future. 

 

Arkansas - Chad Morris – C  The hogs role the dice to see if Morris can energize their program.  Patience will be key to the success here. 

 

Arizona St. – Herm Edwards – C-  What do the Sun Devils know that the rest of us don’t?  Seems like a figure head hire and unlikely to get ASU to stable success in the Pac 12. 

 

Ole Miss – Matt Luke – D  This guy serves as the stop gap during sanctions at Ole Miss.  Realistically because of the sanctions no one was coming so Luke gets the chance to see what he can do.  My guess is not much.   

 

Oregon – Mario Cristobal – D  The Ducks have been fun to watch over the last years but lost out in the game of musical chairs with no one left to dance with.  At least their uniforms will keep them interesting but Frost and Kelly have taken the show to other programs.  Too many other good Pac 12 teams on the rise for Oregon to get where they once were. 

 

Oregon St. – Johnathan Smith – D-  Here’s one team Oregon will continue to pound.  The Beavers continue in irrelevancy.  They may as well have hired Mike! 

  

[NoLongerN]

Puzzled that Scott is rated an A+,   Ya know, he is an "enormous risk".  :-)

Still surprised about some of our fans who look at it that way.  This was referenced on the Scott Frost megathread, page 324.  

 

Just look at all these other coaches we could have had.  

[CornKing]

10 minutes ago, chamrocck said:

Here's my perspective and grades on a crazy season of college football's coaching carousel!  The A class are programs who hired with a focus on "We are here to play for championships!"  B class is "OK, I see you".  C class is "not sure, some mehs, but maybe one can be a program maker".  The D class is like "OK who's available next season?".  

 

Nebraska – Scott Frost – A+  We got our man.  Frost was the ONLY one for the job who fit all the criteria.  The Husker legend could become even more legendary and be the coach here for the next 20+ years.  Brings his entire coaching staff that just went undefeated.  Unites fanbase like no other hire could have.  Let’s get this party started!

 

UCLA – Chip Kelly – A  The Bruins for years have under-performed and been little brother to USC.  They make a splash hire which gives them instant credibility on the national scene and a bigger name coach than rival USC.  Kelly knows the Pac 12 and has a window right now to make UCLA relevant.

 

Texas A&M – Jimbo Fisher – A-  The Aggies showed some balls in parting ways with Sumlin which makes me believe they knew they could land Fisher.  Fisher is a big steal from FSU and gives Texas A&M the highest profile coach in the state (yes above Texas and the two NFL teams).  Aggies paid a lot so Fisher must have instant success or it could get ugly.

 

UCF – Josh Heupel – B  Solid hire to try to keep UCF rolling.  The fact that no other staff was retained because they followed Frost will be a challenge for the new coaching staff.  I thought UCF might go Sumlin but Heupel seems to me like the type of coach who followed after Chris Petersen left Boise State.  They will still have some success but not likely to replicate the success of the original program maker in Frost. 

 

Florida – Dan Mullen – B-  A safe hire when they struck out on their other choices.  Has much work to do putting a formidable offense back on the field at Florida.  If Gator fans are patient, Mullen could have long term success. 

 

Tennessee – Jeremy Pruitt – B-  It could have been a lot worse but I don’t see Tennessee winning the SEC anytime soon.  Pruitt knows his way around the SEC.  Will be interesting to see where their offense goes under a defensive minded coach. 

 

Mississipi St. – Joe Moorhead – C+  Unfamiliar with the SEC but probably the best they could hope for.  Could sneak up on some teams.    

 

FSU – Willie Taggart – C+  Recruiting ties in state seems to be his main positive attribute but Taggart has a losing record in his considerable time as a head coach.  Seems like FSU settled.  I expect Clemson to pummel them for the foreseeable future. 

 

Arkansas - Chad Morris – C  The hogs role the dice to see if Morris can energize their program.  Patience will be key to the success here. 

 

Arizona St. – Herm Edwards – C-  What do the Sun Devils know that the rest of us don’t?  Seems like a figure head hire and unlikely to get ASU to stable success in the Pac 12. 

 

Ole Miss – Matt Luke – D  This guy serves as the stop gap during sanctions at Ole Miss.  Realistically because of the sanctions no one was coming so Luke gets the chance to see what he can do.  My guess is not much.   

 

Oregon – Mario Cristobal – D  The Ducks have been fun to watch over the last years but lost out in the game of musical chairs with no one left to dance with.  At least their uniforms will keep them interesting but Frost and Kelly have taken the show to other programs.  Too many other good Pac 12 teams on the rise for Oregon to get where they once were. 

 

Oregon St. – Johnathan Smith – D-  Here’s one team Oregon will continue to pound.  The Beavers continue in irrelevancy.  They may as well have hired Mike! 

  

hhhmmmm  I would rank the Jimbo fisher lower, probably B- but I'm riding along in the train. 

 

[runningblind]

13 minutes ago, chamrocck said:

 

Oregon St. – Johnathan Smith – D-  Here’s one team Oregon will continue to pound.  The Beavers continue in irrelevancy.  They may as well have hired Mike! 

  

You know they did hire Mike right?

[gobiggergoredder]

Florida State upgraded.  

[NoLongerN]

11 minutes ago, runningblind said:

You know they did hire Mike right?

 

Yes.  The grade would have been a D+.  Mike brought the average down to a D-.  :-(

[chamrocck]

22 minutes ago, runningblind said:

You know they did hire Mike right?

Yes, I know...but what I meant is they should have given Mike the head coach..grade would have been similar.  

[Xmas32]

I think the grade on Oregon State is pretty off base.  Smith is essentially the Scott Frost of Oregon State.  He was a superstar QB and was the straw that stirred the drink on the Erickson OSU teams.  Dude just spent the last 3 years as the OC/QB coach under Chris Petersen @ UW.  Hard to see how it isn't an 'A'.

 

Taggart is probably a tick low.  While he might be a little limited as a coach his teams are going to be absolutely loaded with talent every year.

 

Herm to ASU is an F.

 

I pretty much agree with everything else you listed.  The Cristobal hire is a real head scratcher but I guess the players really pushed for him so I guess we'll see.  Lots of talent on that roster especially if they can hang onto the 'croots.  Have to think Leavitt is gone which is a definite hit.

Edited December 9, 2017 by Xmas32

[chamrocck]

1 minute ago, Xmas32 said:

I think the grade on Oregon State is pretty off base.  Smith is essentially the Scott Frost of Oregon State.  Dude just pent the last 3 years as the OC/QB coach under Chris Petersen @ UW.  Hard to see how it isn't an 'A'.

Oregon State was the only hire I had to look up...like who is this guy?  I guess Northwest cred only.  I don't see it.  Everyone in the country knew Frost was the hottest name on the market.  Smith I don't think was mentioned for any other job?  

[Xmas32]

6 minutes ago, chamrocck said:

Oregon State was the only hire I had to look up...like who is this guy?  I guess Northwest cred only.  I don't see it.  Everyone in the country knew Frost was the hottest name on the market.  Smith I don't think was mentioned for any other job?  

 

That's a fair take.  I watch an ungodly amount of Pac 12 football and UW's offense has taken a quantum leap forward since he took over at OC 3 years ago.  I do think regional bias kicks in some as UW is rarely on TV outside of late night slots for the majority of the country.  Plus he might've told his agent from the get go that he only wanted to look at schools on the West Coast so that would knock him out of the majority of the openings this year.  Let's be honest, he was never going to be in consideration for the UCLA job and the AD at ASU seems like he was all in on Herm.

 

 

Edited December 9, 2017 by Xmas32

[huskerfan92]

Strongly disagree with a lot of your grades.

 

Taggart is way above a C+, he’s a program builder, looking at his overall record is incredibly short sighted. Just look at what he did at WKU and USF, and when Oregon’s starting QB was healthy that team was an absolute force. Has deep ties to the state of Florida, FSU hit a homerun with this guy.

 

Your grade on Cristobal strongly implies you did 0 research on this guy. Great recruiter, brought big time talent to a school like FIU. Was fired for no good reason from there. Oregon needed consistency going with a 3rd head coach in as many seasons, Cristobal is a great match. 

 

Moorhead, C+? Why? Think he was one of the best hires of the carousel. 

 

Herm Edwards at anything more than a D- is just wrong. Everyone knows this is a train wreck waiting to happen.

 

Do not understand Jonathan Smith at a D- at all. 

 

Matt Luke got Ole Miss bowl eligible this year....with what they’re going through I think the guy deserves more than a D.

 

Overall, I disagree with your assessment 

[teachercd]

They are all A+'s still 

 

But...just wait until about week 4

[Scarlet Overkill]

Herm Edwards .... most wtf hire ever.  I mean ever.  EVER.

[airboose]

Herm Edwards to Arizona State is an F. The last time he recruited a high school player was 1988. His overall record in the NFL was 54-74. ASU is about to experience the dark ages of their football program. I can’t see him or the AD lasting more than two seasons.

[PasstheDamnBallGuy]

It may take a little while bit I bet in a few year we will look back and see that Miss St got an upgrade. Moorhead is a really smart guy and and innovator. Just look at the PSU offense before he took it over to what it was the past 2 seasons in a defense heavy league.