Grading Every New College Football Head Coaching Hire
We’re approaching the midpoint of January, and for now, it appears the college football head coaching carousel has come to a stop for another year. That is subject to change, of course, if a program makes a surprising late firing or a current head coach makes the jump to an NFL opening, but as of Sunday night, every FBS program has a sitting head coach.
This winter, 14 programs made changes, from SMU (where June Jones resigned in September) to Pittsburgh (which hired Michigan State defensive coordinator Pat Narduzzi after Paul Chryst headed back to Wisconsin after three seasons). That’s down from a year ago, when 20 programs hired new leaders.
History says not all of these hires will work out. College football is notorious for its churn among head coaching hires. Per an analysis by Patrick Stevens of Syracuse.com, when the 2014 season began, 76 of 128 FBS head coaches had three full seasons or fewer at their current positions.
Here's a look at all of the new hires, with a grade assigned for each new coach.
Buffalo
1 of 14
Hire: Lance Leipold
Buffalo is truly one of FBS football’s most forlorn outposts. Since joining college football’s highest level in 1999, the Bulls have won zero to two games in eight different seasons and posted only two winning seasons. How tough is it? Turner Gill’s 20-30 record in four seasons (with one winning season) was enough to get him hired at Kansas, where he imploded spectacularly.
Successor Jeff Quinn took the Bulls from 2-10 in 2010 to 8-5 last fall, but he was fired seven games into 2014 with a 3-4 record. Athletic director Danny White made an outside-the-box hire in Lance Leipold.
Leipold enjoyed tremendous success at Division III power Wisconsin-Whitewater. In his eight seasons there, he won as many D-III national championships as he lost games—six apiece. The Warhawks were 109-6, winning national titles in five of the last six seasons. It’ll be very interesting to see if Leipold’s style translates from non-scholarship D-III to the FBS, but given Buffalo’s historical lack of success, it’s worth a shot.
Grade: B
Colorado State
2 of 14
Hire: Mike Bobo
Three years ago, Colorado State hoped to inject some life into its football program by hiring an SEC offensive coordinator. Alabama offensive coordinator Jim McElwain arrived and quickly did just that, taking the Rams to a bowl game in his second season and guiding them to 10 wins this fall. That success was impressive, but it gained the attention of larger suitors, like Florida athletic director Jeremy Foley, who plucked McElwain away to fill the Gators’ vacancy in December.
So why not go back to the same well? Colorado State hired Georgia offensive coordinator Mike Bobo to replace McElwain. It was a somewhat surprising move away from a comfort zone in Georgia. Bobo is a former UGA quarterback and spent all but one season of his coaching career under Mark Richt’s watch, eventually rising to become his offensive coordinator in 2007.
Georgia fans ran hot and cold on Bobo, but there’s no denying his track record in developing quarterbacks like Matthew Stafford and Aaron Murray. This fall, UGA had a run-heavy offense that averaged 41.7 points per game, No. 8 nationally. McElwain left a solid foundation for Bobo, and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him maintain that success before he too gets attention for larger jobs.
Grade: B
Florida
3 of 14
Hire: Jim McElwain
This felt like the most inevitable opening of the 2014 college football season. Following a 4-8 record in 2013, Will Muschamp was on the hottest of seats at Florida, with every loss only fanning the flames and pushing athletic director Jeremy Foley toward the unavoidable.
In mid-November, the axe finally fell, and Florida was in the market for a new head coach. Foley and the Gators were connected to a number of hot names (including Ole Miss’ Hugh Freeze). Was the man they eventually got really the best they could get? Foley’s search took a bizarre turn when Colorado media followed him to Colorado State Jim McElwain’s house, staking out the residence and snapping photos of Foley in the window.
Following a protracted buyout process, McElwain proved to be Foley’s man. McElwain had an impressive three-year run at CSU, leading the Rams to a 10-2 record this fall. He rejuvenated a program that had gone 9-27 in the three seasons preceding his arrival, and the Rams were solid offensively, averaging 33.9 points per game, No. 32 nationally. Still, he feels like a bit of a fallback hire for Foley, who had one of the nation’s top two openings this fall along with Michigan.
He might prove us all wrong quickly, but it’s hard to be particularly inspired by McElwain.
Grade: B-
Houston
4 of 14
Hire: Tom Herman
Houston has big aspirations. The Cougars recently moved up to the American Athletic Conference, and they just opened new $120 million TDECU Stadium. So, this fall, 7-5 simply wasn’t good enough. Houston officials fired third-year coach Tony Levine following the regular season, a sign that losing to Texas-San Antonio and Tulane at home simply wasn’t acceptable.
Eight years ago, Houston struck gold by hiring a Power Five offensive coordinator in Oklahoma’s Kevin Sumlin, who went 35-17 in four seasons before heading to Texas A&M. Cougar officials hope they have a similar hire in Ohio State offensive coordinator Tom Herman.
Herman, 39, has ties to the state of Texas with assistant coaching stops at Texas, Sam Houston State, Rice and Texas State.
He has also enjoyed tremendous success running Ohio State’s offense. Despite using three quarterbacks, the Buckeyes reached the College Football Playoff National Championship, averaging 45 points per game (fifth-best nationally) entering Monday’s title matchup against Oregon. Herman runs a fast-paced offense that runs to pass but also allows quarterbacks room to thrive.
It might just be a pit stop, but Herman looks like an inspired hire.
Grade: A-
Kansas
5 of 14
Hire: David Beaty
Good luck, David Beaty. You’re going to need it.
Kansas is a college hoops power, but that magic simply hasn’t translated to any sort of consistent success. Even the Jayhawks’ best coach in recent memory, Mark Mangino, compiled only a 50-48 record in eight seasons, which included 2007’s 12-1 mark, before resigning under pressure in 2009.
He was followed by Turner Gill and Charlie Weis, both of whom were disasters. Weis was 6-22 in two-plus seasons before being fired in September.
Into the breach steps Beaty, Texas A&M’s receivers coach, who has spent two stints as a KU assistant, including as the offensive coordinator in 2011. No one is expecting immediate success at Kansas, which might be the worst Power Five program.
Beaty has energy, credentials and also is known as an excellent recruiter with ties to talent-rich Texas. If KU fans have patience, they might be pleasantly surprised. But nothing will be easy or guaranteed here.
Grade: C+
Michigan
6 of 14
Hire: Jim Harbaugh
When Lloyd Carr stepped down as Michigan’s head coach in 2007, he left a program in reasonably good shape. But following the disastrous tenures of Rich Rodriguez and Brady Hoke, which featured a combined 46-42 record, NCAA probation and controversy, the Wolverines needed a Michigan man. They needed a white knight. They needed a savior.
In Jim Harbaugh, they got all of the above. Michigan had to wait, but the Wolverines hit a home run in luring Harbaugh, a former Michigan quarterback, back to his alma mater.
Harbaugh said at a news conference, per Mark Snyder of the Detroit Free Press, that this was home.
"There are very special words that are in the English language that we all embrace. There's family. There's friends. There's teammates. There's victory. I was reminded of another very special word when I was driving into Ann Arbor this morning, and that word is homecoming. Our family's had three homecomings to Ann Arbor, Michigan, in my lifetime.
"
Harbaugh has won wherever he’s gone. He is 58-27 as a collegiate head coach and turned a moribund Stanford program into a winner, including a 12-1 record and Orange Bowl victory before taking the San Francisco 49ers job.
He led the 49ers to three consecutive NFC title games and a Super Bowl appearance following the 2012 season but has never spent longer than four seasons in any one position. His intense style can quickly wear thin. He and the 49ers agreed to a mutual parting of the ways following an 8-8 season.
With a struggling offense that will lose top wide receiver Devin Funchess, Harbaugh might have some rocky moments early on, but he is a tireless force who’ll have success sooner rather than later.
Grade: A
Nebraska
7 of 14
Hire: Mike Riley
Sometimes, when you break up with someone, you gravitate toward their diametric opposite. “I’ve had enough of this person,” you say. “Let’s try something completely different.”
That’s the only way to explain what happened in Lincoln. After firing Bo Pelini, who went 67-27 in seven-plus seasons with a fiery, bombastic personality, the Cornhuskers went to the other end of the spectrum with Oregon State coach Mike Riley.
Riley is widely known as one of the nicest guys in college football, and he enjoyed success at Oregon State, going 93-80 in two stints spread over 14 seasons. However, he had only one 10-win season there and went 12-13 over the last two seasons.
To be fair, Nebraska has far bigger resources than Oregon State and is one of college football’s best jobs. But Riley is 61. Does he have enough energy to get the Huskers program, which has become a perpetual runner-up, to the perch it formerly occupied as one of college football’s powers?
This might work out, but it seems like a curious hire.
Grade: C
Oregon State
8 of 14
Hire: Gary Andersen
Oregon State was surprised by longtime coach Mike Riley's decision to bolt to Nebraska, but the Beavers upset the apple cart again by hiring Gary Andersen away from Wisconsin after just two seasons there.
Andersen is a solid fit at Oregon State. He was 26-22 in four seasons at Utah State, including an 11-2 record in 2012, which got Wisconsin's attention. He has ties to the West Coast and will be a breath of fresh air in Corvallis, a definite change from Riley. The Badgers struggled to pass but had an excellent offense, although the Pac-12 will require some semblance of a passing game. Andersen wasn't the first name many would've associated with Oregon State, but he's a solid fit.
Grade: B
Pittsburgh
9 of 14
Hire: Pat Narduzzi
Pittsburgh doesn’t go 6-6 and play its bowl game with an interim coach every season. It only seems that way. Following Dave Wannstedt’s resignation in December 2010, six different men have served as Pitt’s head coach in a game, including three full time.
Mike Haywood was fired before ever coaching a game due to domestic violence allegations. Todd Graham spent one season before going to Arizona State. And Paul Chryst put together three six-win seasons before returning to Wisconsin, where he had been the offensive coordinator under Bret Bielema.
Enter Pat Narduzzi. Narduzzi could have had his pick of recent head coaching positions, but he found a perfect fit in Pitt. He grew up an hour from the Pittsburgh area in Youngstown, Ohio, so he knows the local terrain. He is regarded as one of the nation’s best defensive coordinators and inherits a young roster led by bruising back James Conner, the ACC Player of the Year.
This was an excellent fit, and Pitt should reap the rewards with some hard-earned stability.
Grade: A-
SMU
10 of 14
Hire: Chad Morris
It wasn’t a matter of if Chad Morris would become a head coach. It was a matter of when.
After taking over as Clemson’s offensive coordinator in 2011, the highly caffeinated Texan installed the hurry-up, no-huddle offense and turned the Tigers into one of the nation’s most exciting attacks. He was a fixture on the coaching carousel, winding up as the runner-up when Texas Tech hired Kliff Kingsbury in 2012. He was also connected to, among others, openings at NC State, Vanderbilt and South Florida. But when June Jones resigned in mid-September, SMU seemed like a natural for Morris.
The Mustangs have plenty of money, a commitment to football and are positioned in the Dallas-Fort Worth MetroPlex, smack dab in the middle of Texas’ talent-rich recruiting territory.
SMU was 1-11 this season, but Morris, a former Texas high school coach, is energetic and has big goals for the program. If he can’t succeed at SMU, it’s hard to imagine who could. His offense will be a perfect fit in pass-happy Texas and the AAC. This is an excellent fit.
Grade: A-
Troy
11 of 14
Hire: Neal Brown
It only seems like Larry Blakeney had been at Troy forever. It was actually 24 years. Blakeney began last season as the second-longest-tenured head coach in FBS behind only Virginia Tech’s Frank Beamer. Blakeney went 178-113-1 at Troy and guided the Trojans into the FBS, making five bowl games in the last 11 seasons. He retired following the 2014 season, and this time, the Trojans went young, hiring Kentucky offensive coordinator Neal Brown as their new head coach.
Brown served as Troy’s offensive coordinator in 2008-09, finishing No. 3 nationally in total offense in 2009. The Trojans haven’t been to a bowl game since 2010. Brown will bring a fast-paced, pass-based offense to Troy. He is FBS’ second-youngest head coach, but this looks like a solid hire.
Grade: B
Tulsa
12 of 14
Hire: Philip Montgomery
When Todd Graham left for Pittsburgh four years ago, Tulsa hoped a successful local high school coach could take the next step at the collegiate level. It didn’t work. Bill Blankenship went 19-8 in his first two seasons, including a Conference USA title in 2012, but was just 5-19 over the last two seasons, which led to change.
The Golden Hurricane made an excellent hire in Baylor offensive coordinator Philip Montgomery.
Montgomery was the impetus behind the Bears’ prolific offense, which averaged 48.8 points per game this season. Baylor is the only FBS program to rank in the top four nationally in total offense in each of the last four seasons.
Montgomery will bring a fast-paced but physical offense that balances run and pass to Tulsa. And while he won’t have the talent that he left behind at Baylor, his Texas ties will help him change that quickly.
Grade: B+
UNLV
13 of 14
Hire: Tony Sanchez
When you’re at the bottom, sometimes taking chances is a smart decision. Five years ago, UNLV tried the conventional route, hiring FCS standout Bobby Hauck as its head coach. Hauck led the Rebels to a 7-6 record and bowl win last fall but slipped to 2-10 this season. Hauck finished his UNLV tenure 15-49.
So why not take a chance on a high school coach? UNLV stayed close to home, plucking Tony Sanchez from local power Bishop Gorman.
Sanchez was 85-5 at Bishop Gorman and had no losses to in-state programs in his tenure. He is believed to be only the fourth coach ever to jump directly from high school to an FBS head coaching position. The most “successful,” Gerry Faust, was a failure as Notre Dame’s head coach, compiling a 30-26 record. He has local ties and hit the ground running. And if he fails, can UNLV sink any lower?
Grade: C+
Wisconsin
14 of 14
Hire: Paul Chryst
Barry Alvarez certainly didn’t expect to conduct a head coaching search this fall. Gary Andersen won 10 games, including a Big Ten West title, and despite a 59-0 blowout loss at Ohio State’s hands in the Big Ten title game, he looked firmly ensconced at Wisconsin.
That is, until he bolted for Oregon State after two seasons to replace Mike Riley. Fortunately, Alvarez had the perfect name on his short list: Paul Chryst. Chryst won just 18 games in three seasons at Pitt, but he couldn’t be a better fit for Wisconsin’s culture.
Chryst grew up in Madison, was a three-time letterwinner as a Badger quarterback from 1986-88 and ran potent offenses as Wisconsin’s offensive coordinator from 2005-11.
He understands Wisconsin and the tradition built under Alvarez and Bret Bielema, and he will be a great fit in Camp Randall Stadium.
Grade: B+
.jpg?w=480 "FERNANDO MENDOZA")
.jpg?w=600 "Mike Tomlin agrees to next job")
.png?w=600 "Lottery Odds Locked In ✍️")