College Football Coordinators Sure to Land Head Coaching Jobs in Coming Years
As we approach national signing day, college football’s coaching carousel is finally slowing down, as programs are finalizing their staffs for the 2015 season. This winter, 15 FBS programs changed their head coaches, and Central Michigan is the only team with a current opening following Dan Enos’ departure to become Arkansas’ offensive coordinators.
But athletic directors are always thinking about their next coaching hire, just in case they need to make it. Any AD who tells you he doesn’t have a list of potential candidates tucked away in his drawer or in the back of his mind is lying. They’re constantly revising and thinking about the list, in good times and bad.
Here’s a look at college football coordinators who should be on those lists across the nation, if athletic directors are smart. These guys will be hot names on the carousel next winter and for years to come.
Bud Foster
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When lists of the nation’s hottest coordinators are compiled, people tend to forget about Bud Foster. He has been at Virginia Tech for so long (28 years) and is so connected to head coach Frank Beamer (the nation’s longest-tenured head coach) that it’s easy to take him for granted.
That is, unless you play against the Hokies defense. Foster is one of the game’s top defensive minds, and he shows no signs of slowing down. Virginia Tech was only 7-6 in 2014, but the Hokies would never have made a bowl without Foster’s defense. Tech allowed just 20.2 points per game, No. 14 nationally, and 343.8 yards per game, No. 21 nationally. His defenses have consistently been among the nation’s top units since he took over as coordinator in 1995.
Foster has interviewed for head coaching jobs in the past but opted to stay as Beamer’s right-hand man. Beamer is 68, which raises an interesting quandary. How long will he stay at Tech, and would Foster, 55, be the natural replacement? If not at Tech, he deserves a chance to run his own program somewhere else.
Scott Frost
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While Oregon fell short in the College Football Playoff national championship, it was hard to ignore the role that the offense played in the Ducks’ rise to national prominence. Junior quarterback Marcus Mariota won the Heisman Trophy and could be the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL draft. Oregon averaged 45.4 points per game, No. 4 nationally, and 547 yards per game, No. 3 nationally. Oregon also averaged 312.5 passing yards per game, No. 10 nationally.
The architect of that success? Offensive coordinator Scott Frost. The former Stanford and Nebraska quarterback played in the NFL, and he has helped build Oregon’s offense into a powerful force that will keep rolling even without Mariota next fall.
According to Jason Quick on The Oregonian, he has been connected to openings at Boise State and Colorado State, but it would take a great opportunity to get him out of Oregon. Here’s guessing that comes sooner rather than later.
Lane Kiffin
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Lane Kiffin arrived in Tuscaloosa with a resume that needed rehab. The talkative young coach was fired by the NFL’s Oakland Raiders, burned bridges with a bizarre one-year stint at Tennessee and was fired by Southern California, too. Time to learn quietly under Alabama’s Nick Saban, who allows his assistants to speak to news media only once per season, seemed like the perfect fit.
It was. While Alabama’s season ended with a disappointing College Football Playoff loss to Ohio State, the Crimson Tide offense received a major spark from Kiffin’s pass-based system. With a first-year starting quarterback in senior Blake Sims, Alabama averaged 484.5 yards per game, No. 17 nationally, and 36.9 points per game, No. 15 nationally. Alabama also averaged 277.9 yards per game, No. 28 nationally.
Wide receiver Amari Cooper developed into one of the best receivers in the college game, winning the Biletnikoff Award, given to college football’s top receiver. Most importantly, the Tide offense looked fresh.
Kiffin was connected with the San Francisco 49ers offensive coordinator opening, per ESPN's Adam Schefter, before releasing a statement reaffirming his ties to Alabama. But how long before a program sees what he’s learned under Saban and gives him another chance?
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Rhett Lashlee
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Gus Malzahn’s path from Arkansas to Auburn’s head coach is well-known by now. Malzahn turned jobs as Arkansas and Tulsa’s offensive coordinator into a job as Auburn’s offensive coordinator, where he helped the Tigers win a national title before heading to Arkansas State as its head coach.
He was soon back in Auburn as the Tigers’ head coach, leading the program to a BCS title game appearance in 2013.
Rhett Lashlee is following a similar path. The Springdale, Arkansas, native was a graduate assistant at Arkansas under Malzahn and served as an Auburn graduate assistant in 2009 and 2010. Following a one-year stint at Samford, he followed Malzahn to Arkansas State in 2012. The Red Wolves offense ranked No. 17 nationally in total offense and No. 21 in scoring.
He then followed Malzahn back to Auburn as his offensive coordinator, where the hurry-up, no-huddle system has been successful. Last fall, Auburn ranked No. 16 in total offense with 485 yards per game and No. 25 in scoring offense, averaging 35.5 points per game.
Lashlee was connected to the Tulsa opening that ultimately went to Baylor’s Philip Montgomery, per AL.com's Joel Erickson, but it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him be connected to similar positions in the near future and ultimately take one.
Mike Norvell
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Todd Graham is building something special at Arizona State. The much-traveled coach has found a home in the desert, leading the Sun Devils to consecutive 10-win seasons. A huge part of his success is rooted in a high-flying offense run by offensive coordinator Mike Norvell.
This fall, ASU ranked No. 16 nationally in scoring offense with 37 points per game. That was actually down from 2013, when the Sun Devils scored 39.7 points per game, No. 10 nationally. This fall, ASU was No. 34 in total offense, averaging 442.3 yards per game, and No. 32 in passing offense, averaging 273.8 yards per game.
Norvell, 32, is emerging as a hot name on the coaching carousel. This fall, he was connected to the Tulsa job that ultimately went to Baylor offensive coordinator Philip Montgomery, per AZCentral.com's Doug Haller. As long as the ASU offense keeps churning out yardage and points, he’ll be a top candidate until he makes the move to run his own program. Any school that craves offensive excitement would be wise to hire him.
Lincoln Riley
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When Bob Stoops needed to shake up his offense this winter, he went back to the future with a move toward the Air Raid system, which he employed when he was hired at Oklahoma in 1999. The perfect candidate was East Carolina’s Lincoln Riley. Riley, 31, is one of the nation’s hottest coordinators.
He spent four seasons at Texas Tech on Mike Leach’s staff before following Ruffin McNeill to ECU, where he directed a prolific passing offense. This past season, the Pirates used the potent combination of quarterback Shane Carden and wideout James Hardy to score 35.8 points per game and roll up 533 yards of total offense, No. 5 nationally. They also averaged 371.9 yards per game passing, which ranked No. 3 nationally.
Now, Riley will try to amp up an offense that was inconsistent under quarterback Trevor Knight’s watch last fall. It’ll be interesting to see how he incorporates outstanding tailback Samaje Perine into the system, but if Riley can get the Sooners system humming again, OU will be his last stop before a head coaching position.
Kirby Smart
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Under Nick Saban, Alabama’s defense has consistently been one of the nation’s best. While a young defense struggled at times this fall, the Crimson Tide front remained elite. Alabama allowed 328.4 yards per game, No. 12 nationally, and 18.4 points per game, No. 6 nationally. In addition, Alabama yielded only 102.4 yards per game on the ground, No. 4 nationally.
The man responsible? Defensive coordinator Kirby Smart. He has spent eight seasons as Saban’s defensive coordinator and is a huge reason why Alabama has won three national titles in that span. He has consistently been connected to openings but has stayed at Saban’s side.
He recently told AL.com’s Michael Casagrande that he is “always” interested in “the right job” but didn’t elaborate much beyond that.
Smart would be a natural candidate to replace Saban if and when he decides to move on, but it might not be a bad move for him to prove he can run his own show before that happens. That path worked well for Jim McElwain, who parlayed Colorado State’s head position into Florida’s head role this winter.
Jake Spavital
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One of the defining themes of Texas A&M football under Kevin Sumlin has been impressive offense. In 2013, the Aggies set a program and SEC record with 4,593 passing yards. And even without Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Johnny Manziel, A&M was an offensive force again this fall. The Aggies scored 35.2 points per game, No. 26 nationally, rolled up 455.4 yards per game, No. 30 nationally, and passed for 305.5 yards per game, No. 12 nationally.
2014 marked Jake Spavital’s first season as A&M’s sole offensive coordinator. He served as co-coordinator in 2013. It’s an impressive spot considering he’ll turn 30 years old in May. He has learned from Air Raid pros like Dana Holgorsen at West Virginia and Mike Gundy at Oklahoma State and could be ready to run a program of his own soon.
Like seemingly every hot coordinator in America, he was connected to the Tulsa job that went to Baylor’s Philip Montgomery, per Mark Berman of Fox 26 in Houston. It would be a shocker if he didn’t have more similar opportunities soon.
Brent Venables
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When Dabo Swinney was hired by Clemson in 2008, one of then-athletic director Terry Don Phillips’ interviews was with Oklahoma defensive coordinator Brent Venables. It seemed like a lateral move when Venables left Bob Stoops’ staff following the 2011 season to become the Tigers’ defensive coordinator, but the fresh start has worked out splendidly.
Venables has rebuilt a defense that gave up 70 points in the Orange Bowl to West Virginia in Kevin Steele’s final game into one of the nation’s best. This fall, Clemson allowed 260.8 yards per game, No. 1 nationally, and 16.7 points per game, No. 3 nationally. While the Tigers offense stuttered at times with freshman Deshaun Watson suffering two major injuries, the defense helped carry Clemson to a 10-win season.
Venables, 43, is a fiery type and a natural head coaching candidate. When asked about his future last fall, he told Aaron Brenner of The (Charleston) Post and Courier that it isn’t his ultimate goal, but it’s clear he’s thinking about it:
"It's not my ultimate goal. I love my job. I love the simplicity of it. I'm not going to be defined by a title or any kind of stature or pay. I just want to make sure I'm somewhere successful and got a quality family life. Trust me now: when it comes to the football aspect, I want to be somewhere you can win at the highest level, recruit the best players and be at a place where football's important and expectations are high. Those jobs are very, very difficult to get. I've been real fortunate to have that in my career. I think that's important for me and my happiness.
I'm a firm believer when I say I've never been one to self-promote. Sometimes you've got to be careful what you wish for; there's a lot more responsibility when you become a head coach. Those really good jobs don't just fall out of the sky. Doesn't matter if you're the head coach and you're making all this money, if you're somewhere that you have inferior resources or don't have a chance to win at the highest level. That doesn't sound like a whole lot of fun to me.
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Venables just received a new contract from Clemson. He already made $875,000 and will be one of the nation’s highest-paid coordinators. He won’t be leaving for just any job and can afford to be choosy, like Clemson offensive coordinator Chad Morris was before leaving for SMU this winter.
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