College Football Coordinators Who Should Be Head Coaches Already
The coaching silly season has passed. If you're one of the college football programs fortunate enough to have kept that highly sought assistant, count your lucky stars.
He may not be around for much longer.
Every coordinator on the following list has reportedly received some sort of interest from another program over the past couple of years about becoming a head coach. However, for one reason or another, things didn't work out.
Which coordinators are already qualified to land their first head-coaching jobs? We give some answers in the following slides.
Virginia Tech Defensive Coordinator Bud Foster
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It feels like this conversation repeats itself every offseason: Why isn't Virginia Tech defensive coordinator Bud Foster a head coach by now?
Here's what we do know: Foster was reportedly on the verge of signing a contract extension with the Hokies in December. Barring unforeseen circumstances, it looks like Foster will be in Blacksburg for several more years.
"I’m flattered that they’re working to keep this thing going the way it is," Foster told Mark Giannotto of The Washington Post. "This has been a big part of my life here the last 28 years. We may make some announcements down the road, but I’m pleased with where things are going."
Foster has been with Virginia Tech since 1987. He loves it there, and the university has done a great job of keeping him happy. If he were to leave, it would be for an opportunity he simply couldn't get at Tech. Given how consistent Tech's defenses have been—the Hokies finished second in the ACC in scoring defense (20.4 points allowed per game) in 2014—it's easy to see why Foster is considered one of the finest college football minds.
He should have offers; it's a matter of whether they're lucrative enough for him.
Alabama Defensive Coordinator Kirby Smart
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Similar to Foster, Alabama defensive coordinator Kirby Smart has become an annual name in the coaching rumor mill.
It just hasn't happened yet.
Smart's also been connected to D-coordinator jobs at other SEC schools, most recently LSU, per Jim Kleinpeter of The Times-Picayune.
In August, Bruce Feldman of Fox Sports ranked Smart the nation's No. 2 defensive coordinator (behind former Michigan State D-coordinator Pat Narduzzi) ready to take on a head-coaching job:
"Last season, the Tide, despite losing more first-rounders off its defense and playing in a league loaded with standout QBs, still finished in the top five in total defense. As with Narduzzi, it's a surprise to a lot of folks that Smart isn't off running his own program already. It's been five years since he won the Frank Broyles Award, becoming the first Tide assistant to ever do so. The 38-year-old Smart's been primed to run his own show after almost a decade working under Nick Saban.
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In 2014, Smart's defense finished in the top 10 in points allowed per game (18.4) and yards allowed per rush (3.71). The Tide also gave up only five rushing touchdowns all season, which was the best in college football.
The numbers and coaching resume are there for Smart to take a head-coaching gig. It's up to him to decide whether that next job is right.
Oregon Offensive Coordinator Scott Frost
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Oregon has churned out great offensive-minded coaches almost as efficiently as it's churned out speedy skill players. It would seem that Ducks offensive coordinator Scott Frost will be the next assistant to get his shot at a head-coaching job.
Whether there was tread to the rumor or not, Frost was a sexy pick to replace head coach Bo Pelini at Nebraska and was connected to the Colorado State job as well. However, Scott opted to stay at Oregon and has indicated it won't be so easy to pry him away.
"Oregon is a place I've enjoyed being,'' Frost told Jason Quick of The Oregonian. "I've loved everything about the program. Love the players I'm coaching. Love the guys I'm working with. That's a hard situation to think about leaving.''
However, as Quick noted, Frost is bright and ambitious.
Over the past two seasons, Oregon's points-per-game averages have been nearly identical (45.5 and 45.4). If the Ducks can keep up the pace post-Marcus Mariota, other programs will be giving even more attention to Frost's acumen.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
Arizona State Offensive Coordinator Mike Norvell
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Speaking of rankings, Bruce Feldman of Fox Sports put out another list last July of the top young offensive coordinators in college football. Yep, Arizona State offensive coordinator Mike Norvell made the cut.
Norvell has been attached to the hip of Sun Devils head coach Todd Graham since their days at Tulsa (2007 to 2010). At just 33 years old, Norvell is considered one of the young bright minds in college football.
Still, that hasn't stopped the rumor mill from connecting him to head-coaching jobs.
Norvell was—along with everyone else in the world, apparently—briefly connected to the open job at Tulsa last December. However, he told Doug Haller of azcentral.com that he was "committed to what we are doing here at ASU."
Over the past three years, Norvell has guided Arizona State's offense to a top-three Pac-12 ranking in points per game. In 2013, Graham promoted Norvell to deputy head coach, which really means Norvell got a hefty raise as a result.
Norvell is still fairly new to the coaching game, but he has the confidence of Graham.
It's going to take a lot to get Norvell to leave that position. But, sooner or later, someone's going to give him a lucrative head-coaching job.
TCU Co-Offensive Coordinator Doug Meacham
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Perhaps other than Lane Kiffin at Alabama, no other first-year offensive coordinator had a bigger impact than Doug Meacham did at TCU. With the assistance of fellow co-offensive coordinator Sonny Cumbie, Meacham led the Frogs to the No. 2 scoring offense in the nation (46.5).
In 2013, TCU averaged 25.1 points per game.
Meacham, the play-caller for TCU, orchestrated a three-touchdown swing. He also helped turn what was an underachieving wide receiver unit into one of the Big 12's best. For his efforts, Meacham was a finalist for the 2014 Broyles Award for the top assistant coach—and had a legitimate case to bring it home.
Meacham has coached under two of the best minds in college football: Gary Patterson at TCU and Mike Gundy at Oklahoma State. That's a fine resume.
Meacham was briefly connected to the open Tulsa head-coaching job, but Kelly Hines of the Tulsa World reported that Meacham turned down the interview.
Wisconsin Defensive Coordinator Dave Aranda
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New Wisconsin head coach Paul Chryst hasn't coached a game with the Badgers, but he's already recorded one victory: keeping defensive coordinator Dave Aranda.
For the past two seasons, few defensive coordinators have done a better job than Aranda has. According to his bio on Wisconsin's website, Aranda's defenses have "allowed an average of 299.4 yards per game, ranking third among FBS programs over the last two seasons and trailing only Louisville (280.5) and Michigan State (282.9). The Badgers have allowed an average of 18.6 points per game over the last two seasons, the sixth-best mark in the FBS during that span."
Last season, Wisconsin finished fourth nationally in total defense and 17th in points allowed per game.
Bob McGinn of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reported in February that the Green Bay Packers had interest in Aranda as a defensive assistant. However, that job eventually went to former Oklahoma assistant Jerry Montgomery.
Auburn Offensive Coordinator Rhett Lashlee
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Head coach Gus Malzahn's right-hand man, Tigers offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee has had one of those meteoric rises in the coaching ranks.
In 2006, Lashlee joined Malzahn in the college ranks as a graduate assistant at Arkansas, and the two have been nearly inseparable since. Because of Auburn's offensive success—the Tigers have averaged at least 35 points per game in each of the last two seasons—Lashlee has been getting interest from other programs.
In an interview with Joel Erickson of AL.com, though, Lashlee said he's not looking for a head-coaching job:
"No, (I'm) not looking. I mean, I think when teams, our offense, or whatever, has success, those things happen. Sometimes, you know how it is, anybody can say whatever they want and not even be true at all, but it gets out there.
I've always taken the approach, and I fully believe that you've got to enjoy where you're at and do really good where you're at. And if you don't, none of that stuff's going to matter.
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Lashlee may not be ready to take that next step, and that's fine. He may not feel he's ready, given that he hasn't coached at the college level for very long. His feelings could be bound to change over time, though.
However, if he wanted a head-coaching job, he could have found one somewhere.
Clemson Defensive Coordinator Brent Venables
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Clemson already lost one big-name coordinator, Chad Morris, to a head-coaching job (SMU). Could the Tigers lose another soon in defensive coordinator Brent Venables?
A longtime defensive coordinator for head coach Bob Stoops at Oklahoma, Venables has found success turning Clemson's defense around. Since Venables joined head coach Dabo Swinney's staff in 2012, Clemson's defenses have consistently gotten better in all major categories.
In 2014, Clemson had one of the best defenses in the country. The Tigers ranked third nationally in points allowed per game (16.7) and run defense (2.97 yards allowed per rush). In January, Venables re-signed with Clemson and will make $1.35 million beginning in 2015.
It's going to take a more high-profile job to pry Venables away from Clemson. With so many departures from the 2014 defense, Venables will have his work cut out for him in 2015.
If he can put together even a solid showing, though, he's going to be a hot coaching candidate again.
Ben Kercheval is a lead writer for college football. All quotes cited unless obtained firsthand. All stats courtesy of cfbstats.com.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
