College Football Coaches Who Are Maximizing Their Offseasons
From August through December, and sometimes into January, college football coaches have one job: win games. That's the easy part.
It's the offseason when the real work happens and when coaches can either really boost their team's reputation or keep it from making any progress. Through recruiting, interviews, awards ceremonies and numerous other public appearances, coaches must promote the brand and sell the program at the same time.
There's a little bit of actual football sprinkled in there with spring practice, but even that's more about appearance and image than Xs and Os.
Not everyone can do this effectively, but those who do make it look simple. This offseason, there have been a handful of FBS coaches who are making the most of their time away from the field, and this effort should pay off in the form of success this fall and beyond.
Jimbo Fisher, Florida State Seminoles
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If Jimbo Fisher ever decides to get out of the coaching business, he might have a future in crisis management. Considering how well he has shielded his Florida State Seminoles team from controversy and distractions in the past year, he could easily handle even the messiest political scandal.
Even in the face of outgoing quarterback Jameis Winston declaring that his citation for shoplifting last spring was actually the result of a miscommunication, that he really was "hooked up" with the crab legs with which he walked out of a Tallahassee Publix grocery store, Fisher isn't throwing anyone under the bus and continues to defend his players and his program.
"'If he says it is, I guess it is (true)," Fisher said during an ACC teleconference Wednesday (h/t Yahoo). Fisher went on to say the situation was an "isolated incident" and not something that would warrant further investigation.
This steadfast dedication to his players and team can be credited with continuing to help Fisher and FSU on the recruiting front. The Seminoles currently have the top-rated recruiting class for 2016, per 247Sports, with 10 of their 14 commitments rated at four stars or better.
Fisher also has signed a contract extension during the offseason, getting a raise to $5 million per year. Additionally, he put down the groundwork for future raises by telling NBC Sports Radio earlier this month that he'd "recently" been contacted by NFL teams about jobs in the pros.
Al Golden, Miami Hurricanes
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The 2015 season is a make-or-break one for Al Golden, who enters his fifth year with the same overall (28-22), conference (16-16) and bowl (0-2) records that predecessor Randy Shannon had when he was fired. But just as important for Golden's future with the Miami Hurricanes is how he recruits for beyond this season, and so far, that has been a huge positive for his cause.
The Hurricanes are currently rated by 247Sports as having the No. 2 overall class for 2016, with already 20 commitments in tow, including 13 who have pledged since January. They had been atop the rankings until recently, when Florida State moved to No. 1.
That class only has two top-100 players (wide receiver Sam Bruce and linebacker Shaquille Quarterman), but more importantly, it includes 13 of the top 100 prospects in talent-rich Florida.
Golden needs to win this year, but by showing he's getting things lined up for 2016, as well, that might help him keep his job.
Jim Harbaugh, Michigan Wolverines
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If you haven't seen what Jim Harbaugh has been up to over the past four months, you haven't been watching TV, checking social media or reading any sort of news accounts. Otherwise, you'd know that the Michigan Wolverines' new coach has been everywhere.
Since coming back to coach his alma mater, Harbaugh has made appearances at various Michigan sporting events, spent time on the sidelines of his brother's, John, NFL playoff game with the Baltimore Ravens and spent a day coaching the Oakland A's in baseball spring training.
He also has taken over the world of social media, garnering more than 240,000 followers to a Twitter account that's equal parts program promotion, inspirational quotes and veiled shade toward rival coaches.
Earlier this week, he appeared on ESPN's Draft Academy reality series, in which he interviewed former Florida State quarterback Winston on how he's preparing for life as a pro.
There also has been some solid recruiting and a little bit of actual on-field football work, as Michigan completed spring practice two weeks ago with a game watched live by 60,000 fans.
Bleacher Report's Ben Axelrod noted that Harbaugh is taking a similar PR route that the Ohio State Buckeyes' Urban Meyer took when he got that job in 2012:
""Harbaugh has taken that strategy and increased his efforts tenfold, as his omnipresence on TV Tuesday night showed. Whether or not his big offseason will eventually yield big results as it did for Meyer remains to be seen, but with more than three months to go until the start of the season, it's clear that the summer of Harbaugh isn't going to end anytime soon."
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.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
Urban Meyer, Ohio State Buckeyes
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As the coach of the reigning national champions, Meyer is going to have a high profile this offseason. Having been through it before—thanks to his two titles won with the Florida Gators—has enabled Meyer to handle this victory tour with the ease of an Oscar-winning actor making the rounds on the talk show circuit for his next blockbuster picture.
Just days after holding court over a spring game that drew a record 99,391 fans Saturday, Meyer was at the podium to trade quips with President Barack Obama when Ohio State visited the White House to be honored for its national championship.
Meyer brings back nearly his entire starting lineup from last season, including all three of his star quarterbacks. That has led to plenty of interest in how he's going to handle the position, and to Meyer's credit, he has dealt with the near-constant questions about the competition between J.T. Barrett, Cardale Jones and Braxton Miller to perfection.
Chad Morris, SMU Mustangs
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As one of the nation's most high-profile (and highly paid) college football assistants, Chad Morris was regularly named by experts as a potential candidate for various head coaching openings over the years. He finally pulled the trigger on making the move from being the Clemson Tigers' offensive coordinator to his own program this winter, and he went to a place where he'll need to completely start from scratch.
The SMU Mustangs are coming off a 1-11 season in which they scored 133 points and failed to reach 10 in seven games. Compare that to Morris' offenses at Clemson, where from 2011-14, the team averaged at least 30 points per game every season.
Morris hasn't shied away from admitting he faces an uphill battle to resurrect SMU, but he also has shown an amazing level of confidence for a first-time head coach in such a situation. Not everyone in his position could get away with producing a hype video, and he added to the flair by creating a heck of a slogan (PonyUpTempo) that ties into both the school's history and Morris' plan to play fast.
Mike Riley, Nebraska Cornhuskers
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In most cases, the new coach who comes in to a program that just let the previous guy go has a little bit of wiggle room at the beginning because that ousted leader had performed poorly.
Not Mike Riley, who has the unenviable task of succeeding a coach at Nebraska (Bo Pelini) who won at least nine games in each of his seven seasons.
Riley only hit that mark in four of his 14 seasons with the Oregon State Beavers, and last year, his team was 5-7.
But Riley, universally known as one of the nicest guys in the college game, has said all the right things and made all the right gestures to make Cornhuskers fans forget (at least temporarily) that he hasn't had near the success that Pelini put forth. And by doing so, he has helped temper some expectations and prepare the Lincoln community for a soft opening, rather than a big splash of a debut.
"He begins his tenure at Nebraska with two advantages: First, he's assembled a veteran staff of assistants," Andrew Logue of the Des Moines Register wrote. "Secondly, he's not Bo Pelini."
Pelini's success wasn't good enough in part because of his sour demeanor, which Riley absolutely doesn't have. That's getting him an early pass, but it won't last for long.
Steve Spurrier, South Carolina Gamecocks
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The old Head Ball Coach learned a new trick this offseason, joining Twitter just ahead of turning 70. Since signing up March 2, Steve Spurrier has gained more than 55,000 followers, using the forum to heap praise on former players and colleagues and to show support for other South Carolina coaches.
Never one to shy away from a microphone, Spurrier also took the airwaves as a radio show caller earlier this month. Introduced as "Steven from Columbia, South Carolina," he called into The Dan Patrick Show to surprise Gamecocks superfan Darius Rucker and ask him to create a school fight song.
Spurrier then rewarded Rucker by letting him catch a touchdown in South Carolina's spring game, the latest in a string of celebrities, coaches and former players to get to play in the scrimmage during Spurrier's tenure.
Coming off a down 7-6 season, Spurrier looked like he might have wanted to hang up the headset and visor after 2014. Instead, he seems as young and energized as ever.
Follow Brian J. Pedersen on Twitter at @realBJP.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
