CFB Head Coaches Whose Stock Is on the Rise After a Strong 2015 Season
Some of the biggest stars of any college football season are the ones inside the headsets, leading their teams to unforeseen success and becoming hot names in an instant.
In the 2015 season, plenty of coaches saw their stocks dramatically rise with their teams' great seasons. Some immediately cashed in on that potential with offseason moves to bigger programs, while others committed their futures to their surging programs.
Here are the college football head coaches whose stock is on the rise after strong 2015 campaigns, from the "Group of Five" stars to the power-conference names who experience a career revitalization during the fall.
Of course, not every successful head coach in 2015 fits this list. Coaches who already had great stocks due to past success (such as Clemson's Dabo Swinney) or name recognition (such as Michigan's Jim Harbaugh) weren't included. These are for the rising names in the coaching world, not the successful known quantities.
Who do you think had the biggest gain in their individual coaching stocks this offseason? Tell us in the comments below.
Already on the Move
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These five head coaches already took advantage of their rising stock from strong 2015 seasons and took new jobs at bigger programs.
Dino Babers (Bowling Green to Syracuse): With two wins over Big Ten programs and a MAC championship under his belt, Babers is taking his high-flying offense to the ACC as the new coach at Syracuse. The rising coaching star will look to turn around a program that is coming off back-to-back losing season.
Matt Campbell (Toledo to Iowa State): The Rockets ran out of fuel toward the end of the season, but Campbell had Toledo relevant on a national level with early-season victories over Arkansas and Iowa State. He is now the head coach at the latter school, hoping to bring his Group of Five success over to a struggling Big 12 program.
Willie Fritz (Georgia Southern to Tulane): Fritz had a seamless transition from Sam Houston State to Georgia Southern, coaching the nation's top rushing attack to 17 wins in its first two seasons as an FBS member. He is now in charge down in New Orleans at Tulane.
Justin Fuente (Memphis to Virginia Tech): Fuente was synonymous with almost every coaching vacancy this fall, and Virginia Tech did a great job of quickly tabbing the former Memphis head coach to replace the legendary Frank Beamer. The former TCU assistant turned a downtrodden Memphis program into strong AAC contenders in a short time.
Bronco Mendenhall (BYU to Virginia): The tenured BYU coach decided to make a surprising move in the offseason to the ACC, where he'll take over a Virginia program that was underwhelming under Mike London. Mendenhall is coming off one of BYU's best years as an independent, going 9-3 in the regular season.
Jeff Brohm (Western Kentucky)
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It only took Jeff Brohm two seasons to become a hot commodity on the coaching market. After replacing former boss Bobby Petrino in 2014 and going 8-5 in his first season with Western Kentucky, Brohm led the Hilltoppers to a landmark 12-2 campaign in 2015.
After a low-scoring win over SEC school Vanderbilt in Week 1, Brohm's fast-paced offense was one of the best in the nation all fall long. The Hilltoppers were ninth nationally in total yards per game (526.4) and third in points per game (44.3) behind experienced gunslinger Brandon Doughty and a deep crew of skill players.
WKU's only two losses in 2015 came against Power Five opponents—a close loss to Indiana and a defeat to LSU in Baton Rouge—as it ran the table in the Conference USA. The program picked up its first C-USA championship and defeated former coach Willie Taggart in the Miami Beach Bowl last month.
"We set out our goals for this year and we definitely achieved them," Brohm said, per Brandon Wise of CBS Sports. "We're gonna set some more goals ahead. We're excited to be in Conference USA. People are aware of us."
Power Five programs are definitely aware of Brohm, who told several search firms he would not interview for any jobs until after the Conference USA title game, according to Pete Thamel of Sports Illustrated. The former quarterback might not be on the move this offseason, but he'll definitely be a hot name moving forward for anyone with a vacancy.
Sonny Dykes (California)
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Even with a strange last-season saga, Sonny Dykes raised his stock as a head coach this season by taking the California Golden Bears to their first bowl game since 2012.
After only winning six games in his first two seasons as the Cal head coach, Dykes went 8-5 in 2015, which included a 5-0 start and a brief spell in the Top 25. With highly touted pro prospect Jared Goff at quarterback, Cal had the nation's No. 8 offense in yards per game.
The Golden Bears overcame a midseason slide to win three of their final four games, but reports suggested Dykes was on his way out of Cal—by his own choice. Dieter Kurtenbach of KNBR reported Dykes had "mentally moved on from Cal," and he interviewed for the head coaching vacancy at Missouri.
"Lost in all the rumors of Dykes' supposed imminent departure is that his three years on the job have been largely successful," Zach Barnett of NBC Sports wrote. "In addition to getting the Golden Bears back to a bowl game for only the second time since 2009, Dykes has completely overhauled the abysmal APR situation he inherited from Jeff Tedford."
But Dykes surprised the college football world in December when the program announced a contract extension through the 2019 season. The Golden Bears went on to defeat Air Force in the Armed Forces Bowl to give Dykes more momentum for the future.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
Larry Fedora (North Carolina)
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After seeing his season win total drop from eight to seven to six in his first three seasons at North Carolina, Larry Fedora's stock surged in 2015 with double-digit victories and an ACC Coastal title.
With a huge number of returning starters on offense and a new defensive coordinator in Gene Chizik, the Tar Heels rebounded from a disappointing Week 1 loss to win 11 straight games by an average of three touchdowns. UNC would go onto lose the ACC title game in close and somewhat controversial fashion to No. 1 Clemson one year after a losing season.
Fedora's offense was at its big-play best with quarterback Marquise Williams and running back Elijah Hood, as no other team in college football average more yards per snap than the Heels. And while the defense took a huge step back in late-season losses to Clemson and Baylor, the turnaround under Chizik was quite impressive for most of the year.
"At 53, Fedora orchestrates one of the nation's most electric offenses and comes equipped with a program-rejuvenating, Red Bull-fueled public persona," Zach Dillard of FOX Sports wrote. "He's now resurrected two programs at two different levels."
With whispers of him leaving Chapel Hill for another program growing louder late in the season, Fedora signed a massive extension through the 2022 season with North Carolina. He'll continue to be one to watch as UNC seeks to establish itself as a consistent force in the ACC.
Kirk Ferentz (Iowa)
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How impressive was the turnaround of fortunes for Kirk Ferentz in 2015? He started off with well-reasoned calls for his firing in January and later finished by being named Bleacher Report's Coach of the Year in December.
An Iowa program that seemed to be stuck in neutral went to a new gear this past fall, silencing critics and building momentum with a 12-0 regular season. The embattled head coach now known as "New Kirk" instituted some changes in Iowa's preparation and play-calling, and the results were quite impressive.
Iowa stormed its way into the College Football Playoff picture and came close to knocking off Michigan State in an instant classic at the Big Ten Championship Game. Ferentz won several more Coach of the Year awards nationally as he took the Hawkeyes back to the Rose Bowl—albeit a disappointing one—for the first time since 1991.
"Iowa will be dogged by questions about whether its loss to Stanford exposed the Hawkeyes as a team that benefited from a soft schedule to rise above where they belonged," Luke Meredith of the Associated Press wrote. "But that's still much better than last fall, when many wondered if Iowa had seen its best days under Ferentz."
Although the final two losses of 2015 were heartbreaking for the Hawkeyes, the program has new life again, and Ferentz is far away from the hot seat.
Tom Herman (Houston)
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The shining star of the Group of Five ranks and the hottest name in this offseason's coaching carousel, Tom Herman had virtually the best possible first season for any head coach.
The former Ohio State offensive coordinator took over at Houston and took the Cougars to new heights, going 11-1 in the regular season with his famed "smashmouth spread" offense and a defense loaded with underrated playmakers. Houston would go onto win the first AAC Championship Game and earn a berth in the lucrative Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl.
In Atlanta, Herman's team knocked off Florida State in style, opening up a big halftime lead and killing off any hopes of a comeback with some huge fourth-quarter plays. Although he was a candidate for seemingly every available head coaching job in the country this year, Herman signed an extension with Houston, wanting to build something great with the Cougars.
"[The Peach Bowl win] was a team that's overmatched from a talent standpoint mentally and physically dominating one of the most talented teams in the country," Bleacher Report's Barrett Sallee wrote. "It was one of the best coaches in America proving he belongs at the big-boy table."
With a new grill and a new contract in place, Herman is focused on wrapping up a remarkable Top 25 recruiting class and preparing for a successful 2016 season—one that starts with a game against defending Big 12 champion Oklahoma.
Jim McElwain (Florida)
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While opinions on Jim McElwain's hiring at Florida were divided between promising and underwhelming, nearly everyone could agree that the former Colorado State coach would have a rebuilding project ahead of him in Gainesville.
Yeah, about that. McElwain's Gators won their first six games of the 2015 season and climbed all the way into the Top 10. The Florida offense was much improved, and the defense still had the same fearsome bite from the Will Muschamp years by allowing the eighth-fewest yards per play.
Florida stumbled offensively after quarterback Will Grier received a year-long suspension for a positive performance-enhancing drugs test, but the Gators were still able to win the SEC East and surpass the highest expectations of them in McElwain's first season. With Grier, Florida may have challenged for a College Football Playoff berth.
"McElwain laid the foundation, the team earned a taste of success and brought the program back to relevance for the first time since the 2013 Sugar Bowl following the 2012 season," Sallee wrote after Florida's loss to Michigan in the Citrus Bowl, its third straight defeat. "McElwain's first season as the head coach of the Gators was a rousing success."
McElwain now seems to be ahead of schedule at Florida, one of the single-best jobs in college football thanks to the recent success and incredible in-state talent at its disposal.
Todd Monken (Southern Miss)
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Perhaps the most under-the-radar coaching success of the 2015 season, Todd Monken brought the Southern Miss program back to relevancy in the Group of Five ranks this fall.
Monken inherited an Eagles team in 2013 that had gone 0-12 in Ellis Johnson's one season in charge. After winning just four games in his first two seasons, Monken led the Eagles to a Conference USA Western Division title in 2015 behind a top-10 offense and a vastly improved defense.
Southern Miss split its first six games of 2015—losing by just eight points to Nebraska in Lincoln—and went on a high-scoring tear to end the regular season. Monken's team would fall short against stronger Western Kentucky and Washington sides in the postseason, but he more than doubled his win total from 2013 and 2014 in just one year.
"Monken is a brilliant offensive mind, but it takes more than that to resurrect a program," Hugh Kellenberger of the Clarion-Ledger wrote. "What impressed those in Hattiesburg even before the wins came was that Monken was resolute in his belief that his plan would work and never wavered in front of everyone."
Monken's stock could rise even higher in 2015, too, as Southern Miss is set to return a large amount of talent from this year's 9-5 team. Keep an eye on him in the 2016 coaching carousel.
Ken Niumatalolo (Navy)
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Navy has been one of the most consistent programs in the country under Ken Niumatalolo, but the Midshipmen reached new heights in a record-breaking 2015 campaign.
With senior quarterback Keenan Reynolds running his way into the all-time record books behind a veteran-laden offense, Navy got off to a hot start in its first season in the AAC. The Mids won nine of their first 10 games, losing only to Notre Dame and ending Memphis' long-shot hopes of a playoff berth.
Navy couldn't keep up with Houston in a matchup that decided the AAC's Western Division, but Niumatalolo kept the team steady as it took down Army yet again. Between that win and the Military Bowl, the veteran coach was linked to several vacancies—most notably BYU—but he decided to stay in Annapolis.
"I just think ultimately this is where I’m supposed to be," Niumatalolo said, per Gene Wang of the Washington Post. "Nothing against BYU. They have a great program. They’re really wonderful people, but there are wonderful people at the Naval Academy."
After his decision to stay at Navy, Niumatalolo became the first head coach in Navy's long football history to have an 11-win season with the program. Replacing a legendary talent like Reynolds will be a huge challenge, but Niumatalolo seems more than prepared for the task.
Matt Rhule (Temple)
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Herman, Fuente and Campbell were the top names in the coaching carousel during the months of November and December, but Matt Rhule established himself as a strong option for several programs with his work at Temple.
Rhule got the Owls to bowl eligibility last season—one year after a 2-10 finish—but they weren't selected to any postseason games. No one could deny Temple a bowl spot in 2015, though, as the Owls soared to a program-best 7-0 start and setup a nationally televised home game with Notre Dame.
Temple would fall to Notre Dame and later USF but remain in the hunt for the AAC championship. The season ended with back-to-back losses to Herman's Houston and formerly Campbell's Toledo, but it was still a great success for a program not used to the major spotlight.
"With two sellouts (of 69,000-plus fans at the Linc against Penn State and Notre Dame), numerous weeks nationally ranked and an abundance of television exposure, Temple football is a hot commodity," Evan Macy of Metro wrote.
After bringing Temple into national prominence in 2015, Rhule was awarded with a hefty pay raise and contract extension. If he can continue to keep the Owls on the radar in the seasons to come, he'll continue to be a name linked with Power Five jobs.
Scott Satterfield (Appalachian State)
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If Monken had the quietest coaching turnaround in the FBS this season, Appalachian State had the quietest season with double-digit wins.
Appalachian State made the jump from FCS to the FBS prior to the 2014 season. While many remember the Mountaineers from their Michigan-upsetting I-AA heights of the last decade, the Mountaineers actually went 4-8 in their final season of FCS action under Scott Satterfield.
But after a 7-5 campaign in 2014, Satterfield led Appalachian State to a strong 2015. The Mountaineers' only two losses on the season came against eventual No. 1 playoff seed Clemson and Sun Belt champion Arkansas State. The Mountaineers earned their first bowl bid and then won it, rallying to knock off Ohio in an exciting Camellia Bowl.
"The Mountaineers closed their second FBS season with their 11th win, the program's first bowl victory," Bleacher Report's Bryan Fischer wrote. "That's a sign of a bright future under Scott Satterfield. They should be the Sun Belt favorites next season."
Satterfield signed a five-year extension with Appalachian State in October. If he continues to lead the Mountaineers to more quick success in the FBS, he'll be a rising candidate in future job searches.
Justin Ferguson is a college football writer at Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter @JFergusonBR.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
