The Biggest Offseason Question for Every New Coach at a Power Conference Program
Every new coaching hire comes with its unique set of challenges, and across the landscape of college football, eight fresh faces at Power Five programs are getting ready to meet those head-on.
With a spring practice session in the rearview, the new coaches have a clear picture of the tasks at hand, and in the big-money, win-now atmospheres of the nation's top conferences, they know they don't have a lot of time to do it.
For some, such as Texas' Tom Herman and Oregon's Willie Taggart, it's about restoring the proud programs to the state in which their fanbases believe they belong. Big Ten rivals Indiana and Purdue, on the other hand, are looking for coaches who can make an impact where one rarely exists.
For Matt Rhule at Baylor, he just wants everything to be about football.
With mere months to go until real football kicks off, let's examine the top questions facing each new coach at a major conference program that range from offense to defense to far off the field.
Tom Allen, Indiana
1 of 8
The question
How will new offensive coordinator Mike DeBord blend with Indiana's personnel recruited by Kevin Wilson?
With Wilson gone and now Ohio State's offensive coordinator, new Hoosiers coach Tom Allen plucked Tennessee's OC to sit at the helm in Bloomington. What impact will he have?
The answer
DeBord got a bad rap in Knoxville, but the bottom line is the Volunteers thrived on offense the past two seasons, winning nine games each year and enjoying a wealth of success with playmakers such as quarterback Joshua Dobbs and running backs Alvin Kamara and Jalen Hurd.
That was especially the case on the ground, where the Vols excelled both years, rushing for the second-most yardage in school history in 2015.
Now, DeBord inherits a high-octane, quarterback-friendly group of players recruited to run Wilson's offense. People forget, however, that runners like Tevin Coleman and Devine Redding churned out big rushing yards under Wilson as well. With returning signal-caller Richard Lagow, this could be a strong unit.
IU made it to a bowl game a season ago, and the defense improved under Allen. Now, with his calling the shots for the team, the key is maintaining cohesion in an offense that led the Hoosiers to the Foster Farms Bowl a season ago.
DeBord is a veteran coach who should be able to do that, and the team should improve upon its 6-7 record in 2016.
Jeff Brohm, Purdue
2 of 8
The question
Who is going to emerge for the Boilermakers outside of star quarterback David Blough on offense?
After the QB's breakout season with 3,352 passing yards and 25 touchdowns, he lost his top three receivers. Head coach Jeff Brohm's offensive pedigree needs to rub off in a hurry.
The answer
As Blough proved last year (21 interceptions), he can't do everything himself.
Enter three transfer receivers and Brohm, the offensive-minded coach who led Western Kentucky to a 30-10 record in his career and the man who was brought in to rebuild the Boilermakers.
With Blough expected to get a lot of opportunities under Brohm, whose Hilltoppers quarterbacks Brandon Doughty and Mike White put up Xbox numbers, it's a safe bet to look for receivers to emerge.
One of those guys is former Notre Dame receiver Corey Holmes, who is seemingly the perfect fit for Brohm's offense. Likewise, JUCO transfers Isaac Zico and Terry Wright address major needs.
"Hopefully, these guys can help us this first season but it's still early to tell. We do need to improve in that area," Brohm told the Journal & Courier's Mike Carmin.
Sophomore running back Tario Fuller is an electrifying speedster who can make defenders miss, and he should highlight a group that is solid, thanks to former coach Darrell Hazell's strong recruiting at the position. Markell Jones and D.J. Knox give the Boilermakers a quality trio with different skill sets.
Those are some potential answers for Purdue, but this is far from a one-year rebuilding effort in West Lafayette.
P.J. Fleck, Minnesota
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The question
Who is going to replace Mitch Leidner at quarterback for the Golden Gophers?
Though the three-year starter was far from dynamic for Minnesota, he was a key player for the offense under former coach Tracy Claeys. With P.J. Fleck in town, who's going to be the man to run his team?
The answer
The cupboard is far from bare for Fleck, who knew what he was doing when he left a Western Michigan team that battled in the Cotton Bowl and was going to have to replace a ton of talent.
The Gophers have 14 returning starters and a lot of nice pieces on offense, especially with running back Rodney Smith a focal point. But it's not going to be the same without Leidner under center.
That may not be a bad thing.
Redshirt sophomore Demry Croft showed some glimpses in the spring game, completing a 60-yard pass on the game's first play and hitting 8-of-13 passes overall. After redshirting a season ago, the 6'5", 200-pound sophomore looks ready. He is athletic enough to run the ball and possesses plus arm strength.
If Croft emerges, this offense under Fleck could resemble the turnaround Penn State had in 2016 on that side of the ball.
Though the battle is wide open with redshirt senior Conor Rhoda and redshirt freshman Seth Green, Croft has the highest upside.
With Smith as a strong safety blanket and a mammoth offensive line protecting him, Croft could be the perfect guy to jump-start the Fleck era.
If that happens, the Gophers may be rowing the boat with the Big Ten powers.
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Tom Herman, Texas
4 of 8
The question
Can Tom Herman help all those talented Texas players live up to their potential?
Former coach Charlie Strong didn't exactly fail on the recruiting trail, but the Longhorns fell far short of expectations. Now, Herman has to prove he's worth his huge contract.
The answer
Few would have predicted a 16-21 record in three years in Austin, but the Strong era was weak, to say the least.
That's despite recruiting classes ranked 15th, seventh and third in 2014, 2015 and 2016, respectively. The talent was there; the development wasn't.
That's why Strong is starting over in South Florida, and the Longhorns opened up the pocketbook to pluck Herman from Houston.
Now, regardless of what gaps remain in a defense that must be revamped by coordinator Todd Orlando or that the offense is searching for a signal-caller and a replacement for running back D'Onta Foreman, the biggest turnaround needs to come in motivating those players to play like they belong at a program like Texas.
As the Austin American-Statesman's Cedric Golden noted, former UT athletic director DeLoss Dodds once said: "We are the Joneses," referring to Texas setting the bar in college athletics. For football purposes, that needs to translate to getting that swagger back.
Herman has some patching up to do schematically and from a personnel standpoint, sure, but the Big 12 is there for the taking if the Longhorns start playing like the 4- and 5-stars should. Herman needs to get the most out of the guys already there.
His track records at Ohio State and Houston bode well.
Ed Orgeron, LSU
5 of 8
The question
Can the quarterback become a viable playmaker again at LSU under new offensive coordinator Matt Canada?
Following Les Miles' offensively challenged last few years in Baton Rouge, new coach Ed Orgeron made a dynamic hire. It needs to pay off quickly.
The answer
After a puzzling departure from North Carolina State, where he built quality offenses led by Jacoby Brissett, Canada surfaced at Pittsburgh a season ago and had one of the best play-calling seasons in the country, with Nathan Peterman at quarterback and James Conner running the ball.
Canada parlayed that into a huge contract with the Tigers, and they expect him to transform a one-dimensional offense into a team that can contend with Alabama in the SEC West.
No pressure, huh?
Orgeron had high praise for signal-caller Danny Etling in a recent interview with the Advocate's Ross Dellenger, but he also called the senior a "game manager." That's not the highest praise to heap, by any means.
Etling must hold off Lindsey Scott, Lowell Narcisse and Myles Brennan to keep the job.
Everybody knows the offense will revolve around stud running back Derrius Guice. But, as the last couple of years have proved, LSU needs more from its quarterback to win important games.
The spring game didn't foster much excitement about the direction of the offense, but Canada is a good coordinator, and he has some talent with which to work in the youngsters behind Etling.
Though the starter won't be dynamic in 2017, the future looks brighter with Narcisse and Brennan on deck.
Matt Rhule, Baylor
6 of 8
The question
Can Matt Rhule's first year in Waco turn the attention back to the field?
With a nightmarish, self-inflicted two years of off-the-field scandal and issues that have led some, such as CBSSports.com's Bill Reiter, to call for the program's end, the Bears have to rebuild their reputation along with their on-field product.
The answer
When you think the allegations regarding the Baylor football program can't get any worse, they do—much worse.
The Waco Tribune-Herald's Phillip Ericksen details a seventh Title IX lawsuit levied against the university that "alleges as many as eight football players drugged a student and took turns raping her in 2012."
While it's so hard to see a football team through all the scandalous allegations, the Bears are still going through with fielding a team that had them competing for the Big 12 under former coach Art Briles not long ago.
Though hiring Temple coach Matt Rhule hasn't eliminated the off-field woes, he does bring a positive on-field pedigree with him. Unfortunately, the awful things that have been reported make it tough to concentrate on the possibility of the Bears getting back to that point.
Rhule was a great hire under Baylor's circumstances, and he inherits a program with a potential star quarterback in Arizona transfer Anu Solomon. There are personnel issues remaining, but Rhule has some players with which to work.
It's going to take time and a zero-tolerance mentality for Rhule to ever steer the attention back to football in Waco.
Willie Taggart, Oregon
7 of 8
The question
Can Willie Taggart and new coordinator Jim Leavitt fix a defense that was fundamentally broken in 2016 on all three levels?
Hiring away the Colorado assistant was a major step in the right direction, but how much better can the Ducks be in 2017 on D?
The answer
So much went wrong for former Oregon coach Mark Helfrich as the program lost its footing over the past two years, but it doesn't get much worse than the Ducks' 2016 defense.
Under first-year coordinator Brady Hoke, who had previously never held the position at the collegiate level, Oregon was 126th out of 128 Football Bowl Subdivision teams in total defense and scoring defense. The Ducks allowed an incredible 41.4 points per game.
It almost has to get better. But how much?
If Leavitt's track record is any indication, it'll get a lot better. He took the Buffaloes defense from a 114th ranking the year before he got there to 85th in his first year and 19th a year ago. They were 20th nationally in points allowed and 14th in points allowed in the red zone.
Leavitt also has a lot of players to mold who got valuable (if humbling) experience a season ago. Incredibly, 12 of the Ducks' top 13 tacklers return, so they should be better with a year behind them.
"If we play good defense here, we'll tell a great story," Leavitt told the Daily Emerald's Gus Morris. "If we don't then I won't be here for long…and that's the way it should be."
With UO's offensive firepower, if the Ducks can surge into the top 75 in defense, they'll win eight or nine games.
Justin Wilcox, California
8 of 8
The question
How long will it take for the program's face-lift that is inevitably coming?
With Sonny Dykes' air-assault era over in Berkeley, the longtime defensive coordinator has discussed turning California into the Wisconsin of the West, per Mark Purdy of the Mercury News. Can it work?
The answer
Sure, this could happen, but it's going to take a rebranding of the program from the inside out. And it's going to take longer than one offseason.
Cal athletic director Mike Williams told Purdy that Wilcox "gets" California, and he is determined to recruit quality players who also fit into the rigid academic environment at the school.
Under former coach Jeff Tedford, the football side of things outshone academics. Though Dykes improved the grades, the football was inconsistent. Despite all the offensive firepower Wilcox inherits with the Bears, he doesn't have a very good skeleton of a team.
Wilcox's defensive pedigree should help on that side of the ball, just as they're expecting a big turnaround in Oregon. But there's no way the new coach will keep the same reckless-abandon, fast-paced offensive tempo. So, marrying a new scheme with existing personnel won't be an overnight fix.
The task in front of him is daunting, and it won't all happen in 2017. But a quality recruiting start and a .500 season would be a legitimate step that proves he could be the right choice in Berkeley.
Recruit rankings courtesy of Scout.com unless otherwise noted. All stats gathered from CFBStats.com, unless otherwise noted.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
