2016 Coaching Changes
By Brian Edwards
VegasInsider.com
There were 29 coaching changes at the FBS level, including 14 at Power Five schools this past offseason since we’ll now count Baylor after its recent dismissal of Art Briles.
Let’s rank those 14 hires before each coach makes his debut at his new school.
1-Bronco Mendenhall (Virginia) - The only potential drawback to this hire is Mendenhall has spent all but one year of his life (as DB coach at La. Tech in 1997) in Utah, Arizona, Oregon or New Mexico. Therefore, he’s going to have to work diligently at establishing recruiting contacts in the Baltimore and Washington D.C. area. He brought six members of his BYU staff with him, retaining only WRs coach and UVA alum Marques Hagans from Mike London’s previous staff. I loved the hire of former East Carolina head coach Ruffin McNeill, who will really help recruiting after nearly four decades spent coaching in the South. Mendenhall is still young at the age of 50 and has 11 years of experience as the head coach at BYU. Mendenhall took all 11 of his teams to bowl games, winning in six of the Cougars’ last eight postseason appearances. Five of his last seven BYU squads posted double-digit win totals with the 2009 team finishing 12th in the nation. UVA has strong academic standards, but Mendenhall has already proven that he can thrive even when faced with the unique challenges like those offered at BYU, including Mormon missions, extremely strict student-conduct rules and convincing African-American players to come play at a religious school with a small percentage of minority students. This won’t be a quick fix but I believe UVA nailed it with this hire.
2-Justin Fuente (Virginia Tech) - The spectacular reign of Frank Beamer in Blacksburg ended with four subpar campaigns, but it’s not as if he hung around a decade too long like Bobby Bowden in Tallahassee. Plus, the Hokies lost 14 one-possession games in Beamer’s last four seasons. So it’s not a massive rebuild for Fuente, who faced that exact scenario when he took his first head-coaching gig at Memphis. Fuente, who is only 39, did an incredible job for the Tigers, who went 19-6 in his third and fourth seasons at the helm. He led Memphis to its first 10-win season since 1938 in 2014, finishing No. 25 in the national rankings. Fuente led the Tigers to an 8-0 start, including a dominant win over Ole Miss, and higher into the rankings last year. Fuente made a wise move by retaining long-time defensive coordinator Bud Foster, who has been one of the country’s best over the last two decades. The future looks bright for the Hokies in the weaker division of the ACC.
3-Mark Richt (Miami) - The University of Miami alum went 145-51, including an 83-37 mark in SEC regular-season games, during his 15-year tenure at Georgia. Richt won six SEC East titles and two SEC championships. However, four different SEC schools combined to win nine national championships while UGA was shut out in that department over those 15 seasons. Also, Richt made one of the worst clock-management decisions in college football history when he opted not to spike the ball after a long first-down play late in the fourth quarter of the 2012 SEC Championship Game against Alabama. Nevertheless, this is an outstanding hire for Miami, especially compared to recent moves that resulted in Larry Coker, Randy Shannon and Al Golden running one of college football’s most storied programs. Richt couldn’t quite measure up when taking on the likes of Steve Spurrier, Nick Saban and Urban Meyer, but his path to championships in the ACC won’t be as difficult. Richt routinely brought in Top-10 recruiting classes at UGA, so he’ll improve the talent level at UM quickly. I liked Richt’s hire of Manny Diaz from Mississippi St. as UM’s new defensive coordinator. The demise of the ‘Canes in recent years has caused much consternation in South Fla., but the fan base has to feel much better with Richt at the wheel compared to an outsider like Golden.
4-Lovie Smith (Illinois) - This was a shocking hire considering the circumstances and timing (March 7). But if you’re an Illinois fan, you have to absolutely love it. Smith has been an NFL head coach for 11 seasons, going 81-63 in nine seasons with the Bears. He helped Chicago to the Super Bowl in 2006 when it won 15 games despite inconsistent quarterback play. Smith was a college assistant from 1983-1995, so recruiting isn’t a completely foreign concept to him. Here’s the bottom line: The head coach of the University of Illinois is not named Ron Zook, Tim Beckman or Bill Cubit. Instead, it’s a guy who has coached in the Super Bowl. Furthermore, Smith brought in Hardy Nickerson as his DC, which resulted in Nickerson’s son transferring in from California. Nickerson Jr. will immediately start at linebacker.
5-Matt Campbell (Iowa State) - If you can’t beat him, go hire him. Campbell led Toledo to wins at Arkansas and vs. Iowa St. last season. He went 35-15 at Toledo, including three nine-win seasons. The Cyclones are hoping Campbell is the next former Toledo coach to take a Power Five program to great heights like Nick Saban and Gary Pinkel have done. It will be a great challenge for Campbell, who is taking over the second-most difficult job in the Big 12 behind only Kansas. But he’s 36 with youth on his side and a $1.5 million per year contract. I think this is a good get for Iowa St. Even if Campbell has a lot of success and eventually bolts for a bigger and better job, that’ll be a good thing for the Cyclones, who have finished over .500 just twice in the last 11 years.
6-Kirby Smart (Georgia) - The plan worked. Smart has turned down multiple head-coaching offers through the years while waiting for the gig at his alma mater to open up. Smart spent nine seasons at Alabama, serving as DC the last eight years. He helped Saban win four national titles and the only blemish on his resume is his lack of head-coaching experience. Smart grew up in Bainbridge, Georgia, a small rural town just a few minutes away from the Florida state line. He isn’t as polished as most other SEC coaches in terms of dealing with the media, but the UGA faithful won’t lose a wink of sleep over that if he can win big in Athens. Richt’s time at UGA had run its course and the fan base – at least the majority of it – was ready for something new. Smart passed his first big test by holding off a late charge from Florida for the nation’s No. 1 pro-style QB in Jacob Eason, who might earn the starting job right away after an impressive spring. The 40-year-old knows nine-win seasons aren’t going to cut it for too long. UGA fans are starving for the national title they haven’t tasted since Herschel Walker delivered one in the early 1980s when Vince Dooley stalked the sidelines between the hedges.
7-Will Muschamp (South Carolina) - The Gamecocks made a hard push at Houston’s Tom Herman, thought they had him wrapped up, only for him to change his mind. USC reportedly had talks with Arizona’s Rich Rodriguez as well, in addition to Oklahoma OC Lincoln Riley, but it eventually settled on the former Florida coach. Loyal readers have been down this road with me before. We won’t delve too far deep into what went wrong for Muschamp in Gainesville, but it sure as hell wasn’t recruiting or his ability to build an elite defense. Muschamp has been one of the best defensive minds in all of football (college and pro) for a long time. Many forget that in his second year at UF, he led the Gators to an 11-1 record during the regular season. If Southern Cal QB Matt Barkley had not gone down with a shoulder injury against UCLA, the Trojans would’ve most likely beaten Notre Dame in their regular-season finale at home the following week. Had they done so, Florida would’ve faced Alabama in the 2012 BCS Championship Game rather than the Irish. Muschamp has assembled a strong staff in Columbia and a lot of young players are going to play this year. In 2016, the Gamecocks are going to struggle, especially after losing their best defensive player, Skai Moore, to season-ending neck surgery a few weeks ago. But with Muschamp’s recruiting prowess and ability to build defenses, I think USC fans will be happy with this hire by 2018.
8-Jim Grobe (Baylor) - With the sort of controversy surrounding this program, Baylor couldn’t have found a classier man to lead it through this turmoil than Grobe. Gamblers certainly recall his sensational success as an underdog for most of his tenure at Wake Forest, with the last few years serving as an exception. Grobe is loyal, as evidenced by turning down other jobs (like Arkansas) to stay in Winston Salem. During Riley Skinner’s three years as the Demon Deacons’ starting QB, Grobe won 28 games and led Wake to an 11-3 record and Orange Bowl appearance in 2006. The Deacs went 7-0 ATS as ‘dogs during that ’06 regular season. Without a doubt, this is a challenging situation to walk into. At the same time, however, Grobe takes over a talented team that could contend for a berth in the College Football Playoff. He’ll have to develop chemistry with the retained – at least for now – assistants and his new players fast, but don’t be surprised if that happens.
9-D.J. Durkin (Maryland) - In the last three years as a DC at Florida (2013-14) and Michigan, Durkin has molded his units into some of the best in the country. At the age of 38, he brings plenty of youth and energy. Durkin was able to learn plenty about offense from Jim Harbaugh last season. In his only game as a head coach in the interim role, he led Florida to a win over East Carolina at the Birmingham Bowl two years ago.
10-Dino Babers (Syracuse) - Babers has posted a 37-16 record in four seasons as a head coach at Eastern Illinois and Bowling Green. In his first year with the Falcons, they went 8-6 and won the MAC East division title despite losing star QB Matt Johnson for the season in Week 1. Babers runs an aggressive offense that doesn’t like settling for field goals. The 54-year-old cut his teeth as an assistant all across the nation, including stops at Purdue, San Diego St., UCLA, Arizona, Texas A&M, Pittsburgh and Baylor. He’ll have his work cut out for him at the ‘Cuse, especially in the ACC Atlantic where Clemson, Florida St. and Louisville reside.
11-Barry Odom (Missouri) - Odom played at Missouri and has spent the better part of the last decade and change within the program in one form or another. He helped the Tigers field one of the nation’s top defenses last year, but poor QB play following the suspension of Maty Mauk led to a forgettable last campaign for Gary Pinkel, who otherwise did spectacular work during his 15-year tenure. Pinkel produced double-digit win totals in five of his last nine years. Odom has a tough act to follow, so we’ll see with this selection of someone with zero head-coaching experience.
12-Tracy Claeys (Minnesota) - Claeys has been forced into an interim head-coaching role while working under Jerry Kill on many occasions. He went 4-3 after seizures forced Kill out during the 2013 campaign. After Kill’s health issues forced him to retire midway through last season, the Gophers struggled to a 2-4 finish. This is a tough job, but it’s still one in the Big Ten that I suspect could’ve attracted a bigger name.
13-Clay Helton (Southern Cal) - Last time I checked, this was one of the nation’s most storied programs. It is easily considered one of the top-five jobs in America. Nevertheless, it settled for hiring a coach who has compiled a 6-4 record during two stints as the interim coach at USC. Helton has been in the program since 2010, but those haven’t been the best of times. Why not go get a big name? Why not go get someone not just with head-coaching experience, but a proven winner? I don’t get it.
14-Chris Ash (Rutgers) - Ash has been on Urban Meyer’s staff as co-DC at Ohio St. the last two seasons, but he’s never been a head coach. Rutgers was already a difficult job and it’s even more challenging now that it’s in the Big Ten. I don’t see Ash lighting a fire under the Scarlet Knights.
B.E.’s Bonus Nuggets
I went to great lengths last year to tout a pair of assistant hires as the best of the offseason. Those two hires were Oklahoma offensive coordinator Lincoln Riley and Auburn’s acquisition of Muschamp. Due to a variety reasons, including inept QB play that put extra pressure on a defense that was without star pass rusher Carl Lawson for 11 of 13 games, the Auburn defense didn’t improve as much as I anticipated. However, Riley proved to be the best coordinator hire. The architect of East Carolina’s ‘Air-Raid’ attack that prompted QB Shane Carden and WR Justin Hardy to shred ECU’s record books for passing and receiving, Riley helped Oklahoma make the CFP behind the spectacular play of QB Baker Mayfield.
As for this year, I’m going to point to LSU’s slick hire of Wisconsin DC Dave Aranda, who has done a remarkable job of building elite defenses at Wisconsin in recent years. Now Aranda will have more athletic pieces to work with, including 10 starters coming back. This unit should be vastly improved and give LSU a better shot at unseating Alabama in the SEC West.
LSU’s defense wasn’t nearly as stout last season after losing DC John Chavis to Texas A&M. I couldn’t stand Les Miles’s hire of Kevin Steele to replace Chavis going into 2015. Likewise, I’m not a fan of Gus Malzahn hiring Steele to replace Muschamp.
As for other quality assistant hires, I like DC Bob Shoop to Tennessee, Greg Schiano to Ohio St., Brady Hoke to Oregon (as DC) and DC Jeremy Pruitt back to Alabama.