At the start of the season, the conventional wisdom among many college football writers and observers felt that there would not be many changes at the top of programs. That has turned out to – not be the case! There aren’t as many vacancies (yet) to be sure but wheels are turning for at least a couple of the major programs in America and several on the second tier.
There are also several coaches who are setting themselves up to be the hot ticket in this coaching carousel or the one that will occur inevitably next year. Let’s take a look at both below (and I’d love to hear your thoughts on Twitter @ReadyCFB):
Fired:
Will Muschamp – South Carolina: Shane Beamer, son of legendary Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer and most recently Assistant Head Coach at Oklahoma under Lincoln Riley is the replacement hire here.
Jay Hopson of Southern Miss - resigned: Will Hall, Tulane offensive coordinator has been hired as the replacement. Southern Miss has a lot of potential and a rich history (for a G5 school) of very good teams that give Power 5 schools fits. The last decade has not been great for them but the recruiting territory of South Mississippi/Louisiana/South Alabama/North Florida is rich.
Derek Mason – Vanderbilt: A winless year, even in a pandemic, even with competitive losses, was too much for Vandy to keep Mason who is clearly a good defensive coach and upstanding guy who just couldn’t keep Vandy at a level where they competed to get to minor bowls each year. That’s the absolute ceiling for Vanderbilt – it was met and exceeded by James Franklin in his three years (although the SEC East was a bit down at that time). The Commodores have a number of folks that seem interested in the job – there is potential here but it’s tough to build consistency.
Matt Viator - Louisiana-Monroe: It’s never been easy to win in Monroe but a 19-39 record gave the Warhawks Athletic Director little choice but to move on. It seems like this is a place that could be competitive in the Sun Belt, competing for Louisiana, East Texas and Mississippi/Arkansas/Memphis recruits but will take a unique personality.
Steve Campbell - South Alabama: This job has potential as it is in rich recruiting territory but just hasn’t been able to get off the ground since making the jump to Division 1-A (FBS).
Gary Andersen - Utah State: Considered an odd re-hiring at the time (Andersen had been at Utah State previously before bolting to Wisconsin and then Oregon State where he abruptly quit), the second go around never really worked out. This is an underrated job West of the Rockies.
Toasty:
Tom Herman – Texas: I wrote about a month ago…”There’s a lot of smoke about Herman. Obviously if he wins out or wins all but one, he’s likely back, but the bloom is off the rose, can Herman get it back?” The answer to that question seems to be no. A close loss at home to Iowa State (whom Texas should probably never lose to – certainly not at home) seems to have been a final straw…BUT…when Urban Meyer said no, the brain-trust in Austin, led by Athletic Director Chris Del Conte, seems to be trying to decide if there is another coach both interested AND good enough to justify the near-$25 million it would take to buy out Herman and his staff. For a coach who’s been underwhelming but had a winning record and improved the program from where he took it over, that question is not an easy one to answer. Herman may yet get another year but is very much on the edge.
Jeremy Pruitt – Tennessee: Things keep getting worse on Rocky Top. The lack of a quality quarterback seems to be the biggest issue but there are other issues as well. The fan base is ready to move on but AD Philip Fulmer seems to want to keep Pruitt. They won 9 games last year (admittedly most of their wins came against teams worse than they were). It would be very expensive to get rid of Pruitt but clearly major changes are in the offing. If Tennessee can beat Vandy to close out the year it may be enough but if they were to lose…that would probably be it.
Justin Fuente – Virginia Tech: From losing a game to Liberty due to a bungled “ice the kicker” timeout to a general malaise around the program (other than their opening win of the season) the Hokie fan base seems to be tiring of Fuente. A loss to Virginia this weekend may be the last straw while a win may stave off termination. Virginia Tech also has to be thinking that their vacancy this year would be a top one (as of right now). That wouldn’t always be the case – would allow them to have better selections for replacements.
Warming Up under Heat Lamp:
Jim Harbaugh – Michigan: News is breaking of a deal to lower Harbaugh’s total annual salary and buy out but give him an extension. It’s classic sign of an athletic department who would like to move on but know firing is not really a great option for them. The hope seems to be having Harbaugh either take an NFL job (of which he will have a choice perhaps due to his past success) or maybe that he makes serious staff changes…which he already did once a couple years ago. Either way, he’s on a huge hot seat for next year if he somehow is still around.
Gus Malzahn – Auburn: The running joke is that Gus is always on this list unless and until he beats Alabama in a year. He beat Alabama last year in an incredibly fluky game that helped masked an otherwise pretty average season. Since his first season in 2013 when he took Auburn to the National Championship game, Malzahn has lost at least four games each year, including 2017 when Auburn went to the SEC Championship game and Peach Bowl but lost both. After that 2017 season, Auburn’s outgoing president gave Gus an ill-advised $50 million extension. So now in order to replace Gus Malzahn – which Auburn boosters are apparently somewhat eager to do – they’d have to fork over a buyout nearing $20 million including a large lump sum due within 60 days. If Auburn loses its final game of the season to Mississippi State this weekend to finish 5-5 then it may be game on. If they conclude 6-4 I think it’s more likely they wait until next year. Predictably Malzahn – one of the great excuse makers in all of college football – has been talking up how great next year’s team will be. Auburn may want to be careful what they wish for however. Malzahn gives their rivals (Alabama and Georgia) fits in the seasons where they come to Jordan-Hare.
Dino Babers – Syracuse: Will survive this year but offensive ineptitude and a generally dismal performance overall has made a lot of the goodwill from the Orangemen’s 10 win 2018 season evaporate. Another below-.500 year next season would likely make it Coach Babers’ last in upstate New York.
Cooled Off:
Chip Kelly – UCLA: The Bruins have looked much better since a rocky start with both improving and even exciting offense and defense getting better. Kelly was never going to be in trouble this year anyway but if he can close strong it bodes well for the program moving into a (hopefully) normal and full year next year.
Pat Narduzzi – Pitt: While it’s been a mediocre season for Pitt, even by their usual average standards, a 5-5 campaign so far in a year when the pandemic has badly impacted finances is enough to keep Narduzzi cool. Next year is when the Panthers seem to be setting up for bigger success. We shall see.
Cold, Hard Cash (in their future):
Matt Campbell – Iowa State: Culture, culture, culture. Matt Campbell has built a consistent, if-not-flashy winner at one of the toughest places to win in the Power 5 after years of success at Toledo.
Hugh Freeze – Liberty: Not much as changed, still probably the hottest name in SEC country even after South Carolina went another direction. His baggage made that job less likely but Auburn and Tennessee fans both look at him longingly, so do Vandy fans. He also could conceivably be a fit at Virginia Tech.
Luke Fickell – Cincinnati: Still a top possibility for any midwestern job he’s interested in and could probably be in play even in a place like Texas if a couple other big names fall through. He’d be great for Michigan but he’s an Ohio State man through and through so that’s a hard jump to see him making.
Jamey Chadwell – Coastal Carolina: Has to be close to the top of the list for any program that’s not an established blue blood. By that I mean, he’s not going to be a candidate at the Texas/Michigan jobs if they came open but other opportunities he’d be on top for. Virginia Tech comes to mind.
Billy Napier – Louisiana: A huge win on the road, beating Appalachian State for the first time in program history despite three bad snaps on special teams and a bad move to take a safety. Napier took himself “out of consideration” for South Carolina job and talked about how committed he is to keep building the culture at Louisiana. However, if the right job came open I’m sure he’d be a candidate. Tennessee or Auburn might look at him if they make moves.
Got any thoughts about the coaching carousel or anything else in college football? Hit me up on Twitter at @ReadyCFB.