Coaching Moves this Off-season

Durfish

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Louisville: Brian VanGorder is the new defensive coordinator for the Louisville football team. Bobby Petrino confirmed the news during an interview on Howie Lindsey’s “Louisville First” show on 790-KRD Monday morning. VanGorder, 58, spent the past season as an assistant at Oklahoma State. He was the defensive coordinator at Notre Dame in 2015, but was fired by head coach Brian Kelly just four games into the 2016 season. There is some history here, as VanGorder was the linebackers coach for the Atlanta Falcons during Petrino’s one-year stint in the NFL in 2007. In all, VanGorder has spent 37 seasons as a coach and has been with 10 different college programs.
Not a particularly stellar resume, but he, it's Louisville.
 

BMF

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Not a particularly stellar resume, but he, it's Louisville.

Van Gorder, at one time, was considered a bigtime up-and-coming future head coach. Won the Broyles award at UGA....then he went to Georgia Southern as the head coach and it all came crashing down. Now it seems he's just trying to hang on and coach as long as possible. He had a rough time at ND. Honestly, I'm surprised he's getting a shot as a DC. Maybe he has something left in the tank? Who knows. Grantham actually had some very good defenses at Louisville (he was coaching Charlie Strong's recruits for the most part). I'm not sure what kind of talent they've recruited, but this is likely Van Gorder's last shot as a DC (he's pushing 60 years old). At one time (around 15 years ago) this would have been considered a big-time hire by Petrino....
 

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Florida State: New defensive coordinator Harlon Barnett will earn $980,000 annually on a three-year deal, according to USA Today, which adds that offensive coordinator Walt Bell will have a three-year deal worth $700,000 annually.
He had a great year this year at Sparty but the previous two had a defense giving up about 5.5 yards per play. Not sure he deserves nearly a mil per year, but I guess if you're hard up for coaches that's what happens.
 

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He had a great year this year at Sparty but the previous two had a defense giving up about 5.5 yards per play. Not sure he deserves nearly a mil per year, but I guess if you're hard up for coaches that's what happens.

It's pretty much the going rate. It's unbelievable. Coaching salaries are out of control (everyone can thank Saban....and then LSU for trying to keep up w/ the Jones'). I remember in 2005 when Jeff Bowden was fired as FSU OC he was making $145K....as the OC!! That's only 12 seasons ago. Now the DB coach makes $300K (or more)!
 

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Arizona: Kevin Sumlin has announced his entire staff. They include: former Texas A&M offensive coordinator Noel Mazzone (OC/QB coach), former Texas A&M running backs coach Clarence McKinney (RB coach), former Texas A&M quality control assistant Taylor Mazzone (outside WR coach), retained Arizona wide receivers coach Theron Aych (inside WR coach), former Indianapolis Colts offensive line coach Joe Gilbert (OL coach), retained Arizona defensive coordinator Marcel Yates (DC/LB coach), Mt. San Antonio (Calif.) defensive coordinator Iona Uiagalelei (DL coach), former UCLA defensive backs coach Demetrice Martin (CB coach), former Oregon State safeties coach John Rushing (safeties coach) and Texas A&M quality control assistant Jeremy Springer (special teams coordinator). Senior defensive analyst Chuck Cecil has also been retained.

Arkansas: The school has announced that former head coach Bret Bielema will receive $11.935 million in buyout, paid in monthly installments through 2020.
 

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Va Tech is getting off cheap w/ Fuente:

Virginia Tech: Head coach Justin Fuente has received a one-year extension through 2024, and the school has announced an increase in the assistant salary pool and support staff salary pool and enhancements to the academic and recruiting staffs. The Roanoke Times reports Fuente’s salary will increase from $3.25 million to $4 million in 2018, including base pay and retention bonuses.

Virginia Tech: Director of player development Adam Lechtenberg has been promoted to assistant head coach / executive director of player development. He will serve as the 10th full-time assistant, but isn’t assigned a position. His role will be to oversee recruiting and manage the roster.

Tennessee: Athletic director Phillip Fulmer tells WNML that he would like to stay in the role for five or six years.
 

Swamp Donkey

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Va Tech is getting off cheap w/ Fuente:

Virginia Tech: Head coach Justin Fuente has received a one-year extension through 2024, and the school has announced an increase in the assistant salary pool and support staff salary pool and enhancements to the academic and recruiting staffs. The Roanoke Times reports Fuente’s salary will increase from $3.25 million to $4 million in 2018, including base pay and retention bonuses.
Isn't that about the going rate for a 4 loss coach?
 

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UCF: Air Force spurs / nickels coach Nick Toth has joined UCF as special teams coordinator, and former Rutgers defensive line coach Shane Burnham has joined the Knights as defensive line coach, completing Josh Heupel’s staff. In addition, former Indiana and Wyoming quarterback Cameron Coffman has been named assistant director for football operations, Missouri graduate assistant Matt O’Brien has joined as an offensive quality control assistant, Maryland graduate assistant Micah James has joined as an offensive graduate assistant, Missouri student assistant Mitch Militello has joined as an offensive graduate assistant, and Utah State strength and conditioning graduate assistant has joined as assistant director for sports performance.

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Nepotism??:

Syracuse: Manvel High School (Texas) head coach Kirk Martin will join the Syracuse staff as quarterbacks coach, according to 247Sports. One of Martin’s sons is married to Syracuse head coach Dino Babers’ daughter.
 

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Virginia Tech: Director of player development Adam Lechtenberg has been promoted to assistant head coach / executive director of player development. He will serve as the 10th full-time assistant, but isn’t assigned a position. His role will be to oversee recruiting and manage the roster.
Is it just me or does this seem like a waste of the 10th FTA position? An on-the-field position for recruiting and roster management. Ugh.
 

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Is it just me or does this seem like a waste of the 10th FTA position? An on-the-field position for recruiting and roster management. Ugh.

Yeah, that's a bit odd. Most coaches are adding a coach dedicated to ST's. There's plenty of QA's, GA's, recruiting staff, director of player development, or analysts that can handle "recruiting and roster management"
 

Durfish

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Yeah, that's a bit odd. Most coaches are adding a coach dedicated to ST's. There's plenty of QA's, GA's, recruiting staff, director of player development, or analysts that can handle "recruiting and roster management"
The only thing I can think of is perhaps the state regents or University have specific restrictions regarding roles and salaries. Perhaps due to the Assistant Head Coach role. Quite a big promotion for a guy with a relatively slim and not so impressive resume.

Va Tech site says he'll coach on the field wherever he's needed. IMO they'll need to codify that sooner or later.
 

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Florida State: Per WCTV, here are the salaries for Willie Taggart’s assistants: DC Harlon Barnett ($980,000), OC Walt Bell ($700,000), OL coach Greg Frey ($650,000), DE coach Mark Snyder ($450,000), LB coach Raymond Woodie ($400,000), WR coach David Kelly ($375,000), RB coach Donte Pimpleton ($345,000), TE coach Telly Lockette ($325,000) and DB coach Alonzo Hampton ($275,000). The coordinators have three-year deals, and the position coaches have two-year deals. Retained defensive tackles coach Odell Haggins is not listed yet.
 

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Kentucky: Former Indianapolis Colts outside linebackers coach Brad White will join Kentucky in the same role as the 10th assistant coach, according to the Lexington Herald-Leader. Previous outside linebackers coach Dean Hood will move to work with defensive backs.

LSU: Former Louisiana Lafayette offensive coordinator Jorge Munoz will join the LSU staff as an analyst / consultant, according to The Advocate.
 

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South Carolina: Former Florida assistant athletic director for football operations George Wynn has been named director of football operations at South Carolina. Previous DFO Robbie Liles has left to pursue opportunities outside athletics.
 

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Holgerson loses his RB coach again:

West Virginia: Running backs coach Tony Dews has joined the Tennessee Titans as running backs coach.

Auburn: Gus Malzahn’s new seven-year contract pays him an average of $7 million annually, beginning at $6.7 million with $100,000 annual raises. If he is fired without cause, he would be owed 75 percent of the remaining money on the contract. If Malzahn leaves for another job, he would owe $7 million before Dec. 31, 2019, annually decreasing from there.
 

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Kirby steals Vandy's WR coach on NSD:

UGA: Vanderbilt is reportedly losing a key member of its staff. Commodores wide receivers coach Cortez Hankton is leaving to join Georgia, where he will likely take over the same position for the Bulldogs.

Hankton has been Vanderbilt’s receivers coach for the past three seasons, after previously serving three seasons as the receivers coach at Dartmouth. He also spent six years in the NFL as a wide receiver.

After being undrafted out of Texas Southern in 2003, Hankton played for the Jacksonville Jaguars, Minnesota Vikings and Tampa Bay Buccaneers during his brief NFL career.
 

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UGA: Former Georgia staffer Scott Fountain is heading back to join Kirby Smart’s staff after leaving for Mississippi State in January. Fountain left UGA to become MSU’s special teams coordinator after serving in an off-the-field role on Smart’s staff in 2017.

That makes four stops in less than a year for Fountain. Georgia originally hired Fountain after he was fired from Auburn’s staff in June of 2017. He was formerly Auburn’s special teams and TEs coach. He’s had stops at FSU, UCF and Iowa State, among other places, during his career.

Fountain is known as a good recruiter, and this is a hit to Joe Moorhead’s staff at Mississippi State.

Georgia lost its special teams coordinator Shane Beamer to Oklahoma in January.
 

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