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2018 could see more changes among Group of 5 coaches
Monday, December 18, 2017
Chris Vannini writes:
The pool of head coaching candidates wasn’t deep this year. What was expected to be a crazy carousel was relatively tame, but that should set up quite a coaching carousel a year from now.
There have been 20 head coaching changes in the FBS this cycle, and only Kent State remains open. Of the 19 changes, only two featured Group of 5 head coaches who moved on (Scott Frost and Chad Morris). By comparison, there are three new head coaches who weren’t even coaching on the field last year (Chip Kelly, Herm Edwards and Sonny Dykes).
As a result, the pool for the 2018 carousel will have a lot of high-quality candidates with another year under their belts, especially at the Group of 5 level. Memphis’ Mike Norvell, Toledo’s Jason Candle, Navy’s Ken Niumatalolo, USF’s Charlie Strong, Troy’s Neal Brown, UAB’s Bill Clark, Arkansas State’s Blake Anderson, North Texas’ Seth Littrell, UTSA’s Frank Wilson and Appalachian State’s Scott Satterfield all could be in the mix for Power 5 jobs a year from now. Several of them were this year.
But it depends on what jobs open.
The Power 5 jobs open this season included numerous heavy-hitters, like Texas A&M, Florida, Florida State, Tennessee, UCLA and Oregon. Typically, the most highly resourced programs hire sitting head coaches, and it creates a domino effect down to the Group of 5 and even FCS.
Instead, there was a domino effect within the Power 5. Texas A&M hired Florida State’s coach, Florida State hired Oregon’s coach, and Oregon promoted from within. Florida hired Mississippi State’s coach, and the Bulldogs hired a coordinator. Tennessee hired a coordinator, and UCLA hired a coach who was working in television TV. There was barely any domino effect.
Being a fan of a Group of 5 fan means big success often follows with losing your coach — Navy and Tulsa are the only AAC schools with a coach entering at least his fourth season. But in 2018, most of the AAC's coaches will return. It means there could be a deep pool of teams in contention for the New Year’s Six bid next year, and a much deeper pool of Power 5 head coaching candidates.
Monday, December 18, 2017
Chris Vannini writes:
The pool of head coaching candidates wasn’t deep this year. What was expected to be a crazy carousel was relatively tame, but that should set up quite a coaching carousel a year from now.
There have been 20 head coaching changes in the FBS this cycle, and only Kent State remains open. Of the 19 changes, only two featured Group of 5 head coaches who moved on (Scott Frost and Chad Morris). By comparison, there are three new head coaches who weren’t even coaching on the field last year (Chip Kelly, Herm Edwards and Sonny Dykes).
As a result, the pool for the 2018 carousel will have a lot of high-quality candidates with another year under their belts, especially at the Group of 5 level. Memphis’ Mike Norvell, Toledo’s Jason Candle, Navy’s Ken Niumatalolo, USF’s Charlie Strong, Troy’s Neal Brown, UAB’s Bill Clark, Arkansas State’s Blake Anderson, North Texas’ Seth Littrell, UTSA’s Frank Wilson and Appalachian State’s Scott Satterfield all could be in the mix for Power 5 jobs a year from now. Several of them were this year.
But it depends on what jobs open.
The Power 5 jobs open this season included numerous heavy-hitters, like Texas A&M, Florida, Florida State, Tennessee, UCLA and Oregon. Typically, the most highly resourced programs hire sitting head coaches, and it creates a domino effect down to the Group of 5 and even FCS.
Instead, there was a domino effect within the Power 5. Texas A&M hired Florida State’s coach, Florida State hired Oregon’s coach, and Oregon promoted from within. Florida hired Mississippi State’s coach, and the Bulldogs hired a coordinator. Tennessee hired a coordinator, and UCLA hired a coach who was working in television TV. There was barely any domino effect.
Being a fan of a Group of 5 fan means big success often follows with losing your coach — Navy and Tulsa are the only AAC schools with a coach entering at least his fourth season. But in 2018, most of the AAC's coaches will return. It means there could be a deep pool of teams in contention for the New Year’s Six bid next year, and a much deeper pool of Power 5 head coaching candidates.
