The Coaching Carousel 2015

All in all, not a bad year for college football head coaches; out of a total of 128 FBS football teams, only 15 will have a different head coach roaming the sidelines in 2015 than who they had to start the 2014 season. That is a very manageable 11.7% turnover.

Of those 15 schools with new head coaches:
• 9 teams are getting new, new Head Coaches
• 7 teams play in Power 5 Conferences
• 6 teams had winning records in 2014
• 2 bring in coaches from the NFL
• 1 brings in a Head Coach from a Division III program
• 1 brings in a Head Coach from a High School program
• 0 promoted from within

* First time Head Coach
** Head Coach at Div III

There are a few surprises, caused by the ripple effect of a few surprises. Although, it wasn’t a surprise that Bo Pelini was asked to depart the Nebraska job (some might question the soundness of that decision, but it was not a surprise that he was asked to step down), it was a mild surprise that Mike Riley, at 61 years of age, decided to fill that void. That move lead to an even bigger surprise when, after only 2 years, Gary Andersen decided to leave destination job, Wisconsin, for the spot Riley vacated in Oregon State. Time will tell whether or not Coach Andersen’s move was a good one for him, but, SOD is still shaking his head over that one. Patt Narduzzi fills in the spot at Pittsburgh ending that chain of events that put 3 teams on this list that might otherwise have not been there.

Jim Harbaugh comes back to the college football ranks after wearing out his welcome in San Francisco despite having some very successful years for that NFL franchise. Some suggest that Jim’s abrasive personality is better fit for college programs where the roster turns over every four to five years. By the time his players have grown tired of his antics, they are already moving along. There might be some validity to that. Without a doubt, however, Jim Harbaugh’s hiring makes the biggest splash and comes with the highest set of expectations. When you are the Head Coach at Michigan, splashes and high expectations are what you should get.

It will be interesting to see what Lance Leipold can do at Buffalo after having just a ridiculously successful time at Division III Wisconsin-Whitewater, amassing a record of 109-6 with 6 National Championships in 8 years. Buffalo is a tough job; you might have wondered if Lance could have held out for a better first-time FBS gig, but this might just prove to be a nice stepping stone for Coach Leipold.

Central Michigan was a late-comer to this party after Head Coach Don Enos bolted for a spot on the Arkansas staff just two weeks before signing the incoming class of freshmen. That makes it rather difficult finding a quality Head Coach this late in the process, but the Chippewas found an alum in John Bonamego willing to take a chance at the Head Coach’s position coming from the Detroit Lions as their Special Teams Coach.

Exactly 0 coaches were promoted from within to fill the Head Coach vacancy at their school. I guess that can be expected when a coach is asked to leave the program, that sometimes tarnishes the whole staff, but when a coach leaves on his own choosing, it is sad to see that there is no natural progression to fill in his spot. Nonetheless, several well deserving Offensive/Defensive Coordinators are getting a chance to fulfill their Head Coaching dreams, albeit in new surroundings. Only Pat Narduzzi, Michigan State’s Defensive Coordinator in 2014, steps into a Head Coaching position at a program in a Power 5 Conference. The rest of the new, new head coaches will learn their trade outside of the Power 5 with, no doubts, dreams of coaching their way into a bigger program some day.

Good luck gentlemen, we will see you in the fall.

30 Random Thoughts for the First Post on a New College Football Blog

1) The last thing the world needs is another blog on College Football.
2) Especially, a College Football blog written by a schmuck with no business writing a College Football Blog.
3) Starting a new College Football Blog on January 23 is about as stupid as it gets.
4) Since Braxton Miller has already graduated and does not have to sit out a year if he transfers – I think he should transfer.
5) Remember that Russell Wilson did number 4.
6) Even though almost every analyst I hear is saying Marcus Mariota is a can’t miss NFL prospect – I think he can miss.
7) I hope Jameis Winston grows up.
8) I bet the Baltimore Ravens don’t trade up to get Jameis Winston in the draft – or ever.
9) I think the Big 12 is making a Big mistake if it doesn’t expand to Championship-size.
10) I bet Bo Pelini doesn’t coach at Youngstown State for more than 1 year.
11) Just to keep things cosmically balanced, the Pac-12 should add Colorado State and Utah State to become the Pac-14.
12) Notre Dame and BYU need to join a conference.
13) Boise State should be in a big boy conference.
14) TCU still has good reason to be upset.
15) I am available to be a member of the Playoff Selection Committee – just say’n.
16) Urban Meyer and Jim Harbaugh have the potential of being a modern day Woody Hayes and Bo Shembechler. And, that would be cool. (Although Woody and Bo had a secret admiration for each other – I’m not sure Urban and Jim will develop that.)
17) Washington Huskies v. Boise State Broncos is a GREAT Week 1 match-up for 2015.
18) Becoming eligible for bowl games again; getting scholarships back; and getting wins re-instated is no excuse for Penn State to not follow up on lessons learned from the Jerry Sandusky tragedy.
19) The SEC is still a powerful football conference – with or without an ESPN bias.
20) I know I’m a nerd, but, I like the Kirk Herbstreit / Lee Corso dynamics.
21) I know I’m a nerd, but, I hate the Lou Holtz / Mark May dynamics.
22) I’m a nerd.
23) The winner of the 2015 Heisman Trophy will not be on the list of leading candidates going into the season.
24) Oregon and Florida State will not be in the Playoffs next year.
25) Ohio State and Alabama will be in the Playoffs next year.
26) Mississippi State and Ole Miss will not be in the Playoff discussion late in the season again.
27) TCU and Baylor will be in the Playoff discussion late in the season again.
28) I was impressed with Cardale Jone’s Press Conference announcing he is returning to school. I hope he does get his degree.
29) The odds of me keeping this blog going are 100,000:1.
30) The odds of anyone actually reading this blog are even greater than that.