20. Charlie Partridge FAU
Carl pelini got fired after starting 2-6 they finished the year 6-6. And imo they would've been better off with the interim HC. Charlie Partridge a defensive coach at Arkansas that was the best you could do? IMO they should've gotten Mario Christobal. I'd call this hire a fart in an elevator
19. Willie Fritz Georgia Southern
Fritz comes in from Sam Houston State where he replaces Jeff Monken who left for Army. Fritz has a good resume but with the move to the Sun Belt they will abandon the triple option offense and go to a spread option offense. That's going to take at leats 2 years. So you move up to FBS from 63 scholarships to 85,you go to the Sun Belt and your changing systems. I would've kept the option but its a big loss to lose Monken as they take the next step in Georgia Southern Football
18. Bill Clark UAB
Clark replaces Garrick McGee who left to be Bobby Petrino's OC at Louisville. Clark was a HC for 1 year at Jacksonville State leading them to the FCS playoffs. UAB seems to be where careers go to die and unless they can find a way to get an on campus stadium its going to be same old same old at UAB who now is the worst fbs team in Alabama. Good coach bad situation
17. Blake Anderson Arkansas State
Anderson was the OC at North Carolina LY and i wasn't overly impressed with his offense. Hell he left before UNC's bowl and with Fedora calling the plays that offense was awesome. Anderson will be Ark.State's 5th HC in 5 years and 7th HC in their last 41 games
Ark.State's biggest blessing is their coaches get hired to big jobs and their curse is the fact that their coaches keep leaving for big jobs
Maybe Arkansas State will be able to keep a HC for 2 years
16. Chris Creighton Eastern Michigan
EMU reminds me alot of UAB. UAB is in the middle of Alabama and Auburn and Eastern Michigan is in the middle of Michigan and Michigan State. EMU is 1 of 2 MAC schools to not make a bowl since 2004{UMASS is the other}They get little to no fans showing up to games. Chris Creighton comes in from Drake University and i hope he can get EMU going but i hope in 1 hand and put something else in the other to see which gets filled up first
15. Dave Clawson Wake Forest
The former HC Jim Grobe said a few years ago "We keep looking for depth and at Wake Forest we're just not going to have depth" Clawson comes in from Bowling Green where he won a MAC title this past season. Clawson is a very good HC but he has a ton of factors working against him. 1 is the depth. 2 the academic standards at Wake. 3 being you're in the same division as these teams named FSU,Clemson and Louisville. I hear those 3 are somewhat good at football
Coach Clawson is walking into a tough spot but the dificulties he'll deal with is why he's at #15
14. Derek Mason Vanderbilt
The Stanford DC takes over for James Franklin who left for Penn State. I have Mason here but not because i think he'll do a poor job but due to filling the shoes left by Franklin. Franklin won 9 games in b2b years at Vanderbilt and those are big shoes to fill We'll see if the beat rolls on at Vandy
13. Bob Diaco UCONN
Tough situation to walk into for Diaco as this program has fallen since being in the Fiesta Bowl vs Oklahoma a few years ago. Diaco the Notre Dame DC takes over here and it could be a tough few years. He has to sell hope as they're in the American conference and they have to get kids to believe in the program. Tough road ahead for UCONN hopefully Diaco eats nails for breakfast
12. Mark Whipple UMASS
The Charley Molanr error is over after going 2-22 in 2 years at UMASS to go with alienating boosters having kids transfer and pissing off fans. And the jerk didn't send me an autographed photo
Former UMASS HC Mark Whipple has come back for a 2nd stint and he's got a tough road ahead. But next year 3 of their home games will be back on campus and he's won here before. UMASS may finally be headed in the right direction
11. Chuck Martin Miami of Ohio
The winningest program in MAC history hit rock bottom LY going 0-12 and not scoring more than 17 points in any 1 game. Notre Dame OC Chuck Martin comes in and he was also a former HC at Grand Valley State taking over for Brian Kelly there. He brings experience,leadership and the ability to lay a foundation. he's also bringing Andrew Hendrix with him from Notre Dame to play qb for a year. this won't be a quick fix but i have no doubt in a couple years the Redhawks can be back to winning and i daresay its important for the MAC that they do so
10-1 coming up next
10. Bryan Harsin Boise State
Harsin left Arkansas State to head back home to Boise to take over for Chris Petersen who left for Washington. Boise IMO hasn't been the same program since leaving the WAC a couple years ago. LY an 8 win season for Boise which is the lowest in quite a while. Petersen got out while the getting was good. I think Boise is Boise but we've only seen Harsin as a HC for 1 yr and he's not in Jonesboro anymore
9. Steve Sarkasian USC
I find it somewhat interesting that Pat Haden has tried to get rid of the Pete Carroll era yet he hires a former Carroll assistant. Sark did a magnificent job at Washington and he's said all the right things I have him at 9 due to i want to wait and see what kind fo offense he'll run there. The sanctions have been killers for this program we'll see if Sark can overcome them
8. Bobby Petrino Louisville
Look lets get this out of the way now. Bobby Petrino isn't the only sinner in a world of coaches who are saints but he's probably the lead sinner. Going from Charlie Strong to Bobby Petrino is like going from perfect health to a Brain Tumor. Now i know most of you don't care about his issues but i'm big on character. Most of you would root for Jeffrey Dahmer if he won 10 games a year{I'm not comparing Petrino to Dahmer so don't start}Look he will succeed at Louisville. He wins games he covers spreads all will be well howber i won't pick him higher than this. BTW Petrino's mistress would've attended the press conference but she said she doesn't go 1st class she only rides coach
7. Jeff Brohm Western Kentucky
Yup i'm picking Petrino's replacement higher than Petrino. I'm a fan of Brohm hell i watched him when he played in the XFL
Basically he was the HC in waiting at WKU as both Petrino and WKU looked at their relationship as a marriage for the sex not for the love. Both used each other to get what they want. Brohm is a good recruiter and by keeping him most of the recruits have chosen to stay. With them moving to C-USA this was a great move by WKU. Plus Bobby Petrino left the building... LOCK THE DOOR
6. Charlie Strong Texas
I love Coach Strong i felt for years that he was held back from HC jobs and was happy when he got the Louisville job. LY he sent me a signed photo I just don't like him going to Texas. He will succeed there but there's the factor of the "Good OL BOY Network" at Texas. You know the boosters who thought they were getting Nick SabanRed McCombs popped his mouth off about Strong which had a lot of racial overtones in it and unfortunately i don't believe this will be an isolated incident. Charlie Strong is a good man and Texas IMO doesn't deserve him
5. James Franklin Penn State
I don't care that he's at Penn State. I don't feel an SEC HC should leave an SEC program to go to a Big 10 school. There are 14 SEC jobs you don't leave 1 willingly and i feel the same in basketball with the ACC. Frnaklin did a remarkable job at Vandy and has referred to Penn State as his dream job. However his dream may become a nightmare sooner rather than later. Penn State still has the sanctions to deal with plus having to deal with as Bill o Brien referred to it as the "Paterno faction". Mark Madden wrote that the Penn State job is permanently poisioned and i agree. Franklin is a great coach but he's walked into the hornet's nest and he will get stung. GL Coach Franklin don't say i didn't warn ya
4. Chris Petersen Washington
Petersen has been linked to every HC job in the country the last few years but this year he decided to leave probably at the right time and Washington was the lucky school. Petersen loses a lot of good players to the NFL/graduation and is in the same divison with Oregon and Stanford. But in time he'll get his players and be a factor in the Pac-12 which imo starting next year will be the best conference in college football. Why i don't have him highere is i felt he left for a job that while its in the Pac-12 its somewhat easy. You know you're in Seattle with the Seahwaks,and the Sounders and the M's paying Cano stupid money. I kind of hold it against him that he went to place where its easy. But without a doubt he will be a success
3. Craig Bohl Wyoming
Bohl turned around a North Dakota State program that under him won 3 FCS nat'l titles in a row. He decided to make the job and he takes over a Wyoming program that has been mediocre for a while. Bohl is a winner and while this will be a tough job i don't feel they're that far away from competing for a Mountain West title. The hire is a gamble but imo its a gamble worth taking for both sides
2. Dino Babers Bowling Green
Yes i know he takes over for a HC in Dave Clawson who won a MAC title this past year but Babers comes in from Eastern Illinois who beat San Diego State this year and went to the FCS playoffs. Babers was an assistant at Baylor under Art Briles and he runs the same fast pace spread offense that Baylor runs. So know you have a Bowling Green team who has good personnel and now they'll play faster in a MAC conference where everyone for the most part scores points. So Weeknight MAC football is going to get crazier with this hire and i think this was a home run for Bowling Green. But the best hire imo is
1. Jeff Monken Army
From 1998-2002 Navy was 1 of the worst programs in the country. They hired this HC from Georgia Southern named Paul Johnson the rest is history. I believe this is 1 of those moments in history. From 1997 to now Army's record is 50-149 and so after Rich Ellerson was shown the door they bring in Georgia Southern HC Jeff Monken. I love Coach Monken and what he did at Georgia Southern with that option offense and he's bringing the same system to West Point
The days of Army winning national titles are long gone and are never coming back. But Army matters in college football. And this is 1 of the most special jobs in the country. Coach Monken understands the road ahead but when you look at Army's schedule next year it sets up very well. And i'm saying it right now Army will win the commander in chief trophy,Beat Navy and get to a bowl. Monken is a winner and he will win at West Point
Thats my list guys your thoughts are welcome
FYI i didn't pick Monken 1 because LY he sent me a signed photo. Though i will send him a letter in the summer and see if i can get another 1
wheaty good 2 hear from ya buddy. I admit i'm higher on Monken than most people. But i've been a fan of his and i think that he's the man who can lead Army back. As i said at the top no matter where you me and whoever rank these 20 coaches the programs better have gotten these hires right
BOL wheaty hope you're enjoying the offseason
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