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Riding the head coaching carousel: SEC quiet this go-round as 18 FBS coaches hired
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Only LSU jumped aboard the SEC’s coaching carousel and the Tigers stayed in-house with Ed Orgeron. After three changes in 2015, it was the second time in three seasons the SEC had only one change.
The SEC has been quiet on that front, but the rest of the FBS has made quite a bit of noise. Overall, 18 head coaches were hired, including six in Power 5 conferences. Here is an update on some of the highlight FBS coaching changes, courtesy of coachingsearch.com.
LSU
Former coach: Les Miles. Fired during the season after surviving last season.
New coach: Ed Orgeron. Tagged interim after Miles was fired following a loss to Auburn, Orgeron was finally granted the actual job behind a rally from players. Orgeron has been good with the interim tag at USC and LSU (11-4), but this is his first head coaching venture since going 10-25 in three seasons at Ole Miss.
If No. 20 LSU beats No. 13 Louisville in the New Year’s Eve Buffalo Wild Wings Citrus Bowl, it will go a long way with 2017 momentum for an already-great recruiter.
Baylor
Former coach: Art Briles, fired amidst the sexual assault scandal after six consecutive winning seasons, three bowl wins and losses in the Fiesta and Cotton Bowls.
New coach: Matt Rhule. Baylor needs a redo and Rhule did it at Temple. The Owls have back-to-back 10-win seasons and first place finishes in the American Athletic Conference.
Cincinnati
Former coach: Tommy Tuberville: Resigned after a 4-8 season.
New coach: Luke Fickell: Fickell has been a large part of Ohio State’s defense but will be tasked with fixing a Cincinnati offense that scored fewer than 20 points per game this season. He will remain with Ohio State until the Playoff is over, leaving the Bearcats without their guy for a little longer.
Connecticut
Former coach: Bob Diaco. Fired after three seasons.
New coach: Randy Edsall, the former long-time Huskies coach who abruptly left for Maryland after the 2010 season, returned. He was named the head coach on Wednesday, two days after Diaco was fired. Diaco was 11-26.
Florida Atlantic
Former coach: Charlie Patridge, who was fired after nine wins in three seasons.
New coach: Lane Kiffin. The state of Florida saw some big names enter its coaching ranks. Alabama’s offensive coordinator was mentioned in several openings and took his fourth head coaching job (Tennessee, USC and the Oakland Raiders were the others). Kiffin is 35-21 as a college head coach and inherits a program without a bowl since 2008.
Houston
Former coach: Tom Herman, who went to Texas after going 22-4 in two seasons.
New coach: Major Applewhite. Houston’s offensive coordinator was somewhat of a surprise pick, but considering Houston’s ability to breed rising head coaches, it shouldn’t be. Applewhite has already said 9-3 isn’t good enough for Houston. The Cougars have had 14 seasons with nine or more wins in 60-plus years of football. That’s a large goal.
Indiana
Former coach: Kevin Wilson, who was fired, surprisingly, one year after signing an extension. The reasons were not related to wins and losses.
New coach: Tom Allen, who was promoted from defensive coordinator and who has extensive ties to the Hoosier state.
Oregon
Former coach: Mark Helfrich, who was fired after 4-8 season, the school’s worst since 1991.
New coach: Willie Taggart: Oregon isn’t the project that South Florida was when Taggart arrived, but after taking the Bulls from two wins, to four, to eight and to 10, Taggart became a hot name for the big name Ducks.
Purdue
Former coach: Darrell Hazell, who was fired after going 9-33 in four seasons.
New coach: Jeff Brohm, who built Western Kentucky into an offensive juggernaut. Purdue’s offense hasn’t scared anyone since 2008, when Joe Tiller took his “basketball on grass” style to his ranch in Wyoming.
South Florida
Former coach: Willie Taggart. Steadily turned South Florida into a 10-win team before being hired at Oregon.
New coach: Charlie Strong. One of the biggest names on the block, Strong didn’t have to take an assistant job before landing back in a head role in a state with a hot recruiting bed for one of the country’s top recruiters. It could make for a great combo and great offseason face-offs with Kiffin for talent just below the Power 5 level.
The Bulls will face South Carolina in the Dec. 29 Birmingham Bowl with interim coach T.J. Weist.
Texas
Former coach: Charlie Strong, who was fired after going 16-21 in three seasons.
New coach: Tom Herman. Speaking of Herman, Texas hasn’t won a Big 12 title since 2009, and Herman lost this season to Navy, SMU, Memphis and San Diego State.
