'15 - 16' Coaching Carousel

BigMike

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Matt Campbell was my choice for the BC job 3 years ago. Very young stil, but a good mind. Might be a better fit at Iowas St. The knock on Campbell is he is an Ohio guy, and has no record or history outside the area
 

canderson

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Jul 16, 2005
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Matt Campbell has done wonders at Toledo.

UCF has named Scott Frost as their head coach. That is a very solid hire as I felt Nebraska should have hired him last year.
That's a great hire for UCF. Homefield recruiting advantages, good conference to win, can schedule big OOC games, and huge school. That program can take off quickly.
 

mauf

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Per multiple sources, Jimbo Fisher said he's staying at Florida State. Of course, he has to say that.

Why is he rumored to be on the move? FSU is probably one of the ten best jobs in the country, and I can't imagine he's being pushed out on performance grounds. Does this have to do with his divorce and the rumors about his soon-to-be-ex-wife?
 

kenneycb

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Dec 2, 2006
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Tuukka's refugee camp
The rumor was LSU was going after him as a replacement for Miles. Per Google, I guess there's the same rumors about him and Georgia.
 

The Napkin

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Jul 13, 2002
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right here
Memphis coach Justin Fuente is going to become the new head coach at Virginia Tech. Bud Foster will stay on at DC(at least for now).
Late to reply to this but to say I am excited about this hire would be a fairly large understatement. There might be a year or two of growing pains but I am really looking forward to what he can do to jump start the offense. And if Foster can even keep up a top 20 defense let alone the good old top 2 or 3 days this could be really fun again.
 

DJnVa

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Dec 16, 2010
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Rumor is Richt is in Charlottesville talking to UVA today.
 

Zososoxfan

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Jul 30, 2009
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Hearing UMiami is getting Mark Richt. Will post link as soon as I can find one, but my UGA buddy (who correctly info'd the Kirby hire 2 days ago) says it's done.

Linky goodness -
 

Zososoxfan

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Agreed, great get for them. Probably as well as they could've possibly done, although I thought RichRod was an interesting candidate and would've been a great fit. But really, that program needs a new stadium and better facilities. Otherwise, the allure of Miami is strong and the talent base is among the best in the country.
 

SoxJox

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Dec 22, 2003
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Who will be the new OC at Penn State? How will the situation with Christian Hackenberg affect that decision? By that I mean do they bring in an OC who leans toward an NFL-style pocket passer, like CH fits (for one year...maybe, if he doesn't declare), or do they bring in a spread and read O that seems to be what many suggest Franklin prefers, and which better fits the current backup QB (McSorley) and/or incoming QB (Zembiec).
 

gtg807y

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Dec 31, 2006
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UVa hires Bronco Mendenhall http://www.sbnation.com/college-football/2015/12/4/7360507/bronco-mendenhall-virginia-head-coach-byu

ECU fired Ruffin McNeill, wonder if they have someone lined up, he wasn't bad and had a few wins over P5 teams.
They don't, he was great for them, and this was an exceptionally poor decision. From what I read today it looked like they had Oklahoma's OC Lincoln Riley as a target, and multiple reporters came out saying that won't happen because Riley and McNeill are close.

Richt has potential to be a tremendous hire and there was no one better available for Miami. Between him throwing up the U and more or less saying he's going to try to bring UGA's top recruit QB Jacob Eason with him, he looks like he's going heel turn, and I'm excited for that. I'm a little concerned about the reports he wants his old buddy Willie Martinez back as DC, because that didn't end well the first time and would be starting out at Miami by repeating a mistake that fed into the malaise years at Georgia.

As a Georgia Tech fan, I'm nervous because the three schools in division that had openings nailed the hires. Mendenhall, Richt, and Fuente are all fucking-A's. Dammit.
 

wibi

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Jul 15, 2005
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Two interesting names being discussed this morning for Mendenhall's replacement are Navy HC Ken Niumatalolo and Seahawks OC Darrell Bevell both because of their LDS ties.
 

soxfan121

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Dec 22, 2002
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Niumatalolo knows how to deal with special recruiting situations, how to showcase his best offensive players, and how to win at a mid-major. Just on the basis of "who is better qualified?" Niumatalolo wins on every count.
 

LeftyTG

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Jul 18, 2005
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Dino Babers, HC of Bowling Green abd a Dave Clawson disciple named HC at Syracuse.
how is Babers a Dave Clawson disciple???

Babers wasn't on Clawson's staff at BGU. Babers is a self proclaimed Briles disciple from his years spent at Baylor as WR coach and recruiting coordinator. He left Baylor, taking a pay cut, to be the head coach at Eastern Illinois for two years (where he helped turn Jimmy Garoppolo into a monster) and then moved onto BGU (replacing Clawson) for two years before taking the Syracuse job.

Fantastic hire for Syracuse. I can't wait to see what a Babers offense does in the Dome. He says his offense doesn't really take off until year 2, but I imagine there'll be some immediate improvement in year one, simply from having someone in charge who doesn't draw up plays in crayon.
 

WestMassExpat

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Jul 18, 2005
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Sorry in advance for the ESPN link, but apparently Sarkisian has filed a lawsuit worth a read saying he was wrongfully terminated.

Sarkisian was on a flight to enter alcohol-rehabilitation treatment on Oct. 12when he was fired via email by athletic director Pat Haden.

"Instead of supporting its Head Coach, Steve Sarkisian, when he needed its help the most, USC kicked him to the curb," the lawsuit states. "Instead of honoring the contract it made with Steve Sarkisian, USC kicked him to the curb.​

Not a lawyer, but I'd be surprised if there's a precedent for this sort of thing in labor law. It's like needing airline pilots to be sober or Hooters waitresses to be busty.
 

WayBackVazquez

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Aug 23, 2006
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My initial reaction is that he probably has some colorable claims, but it's interesting that he chose to open himself up to a public lawsuit. Obviously, the upwards of $12 million he's claiming is a significant amount of money, but I wonder how it'll affect his career going forward.

It may be kind of shrewd in that I'm sure his contract had an arbitration clause that I'll bet will ultimately get enforced. By filing a public lawsuit that should be arbitrated, he may get to put out only his side of the story publicly, and then all the dirt gets kept behind doors when the case is moved to arbitration. Maybe USC will be so pissed off that they decide to forego arbitration and drag him through the mud in a public court case.
 

OCST

Sunny von Bulow
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Jan 10, 2004
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His big-time coaching career is over anyway. He's toxic to any program remotely in SC's class- a school like that has its pick of 25+ guys, no need to go for someone with this kind of baggage.

He will have to go MAC/Sun Belt or lower to rehab his career, lawsuit or not.
 

Average Reds

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Sep 24, 2007
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Sorry in advance for the ESPN link, but apparently Sarkisian has filed a lawsuit worth a read saying he was wrongfully terminated.

Sarkisian was on a flight to enter alcohol-rehabilitation treatment on Oct. 12when he was fired via email by athletic director Pat Haden.

"Instead of supporting its Head Coach, Steve Sarkisian, when he needed its help the most, USC kicked him to the curb," the lawsuit states. "Instead of honoring the contract it made with Steve Sarkisian, USC kicked him to the curb.​

Not a lawyer, but I'd be surprised if there's a precedent for this sort of thing in labor law. It's like needing airline pilots to be sober or Hooters waitresses to be busty.
Not a lawyer but have dealt with a lot of employment law at work.

In the abstract, this is not a close call, as the ADA does not cover actual misconduct related to a covered condition. So in practical terms, you cannot be terminated for going into treatment for alcoholism, but you absolutely can be terminated for being drunk on the job.

As I mentioned upthread, things are less clear if Sarkisian can prove that the misconduct had occured in the past and had been tolerated by USC. (If an employee commits a firing offense and you do not fire him/her, it becomes harder to terminate that employee for the same underlying conduct at another time.) What is interesting to me is that Sarkasian's attorney appears to be taking a different tack here - claiming that the misconduct never happened and alleging that his behavior was due to "prescription medication" for anxiety, etc.

If the reports about Sarkisian's behavior are true, he has no hope of winning in court. But he probably has enough dirt on Haden to create significant discomfort for Haden and the Board of Trustees. So my guess is that he'll be able to squeeze a settlement out of them, which I suspect is the goal here.

WBV - my understanding is that arbitration clauses cannot supercede federal law. So by claiming an ADA violation I think he would render arbitration moot. Is that not correct?
 

WayBackVazquez

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Not sure what you're trying to say about "superceding" federal law, or claims being "moot," but there is nothing to prevent ADA claims from being decided by arbitration other than the usual (unconscionable, lack of agreement, etc.). In fact the statute specifically provides that "use of alternative means of dispute resolution, including . . . arbitration, is encouraged to resolve disputes arising under" the ADA.
 

berniecarbo1

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Oct 1, 2008
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Is there a copy of the complaint out there that can be read? Also, it would be interesting to see the actual contract so that the language around termination, severance, for cause, etc. could be reviewed. I'm sure it is similar to most contracts of this type but just curious about any potential hooks in this one. Understand why he is doing it this way....embarrass the university and put heat on Haden and the Board of Trustees to settle the matter. Its worth it for $12M. Agree with Oil Can that he is probably done at a high end P5 program but if he stays sober and does all the right things, yo will see him resurface somewhere. This job, with all its pressure along with his personal life, spiked his alcoholism out of control. But he has some level of competency as a football coach and if he cleaned himself up, he could be a role model down the road, most likely at an FCS or lower level FBS program.
 

OCST

Sunny von Bulow
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Jan 10, 2004
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I'm glad to have this all behind us," Navy athletic director Chet Gladchuk said. "It's been very stressful for everyone involved. There was never any reason in my mind for Kenny to leave, but he had to go through this exercise to be sure.''

This AD is a jerk. You don't understand why a guy who a) has propelled a service academy in a shit conference into a ranking; b ) therefore, by the way these things work, he's earned a shot at a bigger paycheck at a school higher up the food chain; c ) evidently has faith ties to BYU; d ) his sons play there for fucks sake.

In that situation, if you're the AD, you make your best pitch to keep him, but if he decides to move on, you wish him well and thank him for elevating your heretofore sorry ass program.

"Never any reason in my mind for Kenny to leave." Fuck you pal.
 

sachmoney

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Jun 14, 2008
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Tim Thomas' Bunker
aTm just stole Noel Mazzone from UCLA to be their OC. Really good hire.

On the flip side, I wonder if Josh Rosen will have a Christian Hackenberg-esque career now.
 

Kremlin Watcher

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aTm just stole Noel Mazzone from UCLA to be their OC. Really good hire.

On the flip side, I wonder if Josh Rosen will have a Christian Hackenberg-esque career now.
Not so sure it's such a good hire. UCLA fans and the Rosen family have, according to 100% accurate and always-true internet scuttlebutt, been calling for Mazzone's ouster for months now. Rumor has it that he was finished at UCLA in any case, but that Sumlin saved him by offering the aggy OC position as they go way back. Aggieland doesn't seem very excited, either.
 

WayBackVazquez

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Aug 23, 2006
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So, Brady Hoke was announced as the new DC at Oregon this weekend. Interesting choice of someone who has called the spread offense "basketball on grass."

Hoke subtly revealed his disdain for the tactical shift Michigan experienced under Rodriguez. He is convinced that modern spread option offenses can be counterproductive to the core values of smashmouth football and are, therefore, to be avoided.

"Right, wrong or indifferent, when you're zone blocking all the time -- when you're playing basketball on grass -- you practice against that all spring, you practice against it all fall and then you're going to play a two-back team that wants to knock you off the football," Hoke said. "I don't think you're prepared.

"I think there's a toughness level (required in college football). I still believe you win with defense. That's been beaten into my head a long time, but I really believe that. The toughness of your team has to be the offensive front and your defensive front."
 

sachmoney

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Tim Thomas' Bunker
Puzzling hire to say the least. It will be interesting to see how Hoke does there. He has never been a DC on the college level and I'm not sold on him having the savvy to be a good DC. At the same time, he can coach a DL, is good at finding talent, and is a good recruiter. I wouldn't write it off as a bad hire, but I do feel that the my doubts about this hire or centered around the most important aspect of the job.
 

67YAZ

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Dec 1, 2000
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Lovie Smith to Illinois. That was out of nowhere. Seems like a potentially great hire
It definitely brings excitement to the program and shows that new AD Josh Whitman, having very quickly climbed the ranks from DIII, is not intimidated. He's proving to be bold and decisive in just a couple weeks.

Pros for Lovie: gets into the living room of every significant recruit in the Chicago area; superb defensive strategist that is going to pump up players to force turnovers; former players have long raved about Lovie's professionalism and steady leadership, which should play well with certain recruits and boosters who value those traits

Cons: won't bring the flash and brash like Meyer and Harbaugh; hasn't been in the college game since 1995; had a hard time adjusting his defense for a young TB unit, how's he going to adjust for an college defense that usually has a talent deficit in conference play; unclear what kind of connections and resources he has to build out his staff, especially this first year given the late start; going to have to find a top-notch offensive coordinator

So, Lovie could be great. But, honestly, I don't think Illinois can be a great football program in the near future - too little institutional leadership, too few major boosters, too little alumni support, and a state government that can't muster a budget or even an appropriations bill for student financial aid.
 
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67YAZ

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Love goes and gets Garrick McGee as OC/QB coach. McGee, the former UAB head coach, turned down the same position at Oklahoma last year after Louisville gave him a $200k raise. So why take the Illini job? Looks like Lovie and McGee go way back - Lovie new McGee's father from Tulsa, Lovie recruited him to play QB at Arizona State, and they have stayed in touch since then. Nice get for Lovie, and McGee gets to be the architect of the offense, unlike at Louisville where Petrino still called plays.
 

soxhop411

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Dec 4, 2009
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Confirmed

“@RossDellenger: BREAKING: Multiple sources confirm to The Advocate that #LSU has fired football coach Les Miles and offensive coordinator Cam Cameron.”
 

Ale Xander

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Oct 31, 2013
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It must suck to get fired by a literally a second.

That said, they had 3599 previous ones and couldnt get the job done. Wasting a pair of great WR's. Similar stuff (to a lesser extent) when they had Landry and Odell.

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Ed Orgeron named interim head coach