The coaching carousel in the college football off-season wasn’t as crazy as it was in the 2022 cycle in terms of head coaches. That said, there have been over a dozen significant changes on the Power Five front in coordinator locations, and we’ve highlighted some of them here ahead of spring practice in a few weeks.
There were several programs assigned to replace both of his top assistants, including Nick Saban in Alabama. The Crimson Tide brought in Notre Dame’s Tommy Rees as offensive coach, as well as SEC veteran Kevin Steele, who coached at Miami last fall, to coordinate defense. The hirings have drawn mixed reactions, but if we’ve learned anything from Alabama’s long run of dominance, it’s no use questioning Saban’s decision making.
Most recently, during the National Championship game, we saw that the decisions of the coordinators are vital to the success of the game, and their acumen in recruiting cannot be underestimated. These are all important additions that could be the deciding factor in the 2023 conference title challenge for the teams mentioned here.
Here is a look at the 10 most interesting coordinators hired in this coaching cycle:
Four key assistants from Mario Cristobal’s team after his first season with the Hurricanes either left or have not been hired since the end of the season. Lance Guidry is an interesting candidate for Miami, having been hired just days after Kevin Steele left for Alabama’s vacancy in the same position. Guidry helped Marshall became a defensive giant in 2022, finishing in the top 20 nationally in 15 defensive categories, including 11 in the top 10, according to 247Sports’ Brandon Marcello. The Thundering Herd ranked 8th in overall defense, 2nd in stoppage frequency, 1st in third-kill defense, and 6th in scoring. Guidry left to coach Tulane’s defense after the season, but was only with the Green Wave for a month before leaving for Miami.
Shane Beamer’s pre-Christmas hiring of Loggains, who last season was hard end coach at Arkansas, drew a lot of criticism, but the Gamecocks head coach didn’t hear it. Beamer immediately defended the hiring from negative noise, and eight weeks later, a former NFL organizer who never called college games helped South Carolina talk Spencer Rattler and Juice Wells into another season and helped find five-star athlete Nickouls. Harbor. He is the highest ranked player to ever sign with the out-of-state Gamecocks. Loggain will run a pro circuit next season with Rattler at the helm, and those on the program say he’s a perfect fit for the culture following Marcus Satterfield’s departure to Nebraska.
Given the impact of Kenny Dillingham’s departure to Arizona State, Oregon’s momentum under Dan Lanning certainly could have suffered after he lost his top assistant after the first year, but that didn’t happen. Per Duck Territory, 33 year old Stein has been instrumental in UTSA’s offensive success since 2019, and in 2022 he moved from passing game coordinator to co-organiser. In their last two seasons in UTSA, they have placed in the FBS top 15 in points per game. The Roadrunners finished ninth in total offense this season, averaging 486.1 yards per game. Frank Harris, a UTSA quarterback this season, threw for over 3,800 yards and threw for 30 touchdowns. The Roadrunners had two receivers with over 900 yards of reception.
Mack Brown was very reluctant to see his experienced player Phil Longo leave for Wisconsin, but he took his time vetting potential replacement candidates and settled on Lindsey, who was praised by the UCF under Gus Malzan. Lindsey did not call for the Knights to play, but helped with game planning and helped lead the squad. he ranked 26th in the nation in scoring (34.4 ppg), 11th in total rushing (480.6 yards per game), and eighth in rushing offense (236.1 YPG). The Knights rushed 200 or more yards in nine games in 2022, and their 33 rushing touchdowns ranked 10th nationally and led the AAC. Best of all, in 2023 he will be coaching Drake May, the leading contender for the Heisman title.
Few offensive coordinators will face as much scrutiny as Briles next season at TCU. The Horned Frogs completed their first trip to the college football playoffs and hired Briles to fill the role left by Garrett Riley, who worked closely with Air Raid mastermind Sonny Dykes. By the way, this crime will have Dykes’ fingerprints on it. Briles’ offenses have been generating loads of yards and points wherever he’s been, and he’s obviously familiar with recruiting on the Lone Star staff. With TCU rising in the rankings and additional prominence at the national level, there is no hiding place for a respected offensive coach here in the Big 12.
How philosophical will the Texas A&M offense change with Petrino’s return to the SEC? Can Jimbo Fisher hand over his list of papers and get out of the way? These are questions that make Aggie’s new offensive face extremely interesting given the pressure this program will face in 2023. Petrino’s challenge will not only be to make the most of the quarterback’s game, but also to create explosive plays. he’ll have to work with him at College Station. This hire, potentially outperforming all others on this list, can’t backfire on Texas A&M.
Speaking to a couple of coaches in the industry, many were thrilled that Longo landed on Luke Fickell’s first-year staff in Wisconsin. Longo was a big reason the Badgers completely changed their quarterback room, and the transition from a heavy run-up to an air raid might take some getting used to in the Big Ten program. Longo’s offense has been explosive at UNC with Sam Howell and Drake May as quarterback, and in 2023 he ran with another high-profile signalman in Tanner Mordechai. Don’t be surprised if Wisconsin gets some kind of Big Ten dark horse during the summer months. .
Charles Kelly, the nation’s top recruiter for the 2023 cycle by 247Sports, is a real gem for Deion Sanders ahead of his first season in Colorado. In his short time with Buffalo, Kelly has been instrumental in helping Coach Prime turn Miami’s five-star to Cormany McClain, the best defenseman in the 2023 cycle. According to 247Sports, recruiting director Steve Wiltfong, the 55-year-old Ozark, Alabama native has been on the road several times in his career — the epitome of a seasoned veteran coach who began his career at Phoenix City, Alabama Central. before taking up the post of alumni assistant in Alabama in 1993. He should instantly help Colorado in recruiting and on the field.
I find this hire attractive for several reasons, the first of which is that for the first time in several years, Alabama will not be heavily based on RPO. Tommy Reese showed balance with his game at Notre Dame, and when the opportunity arose for the Fighting Irish, they stepped on the opponents’ throats with a punitive rush. It’s been a while since Alabama lined up and really tried to dominate the competition up front rather than relying on the obvious speed and talent advantage on the outside with superior quarterback play. Nick Saban’s choice of Kevin Steele as his new general manager was a little more predictable than trying to hire Rhys.
Give Dabo Sweeney credit for breaking tradition and going beyond Clemson by being the country’s top assist in college football last season. It takes guts after an ACC win to fire his play-caller, and Sweeney took the plunge to sign Brandon Streeter for an opportunity to turn the Tigers’ offense around. Riley turned TCU’s offense into one of the most productive divisions in the country in 2022, led by quarterback and Heisman runner-up Max Duggan, as TCU reached the national title…
Source: 247sports.com
