2023 Coaching Carousel

Wisconsin

The Badgers fired Paul Chryst five games into the 2022 season. He led the team to a 67 – 26 record in his eight plus seasons at Wisconsin, but started the 2022 season 2 – 3 before being let go.

Chryst led the Badgers to a 6 – 1 record in Bowl games, including a 2 – 1 record in New Year’s Six Bowls. Wisconsin entered 2022 with high expectations, but lost to Washington State at home, was blown out by Ohio State and then lost by 24 to former coach Bret Bielema and Illinois at home, which proved to be the final straw for Chryst’s tenure.

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Luke Fickell

The Badgers have hired Cincinnati Head Coach, Luke Fickell, to be their next head coach. This is his third stint as a head coach with previous stops at Ohio State in 2011 as an interim coach for one season and Cincinnati from 2017 – 2022. Fickell replaced Jim Tressel at Ohio State and served as interim coach until Urban Meyer took over after the 2011 season. He remained on Meyer’s staff as defensive coordinator until moving onto Cincinnati where he built a strong program in the AAC. He has a 63 – 25 career record and has proven he can win in the Midwest.

Fickell played at Ohio State and rose through the coaching ranks as an assistant with the Buckeyes. He then took over at Cincinnati where he built a winning program that qualified for the College Football Playoff in 2021. Fickell is a proven recruiter who does an excellent job of identifying talent and has built good relationships across the region. He has grown with experience and should do an excellent job at Wisconsin. Fickell is familiar with the conference, region and the recruiting base that he will tap into to succeed with the Badgers

Grade: A

Nebraska

The Huskers fired Scott Frost three games into the 2022 season. He led the team to a 16 – 31 record over 4 plus seasons at Nebraska.

This was not a surprise, Frost has struggled to gain traction during his time at Nebraska. Despite his success at UCF, he never had a winning season with the Huskers and was let go after a home loss to Georgia Southern.

Nebraska Cornhuskers Gear

Matt Rhule

The Huskers have hired Matt Rhule to be their next head coach. He has experience as a head coach in college and the NFL, though his time in college was much more successful than his NFL stint with the Carolina Panthers. Rhule spent four years at Temple from 2013 to 2016 then took over at Baylor from 2017 to 2019 before trying his hand in the NFL with the Panthers. Rhule has a 47 – 43 record at the collegiate level and has two successful rebuilds on his resume.

Rhule has proven he can turn around a program, he went 2 – 10 his first year at Temple, 6 – 6 in year two then led the Owls to two ten win seasons in a row. He had a similar tenure at Baylor, starting with a 1 – 11 season before going 7 – 6 in year two and 11 – 3 his final year in Waco. Nebraska has struggled through six straight losing seasons and needs a coach with a proven track record rebuilding programs, Rhule has proven he can be that guy. His player evaluation, college coaching success and ability to build to turn around a program make him an excellent hire for the Huskers.

Grade: A –

Auburn

The Tigers fired Bryan Harsin eight games into the 2022 season. He led the team to a 9 – 12 record in just under two seasons at Auburn.

Harsin had a tough first season with the Tigers and never really seemed to be a good fit at the school. It appeared the school might let him go after a 6 – 7 2021 season, but allowed him to return in 2022. After a 3 – 5 start to the season the school decided to make a change.

Auburn Tigers Gear

Hugh Freeze

The Tigers have hired Hugh Freeze to be their next head coach. This is his fourth head coaching job in the FBS ranks with stops at Arkansas State, Mississippi and Liberty. Freeze had a good run at Mississippi that ended with a down year and an investigation into potential misconduct. After a two year hiatus he took over the Liberty job to rebuild his career, leading the Flames to four straight winning seasons. Overall Freeze has a 83 – 43 record as a college coach.

Freeze has built a strong program at Liberty that has won at least eight games in each of his four seasons. He is a proven coach who has had success at all three of his previous head coaching jobs. He has success in the SEC West during his time at Mississippi, competing with the best in the conference and getting the Rebels as high as third in the polls. Equally important to Auburn is his two wins against rival Alabama while at Mississippi. Freeze is a strong recruiter who can build his roster to compete with the top teams in college football and has the coaching ability to take advantage of the talent on his team. Auburn needs a coach who can compete with the heavyweights in their conference and help them keep up with rival Alabama, Freeze could be just the man for the job.

Grade: A –

Arizona State

The Sun Devils fired Herm Edwards three games into the 2022 season. He led the team to a 26 – 20 record in four plus seasons at Arizona State.

Edwards got off to a solid start on the field, but got in trouble for violating NCAA rules during the Covid season. He has struggled to keep the team together since then and was let go after a 1 – 2 start in 2022.

Arizona State Sun Devils Gear

Kenny Dillingham

The Sun Devils have hired Oregon offensive coordinator, Kenny Dillingham, to be their next head coach. He became the offensive coordinator for the Ducks prior to the 2022 season. Dillingham previously served as an offensive coordinator for Memphis in 2018, Auburn in 2019 and Florida State from 2020 to 2021. He has been an innovative offensive coordinator and strong recruiter at each stop during his career.

This is Dillingham’s first head coaching job and he has only been an offensive coordinator for five seasons. He may be short on experience but Dillingham is a very young coach who has quickly ascended the coaching ranks. He led one of the best offenses in the country at Memphis, and continued to be successful at each of his stops after that. Dillingham has been an excellent recruiter, showing the ability to attract the best available talent. For a major power five job, lack of head coaching experience and limited coordinator experience is always a concern, but Dillinham is one of the up and coming coaches in the game and has excellent results as a coordinator and recruiter. The Sun Devils hope the Arizona State alum can rebuild the football program with an exciting offense and a talented roster.

Grade: B+

Georgia Tech

The Yellow Jackets fired Geoff Collins four games into the 2022 season. He led the team to a 10 – 28 record in three plus seasons at Georgia Tech.

Collins had a good two seasons at Temple before taking over at Georgia Tech, but was never able to build momentum with the Yellow Jackets. He led the team to three wins in each of the previous three seasons and was let go after a 1 – 3 start in 2022.

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Brent Key

The Yellow Jackets have hired interim coach and former offensive line coach and run game coordinator Brent Key to be their permanent head coach. Key became the offensive line coach and run game coordinator before the 2019 season as a member of Geoff Collins’ inaugural staff. Key took over as interim head coach when Collins was let got and led the team to a 4 – 4 record since, including wins at North Carolina and at Pittsburgh.

Key steadied the ship when he took over as head coach and made the most of a tough situation. He held the team together and led the team to some unexpected and impressive wins. He has plenty of experience from his time as an assistant at UCF from 2005 to 2015, offensive line coach at Alabama from 2016 to 2018 and at Georgia Tech since. Key has no previous head coaching experience but has been an assistant coach in the southeast for two decades. He is a Georgia Tech alum and passed the on the job interview this season to earn the full time job. There is more for him to prove, but he has shown he is an upgrade at the position under difficult conditions in 2022.

Grade: B

Colorado

The Buffaloes fired Karl Dorrell five games into the 2022 season. He led the team to a 8 – 15 record in two plus seasons at Colorado.

Dorrell took over when Mel Tucker left for Michigan State and went 4 – 2 in the covid shortened season. Since then the program has declined each season, going 4 – 8 in 2021 and starting 0 – 5 in 2022. Colorado decided to cut ties and go in a different direction before things spiraled further down.

Colorado Buffaloes Gear

Deion Sanders

The Buffaloes have hired Deion Sanders to be their next head coach. He is fresh off an undefeated season at Jackson State where he quickly energized the program with unprecedented recruiting success. Sanders had a 27 – 5 career record over three seasons at Jackson State. Sanders was a star on the football field during his playing days and had been a popular analyst covering the NFL before starting his coaching career.

Sanders showed what a tremendous recruiter he can be, signing five star Travis Hunter and top 100 recruit Kevin Coleman at Jackson State. While he does not have FBS head coaching experience, Sanders was incredibly successful during his short time at the FCS level. He is a charismatic television personality who thrives in the spotlight. With the resources of a Power five program at his disposal, he should have no trouble instantly upgrading the talent on Colorado’s roster. There are some unknowns about his experience or ability as a game planner and game day coach, but Sanders brings plenty of star power and success to Boulder with him.

Grade: A-

Cincinnati

Luke Fickell has accepted the head coaching position at Wisconsin leaving the Bearcats with an unexpected opening.

Fickell was 57 – 18 since taking over at Cincinnati in 2017. He led the program to a College Football Playoff appearance in 2021 and a 2 – 2 Bowl record. The Bearcats Playoff appearance was the only one by a group of five team in the four team playoff era.

Cincinnati Bearcats Gear

Scott Satterfield

The Bearcats have hired Scott Satterfield to be their next head coach. He has been the head coach at Louisville since 2019 and had a 25 – 24 record there. Satterfield began his head coaching career with Appalachian State where he had a 47 – 16 record over five seasons. Satterfield did an excellent job with the Mountaineers, but was unable to find similar success at Louisville in the ACC.

Satterfield’s tenure at Appalachian State showed the success he can have. He led an exciting offense and built a consistent program. Satterfield was solid at Louisville, but was not able to repeat the success he had with the Mountaineers. This could be partially attributed to the poor situation he inherited due to the way the Bobby Petrino era ended at Louisville. Cincinnati should be a good reset for him with the talent and resources to compete for titles in the Big 12. Satterfield has big shoes to fill after the success Fickell had with the Bearcats, he will need to perform like he did at Appalachian State to live up to the standard set before him.

Grade: B-

Louisville

Scott Satterfield has accepted the head coaching position at Cincinnati leaving the Cardinals with an unexpected opening.

Satterfield had a 25 – 24 record during his four year tenure with the program. He led Louisville to two bowl appearances and a 1 – 1 record in Bowl games before taking the Cincinnati job.

Louisville Cardinals Gear

Jeff Brohm

The Cardinals have hired Purdue head coach, Jeff Brohm, to be their next head coach. Brohm took over at Purdue before the 2017 season and had a 36 – 34 record over six seasons with the Boilermakers. He built a competitive program in the Big Ten West, winning the division and playing in the Big Ten Championship game in 2022. Brohm also spent three years as a head coach at Western Kentucky, guiding the team to a 30 – 10 record during his tenure. His experience and offensive innovation will be key as looks to rebuild his alma mater.

Louisville needed a kick start after the Scott Satterfield era had become stagnant. Brohm has a resume of building his roster with player that fit his system. He has proven he can beat the top teams and has shown the ability to compete in big games. Brohm is a good evaluator of talent, who can find the talent he needs to run his system. Though his record at Purdue was not an upgrade over Satterfield’s at Louisville, the hope is that by returning home and building a roster with the resources available to him at Louisville, Brohm will outperform his success at Purdue.

Grade: B+

Purdue

Jeff Brohm has accepted the head coaching position at Louisville leaving the Boilermakers with an unexpected opening.

Brohm was 36 – 34 since taking over at Purdue in 2017. He led the program to a Big Ten West Division Title and appearance in 2022 Big Ten Championship Game. He rebuilt the Purdue program during his tenure and left the program in much better shape than he found it.

Purdue Boilermakers Gear

Ryan Walters

The Boilermakers have hired Illinois defensive coordinator, Ryan Walters, to be their next head coach. Walters has been the defensive coordinator at Illinois for the past two seasons leading the #29 scoring defense in college football in 2021 and the #1 scoring defense in 2022. Before that he spent six seasons at Missouri where he worked his way up from safeties coach to co-defensive coordinator to defensive coordinator. Walters is one of the best young defensive coaches in college football and will be a head coach for the first time at Purdue.

Walters has seen his stock rise quickly and has become a top coordinator well before his 40th birthday. His defense led the way for an excellent season for Illinois in 2022. Walters is a promising young coach who has shown the ability to evaluate and recruit high school talent that fits his scheme. He also coaches them up and gets the most out of his players. This is Walters first head coaching stop, so naturally there will be some bumps in the road as he adjusts to the added responsibilities. Nonetheless, if Walters runs his program with the attention to detail he ran his defense with, this will be an excellent hire for Purdue.

Grade: B+

Stanford

David Shaw announced his retirement after the 2022 season, leaving the Cardinals with an opening.

Shaw had a 96 – 54 record during his 12 year tenure with the program. He led Stanford to eight or more wins in each of his first eight years on the job, however he had a 6 – 18 record the last two seasons.

Stanford Cardinal Gear

Troy Taylor

The Cardinal have hired Sacramento State head coach, Troy Taylor, to be their next head coach. Taylor is coming off a successful three season run at Sacramento State where he had a 30 – 8 record. Taylor has limited experience at the FBS level, serving as Utah’s offensive coordinator for two seasons from 2017 to 2018 and as a position coach at California from 1995 – 2000. After his time at Cal he spent 15 seasons coaching high school football in California, before taking over as co-offensive coordinator at Eastern Washington in 2016.

Taylor has pin-balled across many levels of coaching, but has had some highly productive offenses along the way. He build a winning program at Sacramento State, leading the team to it’s first undefeated season in 2022. Taylor has spent his entire coaching career near the west coast and a majority of it in the state of California where he will have to recruit well to succeed at Stanford. Taylor has had success, but his offense was not as productive in his two seasons at Utah and he has limited experience at the FBS level. Stanford is a tough place to learn on the job because of the unique academic standards in place. Taylor could continue to build on his success from the FCS level, but that is far from a sure thing.

Grade: C