3 1st year coaches who hit the ground running in 2019

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1st year head coaches always bring promise and hope to a fan base. Usually it takes time for new head coaches to make their imprint on their new job, but 1st impressions tend to last. Here are 3 coaches we thought made a great 1st impression at their new job.

Ryan Day, Ohio State

Day took over for Urban Meyer after the 2018 season. The program was operating on all cylinders and expectations were sky high. Many questioned whether Ohio State should have hired a coach who had never run a program before, but Day was handed the keys to the Ferrari and he was expected to drive it as such.

And drive it he did. The Buckeyes won the Big 10 and made their 1st College Football Playoff appearance since 2016. Ohio State was undefeated in the regular season capped by a blowout victory of rival Michigan. The Buckeyes went on to win the Big 10 Championship with an impressive come from behind victory over Wisconsin. The season ended with a heartbreaking loss to Clemson in the semi-finals of the College Football Playoff, but even in defeat the Buckeyes generally outplayed the Tigers for the majority of the game but failed to capitalize in the red-zone.

Day finished the season 13 – 1 but the record was only part of the story. Under Day the Buckeyes offense was explosive and averaged 46.9 points per game (4.5 ppg more than 2018) and the defense was just as dominant allowing only 13.7 points per game (compared to 25.5 ppg in 2018). The Buckeyes improved on both sides of the ball, and to top it off Day signed the 5th ranked recruiting class according to 247Sports.

In review, Day’s to-do list has a lot of boxes checked; beat Michigan, win the Big 10, and make the CFP. The one thing left unchecked is to win the College Football Playoff, but Day and Ohio State should be one of the favorites to do that in 2020.

Mack Brown, North Carolina

Mack Brown walked away from the television studio, dusted off his headset, and returned to North Carolina to restore the program he oversaw from 1988 to 1997. In college football you can’t always go back home and see the same success you had the 1st time around, but Brown appears positioned to do just that.

Brown took over a Tar Heels program that was reeling having just won 5 games in the last 2 seasons combined. Brown’s 1st win was securing a commitment from highly touted quarterback recruit Sam Howell. Howell gave the Tar Heels program a talented field general to lead them through the rebuild.

Brown’s Tar Heels bounced back from the disappointing 2017 and 2018 campaigns in a big way and won 7 games in 2019. But that number alone does not tell the whole story. All of the Tar Heels 6 losses were by 7 points or less; and the loss to Clemson by 1 point was as impressive as any win the Tar Heels had. Brown proved that the Tar Heels could compete with anyone, and has found a QB to lead them going forward.

The play on the field was a success, but so was Brown’s recruiting prowess. Brown secured the 19th ranked recruiting class in the country according to 247Sports. He also showed he could still recruit after a 5 year layoff from coaching, and that success should only continue to grow in the future. The Tar Heels are primed to become a threat in the ACC for years to come.

Scott Satterfield, Lousiville

Satterfield came to Louisville after compiling a 51 – 24 record over 6 seasons at Appalachian State. His track record of winning was impressive, but he was taking over a Louisville team that won only 2 games in 2018.

Satterfield and the Cardinals exceeded all expectations en route to an 8 – 5 season, including a win over Mississippi State in the Music City Bowl. The Cardinals offense that averaged on 19.8 points per game in 2018, exploded and went on to average 33.1 points per game under Satterfield in 2019. The defense was not as successful and allowed 33.4 points per game, but that was a major improvement from the 44.1 points per game Louisville gave up in 2018.

Satterfield may not have had the recruiting success the other coaches on this list had, but he did establish a culture of winning. If he can maintain the success he found in year 1 the recruiting should improve as more prospects take notice of the Cardinals on field success.

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