NCAAF · 1 year ago

College Football Coaching Carousel: Ranking the Top 10 Hires

TJ Inman

Host · Writer

10. Jeff Lebby to Mississippi State
The Mississippi State Bulldogs are in a tough spot. With the addition of Texas and Oklahoma, the schedule will be more challenging, and their place in the pecking order of the SEC will move down two more notches. The fan expectations remain the same, though. Jeff Lebby is a bright, offensive mind, but can he lead a program in the cutthroat conference? How will he approach the defensive side of the ball? There are a lot of questions about how this will play out.
1. Mike Elko to Texas A&M
The best hire thus far has been Texas A&M, securing Mike Elko from Duke. Elko knows College Station, having been the defensive coordinator there before going to Duke. He helped recruit many of the members of this current team and is known as a good culture builder. Elko's teams play with toughness and discipline, something desperately needed at Texas A&M. Will he be able to meet the high expectations of the Aggie faithful?
2. Jonathan Smith to Michigan State
The Michigan State Spartans earn top marks for swiping Jonathan Smith from the Oregon State Beavers. Smith saw the writing on the wall at Oregon State with the dissolution of the PAC-12 and jumped to East Lansing. He is not known as the flashiest recruiter, but his teams win, and he outperforms expectations. This was a terrific hire for Michigan State.
3. Curt Cignetti to Indiana
The Indiana Hoosiers appear to be ready to invest in football. They hired Curt Cignetti from James Madison after a highly successful stint with the Dukes. Cignetti has won at every level he's been a head coach: IU-Pennsylvania in Division II, Elon in the FCS, James Madison in the FCS and FBS. He was also the recruiting coordinator for the beginning of Nick Saban's Alabama dynasty and has plenty of experience in major conference football.
4. Willie Fritz to Houston
Willie Fritz is a serial winner ready for a new challenge in the Big 12. Fritz turned around Georgia Southern before taking moribund Tulane and improving them into New Year's Six participants.
5. Sean Lewis to San Diego State
Sean Lewis has been a head coach before, giving him a leg up over other coordinator hires. He won one of the most challenging jobs in the country at Kent State. He left that job to become the offensive coordinator for Colorado and can't be held accountable for the circus that occurred in Boulder and the lack of an offensive line. The San Diego State Aztecs are going to be fun on offense.
6. Bronco Mendenhall to New Mexico
Danny Gonzales is out, and the New Mexico Lobos turned to a proven winner to fill the vacancy. Bronco Mendenhall has a career record of 135-81 at BYU and Virginia. Mendenhall's teams play with discipline and tend to be incredibly physical against opponents. New Mexico is a hard job in today's climate, but Mendenhall will get the most out of what he has.
7. Manny Diaz to Duke
The Duke Blue Devils have to replace Mike Elko, who will now patrol the sidelines in College Station. Diaz has been in the ACC before, going 21-15 at Miami. He was most recently leading the elite defense at Penn State. There's no question he can recruit. However, can he lead a program competing with fewer resources and hire the right people to run the offense?
8. Fran Brown to Syracuse
The Syracuse Orange looked to the best program in the country to fill their vacancy, hiring defensive backs coach Fran Brown from Georgia. Brown spent time at Syracuse and knows the northeast well, but his most significant attribute is his recruiting. Fran Brown is known as one of the country's best recruiters. The Orange are banking on him to learn how to run a program quickly. This was a risk, but one worth taking.
9. David Braun to Northwestern
Removing the interim tag from David Braun's title makes perfect sense for the Northwestern Wildcats. Braun led the Cats to 7-5 in his first season in charge after being promoted after the hazing scandal that removed Pat Fitzgerald. The risk here is that Braun will now need to build the roster, something he has not done previously.
10. Jeff Lebby to Mississippi State
The Mississippi State Bulldogs are in a tough spot. With the addition of Texas and Oklahoma, the schedule will be more challenging, and their place in the pecking order of the SEC will move down two more notches. The fan expectations remain the same, though. Jeff Lebby is a bright, offensive mind, but can he lead a program in the cutthroat conference? How will he approach the defensive side of the ball? There are a lot of questions about how this will play out.
1. Mike Elko to Texas A&M
The best hire thus far has been Texas A&M, securing Mike Elko from Duke. Elko knows College Station, having been the defensive coordinator there before going to Duke. He helped recruit many of the members of this current team and is known as a good culture builder. Elko's teams play with toughness and discipline, something desperately needed at Texas A&M. Will he be able to meet the high expectations of the Aggie faithful?

College Football Coaching Carousel: Ranking the Top 10 Hires

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