College Coaching situations to watch. Do they have what it Takes?

[BlackNGold]

There are some interesting situations in college football. I thought I would outline a few here.

1st Category - Do they have what it takes?
High Profile Programs (teams whose fans expect to be in the hunt for the playoff) where the coach has been there less than 4 seasons.
Texas - Charlie Strong walked into buzz saw with Texas. Recruiting was not as good as advertised and discipline in the program had become non existent. Mack Brown expected to win by just declaring they were Texas. Strong was not a popular pick (anyone not name Nick Saban was not a popular pick.) Booting players off the team caused a fracture in team which has shown up in the Win Loss column. Now Strong enters year 3 with more of his culture in place and a lot of the old guys who were part of the problem gone. Strong will be under a lot of pressure and my have to win 9 games to keep his job - with ND on the OOC schedule that may be a tough goal. Will watch this one with interest.

Nebraska - No sure if Mike Riley is a good fit for the Cornhuskers. This is a program with expectations so high the approach unrealistic. They fired Bo for winning 9 games a year. Riley enters his second year and will be one bad lost from having the fans totally down his throat. I think the Huskers are not as talented as the fans always think they are...This NU team is probably a 7 win team with the fans wanting 10. Riley will not get fired but his seat will be warm as he collects his $$$.

Butch Jones - Tennessee ( I know CU fans hate this guy) but the Vols expectations are sky high as the recruiting under Jones has been outstanding (according to the guys who rank that). This season will reveal if Jones really is the guy, IMO. He had 9 wins last year but the Vols fans expect big things this year.

Others in the category I will be watching - Jim McElwain, Florida, Mark Helfrich, Oregon;

I don't consider A&M, Penn State or Washington to be in the Category. Auburn maybe.

 

[buffaholic]

Auburn and aTm would be at top of my list.

 

[The Alabaster Yak]

Curious as to why you put McElwain and Florida in that group?

 

[Highlander]

Good write up, BnG.

Helfrich will be an interesting one to watch this year. I have a feeling they are going to be worse, not better. The question then becomes how short of a leash do they have for him at Oregon?

 

[onealcd]

Riley has a big recruiting weekend planned for the West Coast (Calibraska) guys when they play Oregon in the OOC, it would be hilarious if UO came out and stomped them like they should.

 

[unionbuff]

Riley has a big recruiting weekend planned for the West Coast (Calibraska) guys when they play Oregon in the OOC, it would be hilarious if UO came out and stomped them like they should.

This may be the first time in my life I will root for Oregon.

 

[BlackNGold]

Curious as to why you put McElwain and Florida in that group?

It is a high profile program and he is only one year in, he had a good year last year but was he a one hit wonder. Plus the list is the ones I will be watching...McElwain's Colorado tie-in makes it more compelling for me. Whereas, I don't really care about Auburn. I could of put Harbaugh on the list but I feel his record in college and the pros shows he has what it takes or it could end like RichRod but I doubt it.

Texas is like reality TV.

 

[The Alabaster Yak]

It is a high profile program and he is only one year in, he had a good year last year but was he a one hit wonder. Plus the list is the ones I will be watching...McElwain's Colorado tie-in makes it more compelling for me. Whereas, I don't really care about Auburn. I could of put Harbaugh on the list but I feel his record in college and the pros shows he has what it takes or it could end like RichRod but I doubt it.

Texas is like reality TV.

Gotcha. Didn't know if you were referring to coaches that were seemingly on the hot seat or not. I think McElwain would have to have a few 6 or 7 win seasons in a row to get the boot, especially after winning a 10 win, SEC East Title season in year one.

 

[CarolinaBuff]

re: Butch Jones
Yea his recruiting has been very good but Tennessee has also become a top 10 state in recruiting and he's losing alot of the instate battles. And he certainly needs to become a much better in-game coach as they should have had at least 2 more wins last year. The pressure is on him big-time this year to win the SEC East with Dobbs at QB, the rest of the division being down, and UGA getting a new coach.

 

[Duff Man]

I think Fedora is coaching at Auburn or aggy next season.

Also think Wazzu is due for a HUGE correction in 2016.

 

[buffaholic]

I think Fedora is coaching at Auburn or aggy next season.

Also think Wazzu is due for a HUGE correction in 2016.

Agree on first part. Interested in your reasoning on WSU. Seems like they return a lot. Too many 2-stars to believe it's real?

 

[onealcd]

I think Fedora is coaching at Auburn or aggy next season.

Also think Wazzu is due for a HUGE correction in 2016.

Do you think freeze might take one of these big offers this offseason?

 

[Duff Man]

Agree on first part. Interested in your reasoning on WSU. Seems like they return a lot. Too many 2-stars to believe it's real?

They faced a lot of teams at the right time last season. Doubt they are so fortunate with facing depleted teams in 2016. I also believe Falk is not going to stay healthy.

 

[TDforTD]

Still not sure what to make of Riley. That coaching staff made major blunder after blunder last year. I think he inherited some bad attitude players from Pelini's team, that naturally takes time to fix, but they had a bad year. That signature Mich St win came due mostly to Cook's health and a botched call. They gave up 55 to Purdue, who only had one other win against Indiana St. The fans wanted him fired after one year, can't imagine how bad it will be if they have a bad year this year.

Although, the recruiting momentum might save him, they're still in on a number of highly rated players. We will see. They have a pretty meh schedule outside of the tough 3 or so.

 

[Duff Man]

Do you think freeze might take one of these big offers this offseason?

Doubt it. He is in a good spot. Think Mike Gundy is another name to watch.

 

[rscmac]

Good write up, BnG.

Helfrich will be an interesting one to watch this year. I have a feeling they are going to be worse, not better. The question then becomes how short of a leash do they have for him at Oregon?

Agree with you on this one. Plus since marcus left they have been average a qb at best.

 

[Highlander]

Agree with you on this one. Plus since marcus left they have been average a qb at best.

I went back and researched this further. LOL - they are one season played removed from playing in the national title game. I believe he gets one more year after this year as long as he gets to a bowl. They have major QB issues, though. Two 4 star recruited after Mariotta have transferred since Helfrich became the HC. Where there is smoke?

 

[PAHIBuff]

I went back and researched this further. LOL - they are one season played removed from playing in the national title game. I believe he gets one more year after this year as long as he gets to a bowl. They have major QB issues, though. Two 4 star recruited after Mariotta have transferred since Helfrich became the HC. Where there is smoke?

Yes, and they're living dangerously again at QB as Helfrich tries another 5th year graduate FCS transfer. IMO Oregon could rapidly shift into being an annual 8-win type of program, rather than what it has been recently.

 

[BlackNGold]

Gotcha. Didn't know if you were referring to coaches that were seemingly on the hot seat or not. I think McElwain would have to have a few 6 or 7 win seasons in a row to get the boot, especially after winning a 10 win, SEC East Title season in year one.

Not necessarily a hot seat but just situations where the coach is not totally proven at the top level, IMO. Neuheisel started out strong at both CU and UW but fizzled rapidly. I am just watching to see if these coaches can become elite coaches. I actually think McElwain is the real deal but he has to prove it. I am a Charlie Strong fan and hope he does well. Jones is one of those cases that I am really not sure about - he is obviously hitting in recruiting.

 

[J.R. Ewing]

Not necessarily a hot seat but just situations where the coach is not totally proven at the top level, IMO. Neuheisel started out strong at both CU and UW but fizzled rapidly. I am just watching to see if these coaches can become elite coaches. I actually think McElwain is the real deal but he has to prove it. I am a Charlie Strong fan and hope he does well. Jones is one of those cases that I am really not sure about - he is obviously hitting in recruiting.

I follow UT football more than most because my best friends down here are rabid fans. All I can say is poor Charlie. Lots of folks are working against him, and that program he inherited was burnt to the ground at a few key positions and rotten to the core with complacency.