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Coaching Carousel
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November 26th
Seven candidates for Arizona State to consider
From the Arizona Republic … After firing coach Todd Graham, Arizona State is in the market for someone to leads its football program. Over his four years in Tempe, this will be the biggest hire for Vice President of Athletics Ray Anderson.
Which way will he turn? It’s difficult to say.
With Anderson’s NFL background, it’s possible he’ll want someone with NFL ties. He also may try to go with a young, up-and-coming coach who can grow with the program:
– Teryl Austin, defensive coordinator, Detroit Lions
– Pep Hamilton, assistant head coach and passing game coordinator, Michigan
– Jimmy Lake, co-defensive coordinator/defensive backs coach, Washington
– Derek Mason, head coach, Vanderbilt.
– Mike Norvell, head coach, Memphis.
– Charlie Strong, head coach, South Florida.
– Kevin Sumlin, head coach, Texas A&M.
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Oregon State coaching search a mess; Mike Leach to Tennessee or Arkansas?
From the Oregonian … The coaching dominos are falling around college football in general and the Pac-12 in particular.
Arizona State fired Todd Graham, UCLA hired Chip Kelly, Mike Leach reportedly is looking for a way out at Washington State, Rich Rodriguez turned nasty in his postgame presser, and you have to wonder if the Oregon State coaching search has become a little more difficult after the way Oregon bullied the Beavers in the Civil War.
Whew. I need to take a breath after just typing that. There is much more about all this stuff lower in the links, but here are few of my thoughts.
— The FootballScoop,com report about Oregon State hiring Cal offensive coordinator Beau Baldwin appears to be premature at best.
I’m hearing the Beavers haven’t finished interviewing candidates.
The Portland Trib’s Kerry Eggers is hearing similarly. He writes that the report is fake news, at least at this point.
And since nothing has been finalized, you have to wonder if Baldwin is having second thoughts.
OSU was awful in the Civil War. As I wrote from the scene, the Beavers looked lost. This will be a difficult rebuild, and it won’t happen overnight.
The O’s John Canzano writes the Ducks dealt Oregon State a rock-bottom moment.
Baldwin might want to sit tight to see what happens at Washington State. I’m hearing Leach could be involved with openings at Tennessee and Arkansas.
… Continue reading story here …
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Todd Graham out as head coach at Arizona State
From ESPN … Despite beating rival Arizona on Saturday, Todd Graham did not save his job. Arizona State fired the coach on Sunday.
The Sun Devils beat Arizona 42-30 to finish the regular season 7-5 and 6-3 in the Pac-12.
The school said in a statement that Graham and his staff will stay on through the team’s bowl appearance.
Graham, 52, went 46-31 in six seasons in Tempe, winning 10 games in both 2013 and 2014. He is 2-2 in bowl games.
“When evaluating our head coaches, we have been very clear in our four-prong approach: integrity, academics, performance and fan affinity advancement,” Arizona State vice president of athletics Ray Anderson said in a statement. “From the moment he arrived in Tempe, Todd helped change the culture and emphasized the student in student-athlete here at Arizona State, elevating the program to unprecedented heights in the classroom and strong citizenship across the board.
“However, our athletic department, university and community expect our football program to compete on the field for Pac-12 titles, be competitively consistent and qualify to participate in major bowl games on a regular basis. In evaluating Todd’s body of work over a four-year period, it became clear that a change is necessary.”
Graham came to Arizona State from Pittsburgh, where he was 6-6 in one season. Before that he spent four seasons at Tulsa, amassing a 36-17 record.
Coming into this season, the Arizona State program had been in decline for three straight years. After winning the division with an 8-1 conference record in 2013, the Sun Devils went 6-3, 4-5 and 2-7 in the Pac-12, and it was understood that Graham needed to engineer a significant turnaround to save his job.
Anderson chose not to extend his contract after the Sun Devils finished 5-7 overall in the 2016 season. Graham’s buyout is reportedly worth at least $11 million.
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November 25th
Chip Kelly hired by UCLA
… Related … “Chip Kelly won’t have to duplicate Oregon model at UCLA” … from ESPN
From ESPN … Former Oregon coach Chip Kelly has been named the next head coach at UCLA, agreeing to a five-year contract worth $23.3 million with a $9 million reciprocal buyout, the school announced Saturday.
Kelly also had been considering the vacant Florida job, sources previously told ESPN.
“I am thrilled to welcome Chip Kelly to Westwood,” said UCLA director of athletics Dan Guerrero in a statement. “His success speaks for itself, but more than that, I firmly believe that his passion for the game and his innovative approach to coaching student-athletes make him the perfect fit for our program. ‘Champions Made Here’ is more than just a mantra at UCLA, and I’m confident that Chip will lead UCLA Football back to competing for championships. I’d like to thank Josh Rebholz, Casey Wasserman and Troy Aikman for their input during this process, as their candor, experience and support were invaluable.”
Kelly will be formally introduced as the Bruins’ head coach on the UCLA campus on Monday afternoon.
“It is an absolute honor to join the Bruin Family, and I am grateful to Chancellor [Gene] Block and to Dan Guerrero for this incredible opportunity,” Kelly said in a statement. “UCLA is a world-class institution with a distinguished history in athletics, and we will do our part to uphold its tradition of excellence.”
The Bruins have been looking for a new head coach since Jim Mora was fired Nov. 19, a day after a third straight loss to USC. He had been with the Bruins for six seasons. Offensive coordinator Jedd Fisch was named interim head coach for the remainder of the season.
The Kelly hiring will bring back a well-recognized name to the Pac 12.
… Continue reading story here …
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Nebraska fires Mike Riley
… Related … “No more Mr. Nice Guy as Mike Riley leaves Nebraska exactly how critics expected” … from the Omaha World Herald
From ESPN … Nebraska has fired coach Mike Riley after the Cornhuskers spiraled to a 4-8 finish in his third season.
The school announced Riley’s dismissal Saturday morning. He was 19-19 in three seasons.
The Cornhuskers finished the 2017 season by losing 56-14 to Iowa on Friday. It was the first time in school history that Nebraska allowed at least 50 points in three straight games, according to ESPN Stats & Information.
“Riley has brought professionalism and energy to the Nebraska football program, but unfortunately, those attributes have not translated to on-field success,” athletic director Bill Moos said in a statement. “After a thorough review of all aspects of our football program, I have chosen to move in a different direction.”
Moos will discuss his decision to fire Riley during a news conference Saturday afternoon.
The 64-year-old coach had lobbied for another season Friday in the aftermath of his team’s fourth consecutive loss.
“I truly believe I’m exactly the right person to do this,” Riley said. “The football parts, I’ve been doing it so long, we know how to fix, and we also are doing a good job recruiting.”
… Continue reading story here …
Stuart
Continue reading...
Coaching Carousel
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November 26th
Seven candidates for Arizona State to consider
From the Arizona Republic … After firing coach Todd Graham, Arizona State is in the market for someone to leads its football program. Over his four years in Tempe, this will be the biggest hire for Vice President of Athletics Ray Anderson.
Which way will he turn? It’s difficult to say.
With Anderson’s NFL background, it’s possible he’ll want someone with NFL ties. He also may try to go with a young, up-and-coming coach who can grow with the program:
– Teryl Austin, defensive coordinator, Detroit Lions
– Pep Hamilton, assistant head coach and passing game coordinator, Michigan
– Jimmy Lake, co-defensive coordinator/defensive backs coach, Washington
– Derek Mason, head coach, Vanderbilt.
– Mike Norvell, head coach, Memphis.
– Charlie Strong, head coach, South Florida.
– Kevin Sumlin, head coach, Texas A&M.
–
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Oregon State coaching search a mess; Mike Leach to Tennessee or Arkansas?
From the Oregonian … The coaching dominos are falling around college football in general and the Pac-12 in particular.
Arizona State fired Todd Graham, UCLA hired Chip Kelly, Mike Leach reportedly is looking for a way out at Washington State, Rich Rodriguez turned nasty in his postgame presser, and you have to wonder if the Oregon State coaching search has become a little more difficult after the way Oregon bullied the Beavers in the Civil War.
Whew. I need to take a breath after just typing that. There is much more about all this stuff lower in the links, but here are few of my thoughts.
— The FootballScoop,com report about Oregon State hiring Cal offensive coordinator Beau Baldwin appears to be premature at best.
I’m hearing the Beavers haven’t finished interviewing candidates.
The Portland Trib’s Kerry Eggers is hearing similarly. He writes that the report is fake news, at least at this point.
And since nothing has been finalized, you have to wonder if Baldwin is having second thoughts.
OSU was awful in the Civil War. As I wrote from the scene, the Beavers looked lost. This will be a difficult rebuild, and it won’t happen overnight.
The O’s John Canzano writes the Ducks dealt Oregon State a rock-bottom moment.
Baldwin might want to sit tight to see what happens at Washington State. I’m hearing Leach could be involved with openings at Tennessee and Arkansas.
… Continue reading story here …
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Todd Graham out as head coach at Arizona State
From ESPN … Despite beating rival Arizona on Saturday, Todd Graham did not save his job. Arizona State fired the coach on Sunday.
The Sun Devils beat Arizona 42-30 to finish the regular season 7-5 and 6-3 in the Pac-12.
The school said in a statement that Graham and his staff will stay on through the team’s bowl appearance.
Graham, 52, went 46-31 in six seasons in Tempe, winning 10 games in both 2013 and 2014. He is 2-2 in bowl games.
“When evaluating our head coaches, we have been very clear in our four-prong approach: integrity, academics, performance and fan affinity advancement,” Arizona State vice president of athletics Ray Anderson said in a statement. “From the moment he arrived in Tempe, Todd helped change the culture and emphasized the student in student-athlete here at Arizona State, elevating the program to unprecedented heights in the classroom and strong citizenship across the board.
“However, our athletic department, university and community expect our football program to compete on the field for Pac-12 titles, be competitively consistent and qualify to participate in major bowl games on a regular basis. In evaluating Todd’s body of work over a four-year period, it became clear that a change is necessary.”
Graham came to Arizona State from Pittsburgh, where he was 6-6 in one season. Before that he spent four seasons at Tulsa, amassing a 36-17 record.
Coming into this season, the Arizona State program had been in decline for three straight years. After winning the division with an 8-1 conference record in 2013, the Sun Devils went 6-3, 4-5 and 2-7 in the Pac-12, and it was understood that Graham needed to engineer a significant turnaround to save his job.
Anderson chose not to extend his contract after the Sun Devils finished 5-7 overall in the 2016 season. Graham’s buyout is reportedly worth at least $11 million.
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November 25th
Chip Kelly hired by UCLA
… Related … “Chip Kelly won’t have to duplicate Oregon model at UCLA” … from ESPN
From ESPN … Former Oregon coach Chip Kelly has been named the next head coach at UCLA, agreeing to a five-year contract worth $23.3 million with a $9 million reciprocal buyout, the school announced Saturday.
Kelly also had been considering the vacant Florida job, sources previously told ESPN.
“I am thrilled to welcome Chip Kelly to Westwood,” said UCLA director of athletics Dan Guerrero in a statement. “His success speaks for itself, but more than that, I firmly believe that his passion for the game and his innovative approach to coaching student-athletes make him the perfect fit for our program. ‘Champions Made Here’ is more than just a mantra at UCLA, and I’m confident that Chip will lead UCLA Football back to competing for championships. I’d like to thank Josh Rebholz, Casey Wasserman and Troy Aikman for their input during this process, as their candor, experience and support were invaluable.”
Kelly will be formally introduced as the Bruins’ head coach on the UCLA campus on Monday afternoon.
“It is an absolute honor to join the Bruin Family, and I am grateful to Chancellor [Gene] Block and to Dan Guerrero for this incredible opportunity,” Kelly said in a statement. “UCLA is a world-class institution with a distinguished history in athletics, and we will do our part to uphold its tradition of excellence.”
The Bruins have been looking for a new head coach since Jim Mora was fired Nov. 19, a day after a third straight loss to USC. He had been with the Bruins for six seasons. Offensive coordinator Jedd Fisch was named interim head coach for the remainder of the season.
The Kelly hiring will bring back a well-recognized name to the Pac 12.
… Continue reading story here …
–
—
Nebraska fires Mike Riley
… Related … “No more Mr. Nice Guy as Mike Riley leaves Nebraska exactly how critics expected” … from the Omaha World Herald
From ESPN … Nebraska has fired coach Mike Riley after the Cornhuskers spiraled to a 4-8 finish in his third season.
The school announced Riley’s dismissal Saturday morning. He was 19-19 in three seasons.
The Cornhuskers finished the 2017 season by losing 56-14 to Iowa on Friday. It was the first time in school history that Nebraska allowed at least 50 points in three straight games, according to ESPN Stats & Information.
“Riley has brought professionalism and energy to the Nebraska football program, but unfortunately, those attributes have not translated to on-field success,” athletic director Bill Moos said in a statement. “After a thorough review of all aspects of our football program, I have chosen to move in a different direction.”
Moos will discuss his decision to fire Riley during a news conference Saturday afternoon.
The 64-year-old coach had lobbied for another season Friday in the aftermath of his team’s fourth consecutive loss.
“I truly believe I’m exactly the right person to do this,” Riley said. “The football parts, I’ve been doing it so long, we know how to fix, and we also are doing a good job recruiting.”
… Continue reading story here …
Stuart
Continue reading...