Spin me right round: The carousel has kicked off
Breaking down the first two jobs on the college football market
I love going through the coaching carousel as much as the next guy, but seriously? This early in the year?
Not one but two Power Four jobs have opened up following embarrassing losses by Virginia Tech and UCLA to lower-tier Group of Six teams. Both Brent Pry and Deshaun Foster have been shown the door and now we have our first openings to discuss.
As the carousel begins to spin, I’ll attempt to break down each job as it opens, noting what’s expected, particular challenges and benefits to taking the role, and some potential candidates I think make sense. If I’m hearing anything from sources, I’ll let you know but just assume it’s pure speculation on my part.
With that said, I guess it’s time to dig into the coaching carousel. In Week Four.
Bleaksburg
We’ll start with the more normal of our two openings, out at Virginia Tech. Brent Pry’s teams had potential, with a solid starting quarterback in Kyron Drones throughout Pry’s time in Blacksburg, but the Hokies just couldn’t put it together.
A 45-26 loss to Old Dominion, who also has a coach on a now-cooling hot seat, sealed the deal for Pry. With just one winning season, a 7-6 mark in 2023, and a 16-24 mark leading the Hokies, Virginia Tech decided a restart was needed.
This isn’t the best job, even though it sits as a Power Four role at the moment. For all intents and purposes, the ACC is the next conference on the chopping block if we are going to trudge towards a superleague. The athletic director, Whit Babcock, is also on the chopping block, with university officials pulling him from the coaching search. Instead of entrusting their athletic director, two members of the Board of Visitors will be leading the search.
Recently, news broke that Babcock has been imploring the Virginia Tech administration to increase their budget. Based on available reporting, the Hokies’ $144 million athletics budget ranks among the lowest outputs in the ACC, let alone in the Power Four ranks.
With where we sit now, Virginia Tech is in range of becoming the next Washington State or Oregon State if the ACC were to implode - not that I’m saying it will. This is a proud program, though, with their iconic Enter Sandman entrance and tradition under legendary coach Frank Beamer. Since Beamer’s retirement, the Hokies haven’t been able to recapture that success, outside of a fleeting successful season in the onset of Justin Fuente’s equally poor tenure.
Is there anyone that can revive this program? There’s a few names floating around that might make sense. Here’s my top five six that make sense for the Hokies:
Shane Beamer, South Carolina HC: You have to call Beamer, son of legendary coach Frank Beamer, to see if a homecoming to Blacksburg is in the cards. Beamer the Younger would necessitate a sizeable increase in budget for the program, as his $6.6 million salary at South Carolina is nearly $2 million more than Pry’s annual pay. Plus, South Carolina is an SEC program with SEC resources, while Virginia Tech is towards the bottom of the ACC. They make the call, but Beamer respectfully turns them down.
Jon Sumrall, Tulane HC: Sumrall is going to get tossed around for every Power Four opening and rightfully so. All he’s done in the Group of Six ranks is win, first at Troy and now at Tulane. His Green Wave have the look of a Power Four team and are in the driver’s seat to a playoff spot. Sumrall’s a great option, but he has no ties to the area, which could make recruiting difficult.
Shannon Dawson, Miami OC: Dawson is going to be a hot name this offseason, especially if Miami’s offense keeps tearing through all their competition like we’ve seen so far. He’s gotten looks the past few years for head coaching roles. A breakthrough season with the Canes might be just what he needs. Plus, we know his offense plays in the ACC.
Alex Golesh, South Florida HC: Golesh’s tenure may not have the sustained success of Sumrall, but the Bulls are flying high despite a loss to Miami. If we take out last season, where injuries to Byrum Brown hurt the offense, the young coach has done well in his first head coaching job. He runs a unique, up-tempo offense that catches teams off guard. Recruiting isn’t ideal, but he’s done well briniging talent into a program like USF.
Bob Chesney, James Madison HC: If Virginia Tech wants to stay close to home, hiring Chesney is the best option. He’s a winner, much like his predecessor, Curt Cignetti. Chesney holds a 121-56 record as a collegiate head coach and has done well in his limited time at JMU. The Dukes right now are perhaps Virginia’s best program, so hiring Chesney away does make some sense. Let’s hope he only has one quarterback coming with him, though, and he doesn’t sabotage the team with a silly two-quarterback system like we’ve seen at JMU.
Michael Vick, Norfolk State HC: Let me preface this - Vick is not a true contender. He’s 1-2 at an HBCU in his first ever coaching job. Still, the fan base is going to clamor for their greatest ever player to get a look. Maybe as an offensive coordiantor to pair with an offensive-minded coach like Golesh or Dawson, but Vick doesn’t have the pull for this head coaching job.
Westwood Woes
Remember how I said Virginia Tech was the more normal of our two openings? Yeah, things are about to get weird.
UCLA parted ways with Deshaun Foster after just over one season, the well-liked alumnus was shown the door with just a 5-10 record following an abysmal 35-10 loss to a New Mexico team that was ravaged by the portal and carousel last season. I don’t know if we’ll see a worse loss all season.
That doesn’t sound too weird, though, right? Sure, canning an alumnus before he reaches the end of his second season is a bit strange, but it can make sense when you squint at the lack of results on the field. So let’s get weird.
For one, the Bruins have roster controversy after the much-publicized NIL dispute that led Nico and Madden Iamaleava to UCLA. It’s clear the two - more likely, their father - wants to have some sort of swing in the program. And they do, as the two quarterback brothers are the only allure of the job, aside from them playing in the Big Ten.
Speaking of the Big Ten, the Bruins aren’t reaping any benefits of that conference move. The money generated annually in the move to the Big Ten has now been offset by the House revenue sharing caps. Attendance, as always at the Rose Bowl aside from its namesake game, is atrocious. Just 27,785 were scanned into the Bruins’ home opener against Utah. And it got worse against New Mexico. And it will continue to get worse.
You take all of that and you get a shaky job prospect. It gets downright bad once you add in the fact that UCLA’s athletic department is running on a roughly $200 million deficit over the last five years, per The Athletic. It’s only getting worse on an institutional level, as the White House is seeking a reported $1 billion from the university after the Department of Justice accused UCLA of systemic antisemitism and civil rights violations. They also have to pay $10 million to Cal in “Calimony” due to their move to the Big Ten.
So, yeah. This job is a hornet’s nest to step into. Yet, someone is going to wade into it.
There’s a few pluses. Athletic director Martin Jarmond is well-respected and is leading his first real coaching search, after Chip Kelly’s late departure to Ohio State ahead of last season forced his hand into hiring Foster. And the presence of Iamaleava, if the new coach can retain him, gives something to build around.
So who’s it going to be? Here’s my (perhaps unfortuante) five top names:
D’Anton Lynn, USC DC: Lynn is, by all accounts, the front-runner. He spent one year on Chip Kelly’s staff and immediately turned UCLA into a powerhouse on defense. He’s done the same for their cross-town rivals, completely flipping the narrative of a Lincoln Riley-coached team’s defense on their head. Lynn has plenty of fans still in the UCLA building and their donors seem to be behind a move for Lynn, if he’s interested.
Dave Aranda, Baylor HC: If things don’t go well in Waco this year, Aranda or Baylor could look for a move. Aranda, like Lynn, is a defensive coach by trade, but success under his guide at Baylor has been led by the offense. I don’t think this is likely, but UCLA is known to aim high. It’s worth noting that Aranda grew up a UCLA fan, which might be enough to sway him over.
Tommy Rees, Cleveland Browns OC: Rees is a fast-moving name that’s moved from Alabama tight ends coach to NFL offensive coordinator in the snap of his fingers. Rees, a southern Los Angeles native, threw his name in the ring when Kelly left just under two years ago, but didn’t get any interest from his hometown team. He’s well-regarded as an offensive mind and might be the outside-the-box hire UCLA has to rely on if Lynn passes due to the plethora of reasons listed above.
Tosh Lupoi, Oregon DC: Lupoi is one of the nation’s top recruiters and could draw some interest this cycle. He’s a West Coast lifer and knows the recruiting trails up and down the coast better than most anyone else. The 44-year old would bring serious recruiting chops that were missing from the program in the Kelly and Foster era, Iamaleavas nonwithstanding. He’d look to fill a Frank Brown-type mold if hired.
Tony White, Florida State DC: I don’t think it’s a push to go defense first in Tinseltown, moreso the defensive-minded coaches make more sense. White is a former UCLA linebacker, so he might look down on the administration for their treatment of a fellow alum in Foster. He’d be a first-time head coach, which seems pretty likely for this role, but has some serious defensive coordinator cred. Just look at how he’s revived the Florida State defense this season.
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Someone will take the UCLA job because someone always takes a job. But that place has been a sinking ship for 20 years. Sad.
Beamer seems like the natural fit at Virginia Tech, but it seems South Carolina is too good to just up and leave. If UCLA was really thinking out of the box, why not go for a big name like Jon Gruden? Maybe he could help Nico and bring people to the Rose Bowl.