The domino has fallen: Tracking the Lane Kiffin carousel fallout
A bevy of shortlists and report cards following the coaching dam letting loose
Welcome back, everyone! It’s been a minute.
Jokes aside, it’s been a massive week for the coaching carousel. So, let’s dive into it.
Earlier today, I gave you Report Cards on the three jobs that moved so quickly, I didn’t publish shortlists for them: Michigan State, Ole Miss, and Kentucky. Now, we’ll recap all the other moves.
As always, here’s a refresher on the format. Coaching Report Cards will give an overview of the on-field and off-field factors that impact a hire, and I’ll grade it. Coaching Shortlists give an overview of the job and the top five candidates I think make sense. If I’m hearing things, I’ll let you know, but assume all candidates are speculation unless noted otherwise.
With so much going on, I’m going to move a bit faster than usual, so my apologies on the lack of depth.
Report Card - LSU
We’ll start with the big one that set everything off. Lane Kiffin is going to LSU.
If I had more time, I would write another piece to accompany this like I did when James Franklin and Brian Kelly were fired. Alas, I don’t have that kind of time.
On-Field
Kiffin was unquestionably the top candidate on the market. Which is crazy considering his biggest accolades are some bowl wins at Ole Miss and two Conference USA Championships at Florida Atlantic. His Tennessee tenure ended as quickly as it began. His Oakland Raiders era was a nightmare. He had positive movement at USC, but ran his leash too tight.
But we can’t discount what Kiffin has done at Ole Miss. His six seasons in Oxford are perhaps the best in school history. He leaves with a 55-19 record, a 3-2 mark in bowl games, and three consecutive 10-win seasons. More importantly for LSU fans, Kiffin has his Rebels in CFP contention regularly. They hung around until the very end last year. And this year, he guided an Ole Miss team that was projected as a mid-table SEC program into a virtual CFP lock at 11-1.
For all Kiffin is off the field, he’s the best you can find in this cycle on the sideline. His teams perform well. His players seem to have his back and want to play hard for him. The same couldn’t be said for Brian Kelly. In that sense, he’s an upgrade.
Off-Field
Here’s where it takes a dive.
Sure, you can poke holes in Kiffin’s coaching record, but his off-field drama is what probably created your thoughts about the brash coach.
He got fired on the tarmac at USC because it was so bad. His time in Oakland ended with Al Davis calling Kiffin a “con man” and professional liar. He got fired by Nick Saban at Alabama a week before the National Championship because he wanted to both coach Alabama and Florida Atlantic. He just lost a head-to-head war against Ole Miss athletic director Keith Carter over coaching both Ole Miss into the playoff and their rival LSU through the offseason.
That’s not to include that he essentially threatened the entire Ole Miss staff to get on the plane to Baton Rouge and leave the program or else they won’t have a spot on his LSU staff. Or the cryptic Tweets that swept across everyone’s feed on Twitter and subsequently other, better social media outlets. Or anything else that college football’s biggest sideline troll since Steve Spurrier decides to say.
I’ve already called LSU a nightmare coaching situation to walk into. It makes sense that Kiffin would find it to be his home.
Moving away from the drama, Kiffin does have some solid infrastructure to get this LSU team pointed in the right direction immediately. He’s bringing general manager Billy Glasscock, strength and conditioning coach Nick Savage and senior associate AD for football operations Thaddeus Rivers with him to Baton Rouge.
Savage is a well-regarded strength coach that can implement Kiffin’s vision with a snap of his fingers. Glasscock was among the first general managers to sprout up and is an elite recruiter. The same can be said for Rivers. They’re not going to have any problems finding and bringing in talent.
Grade: B+
I really didn’t know where to put this one. It feels like a match made in heaven, simply because of how wild, chaotic and drama-prone both sides are. Kiffin and LSU were made for each other.
But I do love for LSU how Kiffin is bringing his whole operation with him to identify and bring talent into the building. LSU already has some great building blocks - like linebacker Whit Weeks who is dating Kiffin’s daughter. Adding more to it and maximizing that talent is the name of the game.
Before I leave you here: Kiffin at LSU has serious disaster potential. Like, Earth-shatteringly bad disaster. If you’re hate watching this program, keep your eyes peeled.
Want to see the Report Card for Ole Miss’s hire of Pete Golding? Check it out here:
Report Card - Florida
Once Kiffin was off the market, it was clear Florida was the next domino to fall. And it fell quickly with the Gators bringing on Tulane head coach Jon Sumrall. Sumrall will take over the Florida job immediately and start building his roster, but will remain leading the Tulane team through the postseason.
On-Field
It’s easy to draw parallels between Florida’s new head coach, Sumrall, and their previous head coach, Billy Napier. Both were up and coming Group of Six head coaches (Sumrall, Tulane; Napier, Louisiana). Both won at lot at previous stops, but didn’t fully break through (Sumrall 42-11, Napier 39-12). Both bided their time finding the right fit before jumping to the Power Four ranks.
It’s easy to see why Florida fans aren’t necessarily jazzed up about having Sumrall lead the program. After all, what does he have that Napier doesn’t?
Napier’s only one comparison point. Another - the one touted by athletic director Scott Stricklin and all-time great Florida head coach Steve Spurrier - is Urban Meyer.
Both Meyer and Sumrall had immediate success at lower-level schools before jumping to Florida. Both have infectious, passionate personalities that can get a room fired up. Both had their teams playing their hearts out not every game, but every snap.
That’s the hope Florida has.
It’s hard to discount what Sumrall has done on the field. Last year’s 9-5 record at Tulane was his worst in four years as a head coach. Still, it earned him his highest ever AP Poll ranking at 18. His other three seasons? At least 10 wins.
Off-Field
This may not pull as much weight in the hire, as Florida also brought in former Jacksonville Jaguar executive Dave Caldwell to be the program’s general manager. I don’t think it’s an Andrew Luck or Ron Rivera situation where the coach reports to the general manager, but Caldwell is going to have his say on personnel decisions both on the roster and the coaching staff.
Still, Sumrall has proved to be a shrewd recruiter. He brought in Jake Retzlaff after the BYU honor code debacle and that’s worked out well. He’s rebuilt his entire roster year-in and year-out as Tulane and Troy were ravaged by the portal. Napier didn’t have those same struggles and could just let the talent disparity between his Louisiana teams and the rest of the Sun Belt speak for itself.
Grade: A-
I’m cautiously optimistic here. Sumrall seems to know his shortfalls, namely on the offensive side of the ball, and is prioritizing building a staff that will work at Florida. He said in his introductory press conference that he’s not bringing his staff with him, and instead will work with Caldwell to build the best staff that fits Florida as a program.
Also, resources aren’t foreign to Sumrall. He knows how to spend when he needs to. Tulane has one of the largest budgets in the Group of Six. Troy was a bigger football spender than most Sun Belt teams. He can capitalize where Napier possibly couldn’t.
And you can’t overlook what Sumrall’s done on the field. Sure, his record is similar to Napier’s, but Sumrall is winning one-score games like they’re going out of style and has won big at multiple schools. He seems more of a fit than Napier did.
Shortlist - Tulane
Obviously, the flip side to Sumrall’s move to Florida is now Tulane needs to hire a head coach. So, what’s on deck for the Green Wave?
The Job
This one’s a bit hard as our first private school opening. That means a lot of information is kept behind closed doors, like budgets, hiring ranges and things like that. Still, we can make some educated guesses.
One thing’s clear: Tulane expects to be among the top Group of Six schools in the nation. They’re not looking for American titles, they want the Playoffs. Heck, even playoff wins are in sight. To Tulane, there’s no reason they can’t assemble the best Group of Six roster in the nation.
We saw that with an aggressive portal push last offseason and that’s not even including the late add of Retzlaff to the room. They also have some outstanding facilities that show off their financial muscle. Just look at Yulman Stadium, a brand new facility that opened in 2014 with a $73 million price tag.
There’s also the New Orleans factor, of which Tulane is located in the Big Easy’s downtown. That’s a recruiting draw for some, but it also means the program has to compete for views. Between the Saints, the French Quarter and all the other great things about New Orleans, Tulane isn’t the biggest show in town. That’s changed in recent years.
One final note: Tulane wants to move quick. Athletic director David Harris told Nola.com that he wants to move as quickly as possible and has already enlisted a search firm to start identifying the top candidates for the role.
The Candidates
As always, all candidates are speculation unless otherwise noted.
Blake Baker, LSU DC: Who knows what Kiffin’s staff will look like and if Baker has a spot? If he doesn’t, Tulane is going to make some serious calls. Baker is a former Green Wave linebacker and already works in the state, which could be a perfect marriage. However, Baker has never been a head coach before.
Chris Hampton, Oregon Co-DC: Could Oregon lose three coordinators? It’s possible. Hampton previously served as Tulane’s defensive coordinator during the 2022 Cotton Bowl win at USC, so he has a great reputation in the area. He’s also a defensive-first guy that may be able to keep the program’s image upright, but like Baker, has never been a head coach.
Will Hall, Tulane OC: A promotion can’t be ruled out, as Hall is the leader on the staff. But, you have to see Hall’s nightmare tenure at Southern Miss as evidence against the offensive playcaller. Still, Hall was 66-35 in the Division II ranks before biting off more than he could chew at Southern Miss and has the Green Wave offense ranking in the top 40 of total offense.
Charles Huff, Southern Miss HC: Speaking of Southern Miss, Huff just can’t stay out of the carousel. He put together a great tenure at Marshall with a signature upset of Notre Dame in South Bend, then orchestrated a massive turnaround in Hattiesburg after Hall’s disaster. Huff is a strong leader, but Southern Miss is starting to flex their wallets and may want to keep him in town. Plus, would he really change jobs twice in two years?
Tyson Helton, Western Kentucky HC: Helton has had rumors swirling around him for years, but it feels like now may be the time to make a jump. Tulane hired a sitting head coach when they brought in Sumrall, so maybe Helton and his patented high-powered offenses could be the right fit. He’d have infinitely more resources at Tulane than with the Hilltoppers.
Report Card - Auburn
Auburn, who was reportedly heavily pursuing Sumrall, made their move known in the hours after Sumrall’s pact with Florida was announced, hiring South Florida head coach Alex Golesh to lead the Tigers.
On-Field
There’s not too many holes you can poke in Golesh’s on-field performance. Yes, last year was a much-ballyhooed season for the Bulls that fell flat, but the program also lost dynamic quarterback Byrum Brown to a significant knee injury. That’s something I’m willing to let slide.
Before Golesh arrived in Tampa, the Bulls had won just five games over three seasons. His three-year tenure never saw USF dip below seven wins, and that includes the season marred by Brown’s injury.
He’s an elite offensive mind, with his South Florida offense ranking fourth in points per game (43.0), second in yards per game (501.7), fifth in yards per play (7.20) and first in chunk plays of 30 or more yards (23) this season.
Prior to taking up the mantle at South Florida, Golesh also worked as offensive coordinator under Josh Heupel at Tennessee and at Iowa State under Matt Campbell, where he developed NFL star Brock Purdy.
Off-Field
For as good Golesh is on the field, he’s been solid off of it as well.
He’s not regarded as a particularly savvy recruiter, but he’s also not seen as a poor recruiter either. Golesh is more of a talent developer that has focused on building up the players that came into his program. We’ve seen his work with Brown, Purdy, Hendon Hooker and Joe Milton - the dude is a quarterback whisperer. If he can keep Deuce Knight on The Plains, Auburn might have a great offense off the jump.
He’s also brought in some good talent to USF. But there is concerns.
Already, four prospects have flipped from Auburn since Golesh’s hire was announced. And that includes the nation’s top safety, Bralan Womack, and four-star quarterback Peyton Falzone. However, at Tennessee, Golesh was instrumental in bringing five-star Nico Iamaleava to Knoxville.
All that’s to say he’s a mixed bag on the recruiting trail.
Grade: A-
I’ll give a bonus here as Golesh retained D.J. Durkin as defensive coordinator, which should keep Auburn as one of the nation’s top defenses. It’s also important to say at this point that Durkin is decidedly not a good person, but hey, he can coach ball pretty good.
Offense has always been the engine that drove the best Auburn teams, so going offensive with Golesh is a solid move. Plus, he has SEC coaching experience and has recruited top-notch players, even if it isn’t consistently. He has the ability to do well here.
A lot will be made of who quarterbacks the Tigers next year. Jackson Arnold seems like he’s not an option. Ashton Daniels was able to nab a redshirt this year and returns as a veteran presence. Freshman Deuce Knight has flashed in his limited action, but could be a transfer option. Plus, Golesh’s current quarterback at South Florida, Byrum Brown, could come with him.
Report Card - South Florida
The Bulls must’ve known Golesh was on his way out, because it took only three days to find his replacement. South Florida has hired Ohio State offensive coordinator Brian Hartline as their next head coach. Hartline will remain with the Buckeyes through their playoff run.
On-Field
Hartline is in his second stint leading the Ohio State offense and he’s looked the part this year.
His first go as Ohio State playcaller and offensive coordinator in 2023 wasn’t that hot. It was reported that Ryan Day was still the primary playcaller, but Hartline was in his ear on the headsets at that point. Maybe there were too many people in the kitchen, but Hartline’s audition didn’t go well. He wasn’t necessarily demoted ahead of 2024, but when Ohio State brought in Chip Kelly, the keys of the offense were handed to the offensive maestro.
This season marks the first time Hartline was a full offensive coordinator with playcalling duties. And the results speak for themselves. Ohio State ranks 13th in scoring offense (37.0), 24th in total offense (438.5 yards per game), and 24th in passing offense (267.0 yards per game). Freshman quarterback Julian Sayin is on pace to set an NCAA record for completion percentage and is in the thick of the Heisman race.
It’s hard to have a better playcalling debut than that.
Hartline was also a solid wideout for the Miami Dolphins during his playing career, so he has ties to the region.
Off-Field
Here’s where Hartline really shines: he’s among the nation’s best recruiters.
If you go down the list of elite Ohio State wide receivers that have dominated college football over the past eight or so years, you see the fruits of his labor.
Chris Olave? Hartline was his position coach. Garrett Wilson? Hartline recruit. Jaxon Smith-Njigba? Hartline recruit. Marvin Harrison Jr.? Hartline recruit. Emeka Egbuka? Hartline recruit. Jeremiah Smith? Hartline recruit. Carnell Tate? Hartline recruit.
He’s already got major pull, with five-star wideout Chris Henry Jr. unsigned due to the “coaching change.” Is he following Hartline to Tampa?
And it’s not just receivers that Hartline has pulled to Columbus. He was the primary recruiter for J.T. Tuimoloau, Kyle McCord, C.J. Stroud and others.
Grade: A
I never thought I would give a coach with just one year as a true offensive coordinator this high a grade for jumping into the driver’s seat, but here we are.
There’s no ifs, ands or buts - Hartline is one of the nation’s best recruiters. Even at a smaller school like South Florida, he is going to be a menace in the Florida recruiting scene. He’s traditionally ranked as one of 247Sports’s top recruiters in the nation.
Pair that with the positive momentum around the program and the new stadium and football center set to open in 2027 and you have a program that’s ready to punch above it’s weight.
A lot of weight will be placed on Hartline’s coordinator hires, as I think he tries to go the CEO route. But for now, this looks like a home run.
Report Card - Arkansas
All the SEC schools were really waiting on Kiffin, weren’t they?
Arkansas - who was also in on Alex Golesh - finalized their hire by signing a deal with Memphis’s head coach Ryan Silverfield.
On-Field
The good: Memphis has been really solid under Silverfield, especially in the past two seasons.
The bad: They haven’t broken through to actually win anything.
Okay, let’s parse this out a little more.
Silverfield comes to Arkansas with a 50-25 record over six seasons with the Tigers, all of which ended in bowl eligibility. He has two double-digit win seasons in 2023 and 2024.
Offense, like so many of the candidates we’ve talked about already, has been Silverfield’s calling card. 2025 saw a bit of a dip in production, but that’s because he has an almost entirely new offense running the show after the likes of Seth Henigan and others used up their eligibility. Still, Memphis isn’t a slouch on that side of the ball. They rank 19th in scoring offense (34.6), the fourth consecutive season his team has reached the top 25 in that category. This year has shown more of a commitment to the run, while previously we saw Memphis air the ball out.
Defense isn’t Silverfield’s strong suit, but the unit has improved steadily over the past three seasons, allowing just 22.5 points per game this season.
But, there are valid concerns about Silverfield’s ability to win the big one. Despite his stellar record and 5-1 record against the other American conference coaches earning big jobs, he’s never won the American. Or even competed for the conference title.
Off-Field
Silverfield is already making waves on the trail, signing four-star defensive tackle Danny Beal to Arkansas, locking down the state’s top prospect.
He’s a solid recruiter and raised the bar a ton at Memphis, signing the program’s first two ESPN 300 commits last fall. That includes four-star quarterback Antwaan Hill, the ninth-ranked signal caller in the class and No. 95 overall recruit, both of which are Memphis records.
In the Arkansas shortlist, I made the mistake of saying that the state isn’t a talent-rich area. I was wrong, and was helpfully nudged in the right direction by a commenter. With Silverfield already prioritizing recruiting the region and how close Memphis was to those Arkansas recruiting fields, he should jump in immediately.
Grade: C+
The recruiting angle is a good side of things for Hogs fans, as is the endorsement from basketball coach John Calipari.
But I can’t get past the issues Memphis had closing out seasons. They were good - 50-25 in Silverfield’s tenure - but you couldn’t compete for the American championship once? I’m not expecting them to make playoff runs or anything like that, though they had the talent to do so, but they were one of the best resourced teams in the league, let alone the Group of Six.
Silverfield absolutely should’ve done more with what he had at Memphis. To me, that’s a problem that isn’t solved in a new position. Especially at a school that hasn’t been a legit competitor in the nation’s toughest conference since they joined the league.
Shortlist - Memphis
I talked a lot about the Memphis program, which has done well dating back to when Justin Fuente was leading the program, earlier, so I won’t rehash it.
The things to know here are that Memphis has a ton of cash and is jockeying for a seat at the Power Four table the next time one comes open. They want to keep the momentum going and will pay to do that in their next head coach.
The Candidates
All candidates are speculation unless noted otherwise.
Jerry Mack, Kennesaw State HC: It’s impossible to understate what Mack did, turning Kennesaw into Ten-Winnesaw State. The Owls were regretting the move to the FBS ranks following last season’s 2-10 showing that immediately followed a 3-9 season at the FCS ranks. Now? Mack has Kennesaw in the CUSA Championship and staring down double-digit wins. Mack is a Memphis native, so the call home may be enough to lure him away.
Dennis Simmons, USC assistant HC: Simmons may not be known to most people, but he’s going to be getting a head coaching job soon. He’s been the right hand man for both Mike Leach at Texas Tech and Lincoln Riley at East Carolina, Oklahoma and now USC. He’s an elite recruiter and has had a hand in developing stars like Michael Crabtree, Makai Lemon and CeeDee Lamb. Plus, Simmons is a Memphis native like Mack.
Tyson Helton, Western Kentucky HC: For the same reasons I laid out in the Tulane part of this article, Helton makes sense here. It also represents a substantial pay raise.
Tim Cramsey, Memphis OC: A promotion hasn’t been Memphis’s M.O. in the past, but it could make sense here. Cramsey has been with the program since 2021 and helped both Seth Henigan and Brendan Lewis rewrite the program’s record book. It’s a wait to maintain continuity, but is that what Memphis wants?
Buster Faulkner, Georgia Tech OC: Faulkner will keep the offensive fireworks going at Memphis if he’s hired. He doesn’t have any major ties to the area, but with Memphis likely one of the best Group of Six jobs on the market, he could be wooed here. Faulkner has spent the past three seasons devising the inventive Georgia Tech offense that has us all watching scoreboards across the country count higher and higher.
Report Card - UCLA
Moving out of the Lane Kiffin domino show, we still have a few hires and shortlists to take a look at.
The first is UCLA’s hire of James Madison’s Bob Chesney.
On-Field
Chesney succeeded a coach that quickly is establishing himself as an all-timer: Curt Cignetti. And Cignetti took the boards from James Madison with him to Bloomington. Both coordinators and all the top players are wearing the Indiana Crimson and Creme now. So no, you can’t chalk up Chesney’s success to riding on Cignetti’s coattails.
Like Cignetti, Chesney was a star at the FCS ranks before coming to James Madison, winning at both the FCS, DII and DIII levels. At JMU, Chesney racked up a stellar 20-5 record that serves as the perfect punctuation to his 129-51 record as a collegiate head coach.
Chesney has rode strong offenses with mobile quarterbacks for most of his career, so he pairs well with Nico and Madden Iamaleava who are entrenched in Westwood.
Off-Field
With that much experience, Chesney has plenty of experience as a program builder. Each stop in his career, he’s left the program in a better place than he found it. He hasn’t had issues with players and more often than not, keeps them in his programs. The only exception was the post-Cignetti exodus of players to follow their former coach. Aside from that, Chesney has kept the band together.
That’s paramount at UCLA, where a coach will have to keep the Iamaleavas in place to build an offense around them. I think, once Chesney meets with them, they’ll be wooed to stay.
UCLA isn’t in the best hands right now in terms of player retention. Their NIL efforts are seriously behind the eight ball, especially after Chip Kelly neglected that side of the coin for years. Chesney has to get that fixed quickly. He’s also coming from a program that had plenty of resources in James Madison, so getting outbid and outspent may be new to him.
Grade: B
I love the on-field aspect of this hire and I think Chesney is one of the better pound-for-pound ball coaches in this cycle.
I also worry a lot about the off-field aspect.
UCLA has to modernize and I’m not sure how Chesney can win that fight. There’s also the issue that he’s never lived, let alone worked, west of the Mississippi. Now, he’s thrust into the thick of recruiting Southern California and battling for elite-level talent with every other nationally and locally recruiting team. That’s scary to me, which brings the grade down here some.
Shortlist - James Madison
JMU has become the latest launching pad for coaching careers, putting Curt Cignetti and now Bob Chesney on the path to greatness.
If you zoom out and look at the athletic department overall, you see a very healthy department. Despite two coaching changes in rapid succession, the Dukes remain the Sun Belt’s best program. They’re spending at a healthy clip and can outpace most of their conference mates.
Before the Dukes made their jump to the FBS in 2022, transitioning teams didn’t perform well at all. James Madison redefined that with a solid plan to compete both on and off the field. They invested in their facilities and coaching staffs. The entire department adjusted how they work to ensure they can compete at the higher level. And it’s paid off. Since the move, the Dukes are 39-10, have been ranked in the AP Top 25 in three of their four seasons, and are already in the Sun Belt Championship for the first time and in reach of a CFP bid with some help.
This is a healthy program that will be enticing to coaches to join.
The Candidates
As always, all the candidates are speculation unless stated otherwise.
DeLane Fitzgerald, Southern Utah HC: I mean, you can see the Dukes repeating the Cignetti and Chesney formula with another talented lower-level coach, right? Fitzgerald - a JMU alum - is 111-70 as a head coach, but if you take out the first year of his two rebuilds at FCS Southern Utah and DII Frostburg State, he’s a much better 99-50. Fitzgerald fits the mold of a strong program builder with previous success and his ties to the university can’t be ignored.
Mike Jacobs, Mercer HC: Jacobs is another rising star in the FCS ranks that I floated out for the BGSU job last cycle. He’s only added to a sterling resume. Jacobs sits at 94-22 across three stops at Notre Dame College (OH), Lenoir-Rhyne and now Mercer. He’s built the Bears into an FCS contender, with Mercer hosting a first-round FCS playoff game. His quarterback, Braden Atkinson, also just won the Jerry Rice Award as the FCS’s best freshman.
Willie Simmons, Florida International HC: If the Dukes delve into the FBS ranks, Simmons is a great contender. He flipped the script in his first year at FIU, leading the Panthers to bowl eligibility with a 7-5 record. Prior to that, Simmons excelled in the FCS, leading turnarounds at Prairie View A&M and Florida A&M.
Kevin Cahill, Lehigh HC: Another FCS program developer makes the cut in Cahill. Patriot League success has translated to JMU success before - Chesney’s previous stop was in the league at Holy Cross. Cahill has Lehigh at a perfect 12-0. It is his first head coaching job, but he spend over a decade on staff at Yale prior to his hire at Lehigh.
Jimbo Fisher, former Texas A&M HC: Our final one is a bit of a wildcard here, but Jimbo wants a job and James Madison is likely to be the most attractive Group of Six job this cycle. He’s never spent much time in the Virginia area, but Fisher’s name would immediately command respect for the program.
Report Card - Kansas State
Seeing Kansas State of all schools come open is a shock to me. At least it was a retirement for Chris Klieman and not some wild firing.
Since the retirement of legendary coach Bill Snyder, Klieman has kept the Wildcats competitive and the Little Apple of Manhattan, Kansas rocking. His 54-34 mark isn’t the best, but he was 3-2 in bowls and had the Wildcats ranked at some point in each of his seven seasons.
More importantly, Klieman set up Kansas State as one of the presumed top programs in the new Big 12. They entered the season with title and playoff aspirations, but came up short overall.
But Klieman was a trooper the entire way. He had his team shake off a bad start and battle their way into Big 12 contention anyway. Shaky play on both sides of the ball doomed the Wildcats, but Klieman has brought stability and a sense of expectations that Kansas State hadn’t seen before.
Now, he’s stepping away at the end of the season. And Kansas State has reportedly already hired their successor: Collin Klein.
On-Field
Klein is perhaps the hottest coordinator name on this coaching cycle. The Texas A&M offensive coordinator for the past two seasons, Klein has built an explosive, multi-faceted offense. Marcel Reed has thrived under Klein’s tutelage, morphing from a backup to a Heisman hopeful this year. He’s also seen explosive wideouts K.C. Concepcion and Mario Craver have career-best seasons.
Prior to his time at Texas A&M, Klein spent nearly a decade in Manhattan on the staffs of Snyder and Klieman, reaching as high as offensive coordinator. In Klein’s two seasons as offensive coordinator at Kansas State, he quickly remade the offense from a boring unit that ranked near the middle of the nation in most categories, to a solid top-25 offense by most measures. Even more interestingly, the offense has fallen off since Klein’s departure to Texas A&M.
Oh, an Klein is a former Wildcat quarterback, authoring one of the best years in program history in 2012, when Klein led K-State to a Cotton Bowl win and finished as the runner up for the Heisman.
Off-Field
It’s only been two years since Klein left what he calls his home, so he still has all the connections. Many players on the roster were recruited by him and he knows the area better than most. He’s K-State royalty and has rubbed elbows with all the donors.
This is Klien’s dream job. He’s been a shrewd recruiter in the area, identifying talent flying under the radar and snagging it up. I don’t foresee much of a drop off from the recruiting levels under Klieman.
It’s not often you can hire a candidate as ingrained in a university as Klien - especially with an outside hire. But, for K-State, this isn’t an outside hire. It’s bringing a campus legend home where he belongs.
Grade: A
The only thing separating this from an A+ is my hesitancy with Klein being a first-time head coach and facing the pressure of leading his alma mater. We saw it go south with the likes of Scott Frost, but others like Kenny Dillingham, Clark Lea and Jeff Brohm are thriving at their alma maters.
This is the most K-State hire since Bill Snyder was brought back. This is a man that bleeds purple and gray. They did the right thing.
Report Card - Stanford
At long last, our final coaching change to cover as Andrew Luck made his first hire as the leader of the Stanford program, naming Tavita Pritchard as the Cardinal’s next head coach.
On-Field
Pritchard is returning to the college game from the NFL, where he was the Washington Commanders’ quarterbacks coach for the last three seasons. He directly worked to mentor and develop rising star quarterback Jayden Daniels in his NFL career.
Prior to his move to the NFL, Pritchard worked for over a decade among a host of Stanford coaching staffs under David Shaw and Jim Harbaugh. For five years, Pritchard was the Cardinal’s offensive coordinator.
Those teams weren’t great, to say the least. His time as offensive coordinator on The Farm lined up perfectly with when the Shaw tenure started falling off a cliff, especially with the offenses starting to look plain bad.
Still, Luck stated that Pritchard’s role and growth from those bad seasons were a “massive portion of [his] interviews with Tavita,” so maybe it’s not all bad?
Off-Field
To me, this doesn’t matter that much here. Luck is going to lead the program’s recruiting and roster management, so Pritchard will be the X’s and O’s guy.
Grade: D+
I hate to be a Debbie Downer, but this doesn’t look good on paper to me. Pritchard’s only previous time leading an offense was an abject disaster. He doesn’t have a strong pedigree outside of the Stanford building.
I want to place trust in Andrew Luck, but we’ve seen former players not be able to hang as the program leader. Just look at Michael Jordan’s executive resume.
Unfortunately, I think this one’s a miss for Luck.
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