The coaching carousel unexpectedly restarted, leading to Part II of Dennis Dodd’s grades for each team’s respective hires
• 6 min read
It was going to be a (somewhat) quiet, predictable coaching carousel. There were 19 coaching changes, which was considered a slow year for a carousel that never seems to stop spinning.
Then Nick Saban shocked the world by retiring. Then Jim Harbaugh did what we always thought was possible by going to the NFL.
Chip Kelly took a pay cut leaving as head coach at UCLA to become offensive coordinator at Ohio State, perhaps adding job security while remaining in the Big Ten. Bill O’Brien made a pit stop at Ohio State before taking over Boston College when Jeff Hafley got out ahead of the posse, leaving to take over as Packers defensive coordinator.
These moves were among eight late coaching changes that occurred since we thought that carousel had slowed to a stop. Think again.
It has been more than six months since Pat Fitzgerald was fired at Northwestern last July. Since the summer, 29 schools have changed coaches, continuing a recent trend.
There have been a combined 85 coaching changes in the last three offseasons. Six schools have changed coaches twice in that short span: Duke, Nevada, New Mexico State, Troy, UAB and Washington.
The turnover has been such that three of the four College Football Playoff semifinalists from 2023 enter 2024 with new coaches. Eighteen of the 29 schools with new coaches had winning records last season. More than half the Mountain West jobs turned over (seven).
As the game realigns, so do the coaches. Moore is among eight new coaches who have never run a program. The money is bigger than ever, but so is the pressure.
Here are the eight late hires that rounded out the silly season. At least we think it’s finished.
Check out grades for the first set of coaching hires — including Michigan State’s Jonathan Smith, Texas A&M’s Mike Elko and 18 others — right here.
