Coaching Carousel Round Up 2018 – Part 3

 

Team Former Coach New Coach
 Arizona State Todd Graham Herm Edwards
 Arkansas Bret Bielema Chad Morris
 Florida Jim McElwain Dan Mullen
 Florida State Jimbo Fisher Willie Taggart
 Georgia Southern Tyson Summers Interim HC Chad Lunsford
 Kent State Paul Haynes OPEN
 Louisiana Mark Hudspeth OPEN
 Mississippi State Dan Mullen OC Joe Moorhead
 Nebraska Mike Riley Scott Frost
 Ole Miss Hugh Freeze Interim HC/OC Matt Luke
 Oregon Willie Taggart OPEN
 Oregon State Gary Andersen OC/QB Jonathan Smith
 Rice David Bailiff Mike Bloomgren
 Tennessee Butch Jones Jeremy Pruitt
 Texas A&M Kevin Sumlin Jimbo Fisher
 SMU Chad Morris Sonny Dykes
 South Alabama Joey Jones Steve Cambell
 UCF Scott Frost Josh Heupel
 UCLA Jim Mora Jr. Chip Kelly
 UTEP Sean Kugler Dana Dimel

Kent State

Previous Coach: Paul Haynes

Head Candidates: 

Notes: There is not much news coming out of Kent, Ohio. Speculations by analysts say that Oklahoma State OC, Mike Yurcich, Minnesota O-Line Coach Ed Warnnier, Middle Tennessee DC Scott Shafer, and University of Cincinnati DC Marcus Freeman are possible candidates. Kent State AD is keeping the hiring quiet, as no news has come out in the past week.

Louisiana

Previous Coaches: Mark Hudspeth

Head Candidates:

Notes: Much like Kent State, there no news regarding the future of the program. No possible candidates have been released.

Oregon

Previous: Willie Taggart

New Coach: Mario Cristobal

Notes: Cristobal’s first HC job was at FIU, where he took the Panthers to the postseason in its 4th year as an FBS school and 1 post season victory before being fired in 2013. Cristobal was hired by Nick Saban in 2013, Cristobal said he earned a PhD in Football under the historic coach. As the assistant head coach, he had 4 recruiting classes that ranked number 1 in the country and was noted as the recruiter of the year in 2015. His O-line ranked in the top 25 every year and the line won the Joe Moore award in 2015, awarded to the toughest O-line in the country. The success at Alabama was not gone unnoticed as he moved to Oregon as the OC. After Taggart’s quick departure to Florida State, Cristobal was moved to the HC position. Cristobal has the talent to get Oregon to the top of the PAC-12 and back in National Championship consideration. This hire also allows Oregon to keep some stability to the young program.

SMU

Previous: Chad Morris

New Coach: Sonny Dykes

Notes: Sonny was the previous head coach at Lousiana Tech and UC – Berkely. In 3 seasons at LaTech, he lead the Bulldogs to a 22-15 record and a 9-3 record in 2012, where they were famously not invited to a bowl game. In 2013 he moved to coach at Cal, where he was never able to settle in going 19-30 in 4 years and 1 post season win in the 2015 Armed Forces Bowl. With Chad Morris moving to coach at Arkansas and taking the entire staff with him, Dykes needs to hire coaches and hit the recruiting trail hard if he wants to make things work at SMU. Good hire, but Dykes needs to understand that he is coming into a shaky situation.

South Alabama

Previous Coach: Joey Jones

New Coach: Steve Campbell

Notes: Steve Campbell has a stunning record as going 27-8 at Delta State, winning the D-2 Championship in 2000 and coaching Central Arkansas to 2 consecutive FCS playoffs. This past year, Campbell’s Central Arkansas team went 10-2 before losing in the second round of the FCS playoffs. Campbell is a proven winner and now has his chance to impress at the FBS level.

Tennessee

Previous Coach: Butch Jones

New Coach: Jeremy Pruitt, DC Alabama Greg Schiano, John Gruden, Mike Gundy, Lane Kiffin, David Cutcliffe, Jeff Brohm, Dave Doeren, Kevin Sumlin,  

Notes: Big hire for the Volunteers, ending the nationwide rejection for the job. This hire does 2 things, Pruitt will be staying in the SEC, keeping the recruiting avenues open and 2, keep the Alabama rivalry alive. Pruitt has been able to grow the Alabama defense into one of the most aggressive defenses in the country, leading the country in scoring for the last 2 years. Pruitt can also recruit, earning Recruiter of the Year in 2012. Yes, Bama is a easy place to recruit, but Pruitt will be able to continue the recruiting success at Tennessee. Vols fans can take a sign of relief and look forward to a bright future.

UTEP

Previous Coach: Sean Kugler

New Coach: Dana Dimel, OC Kansas State

Notes: Dana had great success 2 decades ago coaching at Wyoming, coaching the team to a 22-13 record in 3 years. Dimel has ties to the fertile Texas recruiting grounds and should be able to make an instant impact. In the last 9 seasons at K-State, Dimel has taken the Wildcats to 8 straight bowl games and a Big 12 championship. He was also a part of Collin Klein’s hopeful Heisman campaign while leading K-State as one of the most potent offenses in 2011 and 2012. Solid move by the Miners.

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