College Football Coaching Openings
By Michael Schneid
With Charlie Strong leaving Louisville, another Power 5 conference school has an opening. We look at how the rest of the coaching carousel could shake out.
Louisville
There are three directions the Cardinals can go to replace Charlie Strong. Michigan State Defensive Coordinator Pat Narduzzi turned down the Uconn job earlier this winter and this could be the perfect move for everyone. Narduzzi has a defensive background, like Strong, and is coming off helping the Spartans win the Rose Bowl.
Another hot coordinator coming off a BCS win is Clemson's Chad Morris. Morris has long been a strong candidate for head coaching jobs and has turned down a few the last few years and Louisville might be the perfect opportunity, given his midwest ties.
The third option would be to hire a current head coach. However, the last time Louisville hired a lower-level head coach was Steve Kragthorpe from Tulsa and he was a disaster. Before him, Bobby Petrino was great and was hired after being Auburn's OC and Charlie Strong was great after being Florida's DC. If Louisville decides to go this route, candidates can include - Ball State's Pete Lembo, ULL's Mark Hudspeth, WKU's Bobby Petrino (!!), Utah State's Matt Wells.
Louisville will have plenty of options and need another homerun hire as they prepare for life in the ACC in 2014. They will lose QB Teddy Bridgewater but the Cardinals are still loaded with talent for a potential run in the ACC.
Penn State
Most reports say Penn State is focused on Al Golden, which would be an absolute homerun. Golden was PSU's LB coach in 2000 and had a lot of success as Temple's head coach before moving on to Miami. Golden has navigated The U through a very difficult time due to sanctions that included a bowl ban and scholarship reductions. So he is very familiar with the situation he would enter at Penn State. Golden's ties to PSU go well beyond being LB coach for one year. He played for the late Joe Paterno from 1987-1991 and wears a shirt and tie on the sidelines to honor his former coach. Golden is 22-15 in 3 years at Miami and 49-49 overall in 8 years as a head coach. But most importantly he was 17-8 in his final two years at Temple. The situation he inherited was a disaster and it took a few years to rebuild.
If PSU fails to convince Golden, Vandy's James Franklin should be the choice. Franklin is from Western PA so he is familiar with the area and he has had success at Vanderbilt, which no one ever thought was possible. Franklin will bring a lot of energy and enthusiasm to the position and to the program. He is 24-15 in three years, leading Vandy to bowl games in each of his three seasons and back-to-back bowl wins.
After Golden and Franklin, the list gets a little light. Former PSU players and NFL coaches Greg Schiano and Mike Munchak could be possibilities, although given both are currently unemployed they could also perhaps be options for assistant positions.
Miami
If Al Golden goes to Penn State, Miami will have an opening. There likely will be no shortage of candidates, given that Miami is through their hell period, and so many coaches have Miami ties as assistants. Greg Schiano is a former Miami defensive coordinator and could come cheap, something that is appealing to Miami. James Franklin could be an option. Clemson OC Chad Morris, former USC Interim coach Ed Orgeron, former FIU coach Mario Cristobol, 49ers OC Greg Roman, and recently fired Browns coach Rob Chudzinski could all be options. Roman has worked with Jim Harbaugh going back to Stanford days and could bring an NFL-type system to the U. Oregeron is a former Miami assistant and the players at USC absolutely loved him. He is also one of the best recruiters in the country.
Miami probably won't attract a big name from a big school but they will have plenty of options to choose from.
Vanderbilt
What if James Franklin goes to Penn State? Or Miami? Or the NFL? Vandy will have an opening coming off the most successful three-year stretch in program history. Ed Orgeron can probably bring energy to Vandy or perhaps Greg Roman could bring his NFL background. Perhaps Mike Munchak, who is familiar with the Nashville area could be an option. Maybe Stanford defensive coordinator Derek Mason could be an option as well.
With Charlie Strong leaving Louisville, another Power 5 conference school has an opening. We look at how the rest of the coaching carousel could shake out.
Louisville
There are three directions the Cardinals can go to replace Charlie Strong. Michigan State Defensive Coordinator Pat Narduzzi turned down the Uconn job earlier this winter and this could be the perfect move for everyone. Narduzzi has a defensive background, like Strong, and is coming off helping the Spartans win the Rose Bowl.
Another hot coordinator coming off a BCS win is Clemson's Chad Morris. Morris has long been a strong candidate for head coaching jobs and has turned down a few the last few years and Louisville might be the perfect opportunity, given his midwest ties.
The third option would be to hire a current head coach. However, the last time Louisville hired a lower-level head coach was Steve Kragthorpe from Tulsa and he was a disaster. Before him, Bobby Petrino was great and was hired after being Auburn's OC and Charlie Strong was great after being Florida's DC. If Louisville decides to go this route, candidates can include - Ball State's Pete Lembo, ULL's Mark Hudspeth, WKU's Bobby Petrino (!!), Utah State's Matt Wells.
Louisville will have plenty of options and need another homerun hire as they prepare for life in the ACC in 2014. They will lose QB Teddy Bridgewater but the Cardinals are still loaded with talent for a potential run in the ACC.
Penn State
Most reports say Penn State is focused on Al Golden, which would be an absolute homerun. Golden was PSU's LB coach in 2000 and had a lot of success as Temple's head coach before moving on to Miami. Golden has navigated The U through a very difficult time due to sanctions that included a bowl ban and scholarship reductions. So he is very familiar with the situation he would enter at Penn State. Golden's ties to PSU go well beyond being LB coach for one year. He played for the late Joe Paterno from 1987-1991 and wears a shirt and tie on the sidelines to honor his former coach. Golden is 22-15 in 3 years at Miami and 49-49 overall in 8 years as a head coach. But most importantly he was 17-8 in his final two years at Temple. The situation he inherited was a disaster and it took a few years to rebuild.
If PSU fails to convince Golden, Vandy's James Franklin should be the choice. Franklin is from Western PA so he is familiar with the area and he has had success at Vanderbilt, which no one ever thought was possible. Franklin will bring a lot of energy and enthusiasm to the position and to the program. He is 24-15 in three years, leading Vandy to bowl games in each of his three seasons and back-to-back bowl wins.
After Golden and Franklin, the list gets a little light. Former PSU players and NFL coaches Greg Schiano and Mike Munchak could be possibilities, although given both are currently unemployed they could also perhaps be options for assistant positions.
Miami
If Al Golden goes to Penn State, Miami will have an opening. There likely will be no shortage of candidates, given that Miami is through their hell period, and so many coaches have Miami ties as assistants. Greg Schiano is a former Miami defensive coordinator and could come cheap, something that is appealing to Miami. James Franklin could be an option. Clemson OC Chad Morris, former USC Interim coach Ed Orgeron, former FIU coach Mario Cristobol, 49ers OC Greg Roman, and recently fired Browns coach Rob Chudzinski could all be options. Roman has worked with Jim Harbaugh going back to Stanford days and could bring an NFL-type system to the U. Oregeron is a former Miami assistant and the players at USC absolutely loved him. He is also one of the best recruiters in the country.
Miami probably won't attract a big name from a big school but they will have plenty of options to choose from.
Vanderbilt
What if James Franklin goes to Penn State? Or Miami? Or the NFL? Vandy will have an opening coming off the most successful three-year stretch in program history. Ed Orgeron can probably bring energy to Vandy or perhaps Greg Roman could bring his NFL background. Perhaps Mike Munchak, who is familiar with the Nashville area could be an option. Maybe Stanford defensive coordinator Derek Mason could be an option as well.
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