College Football Coaching Changes: Ranking the best hires
Ranking the new coaching hires in college football that saw coaching changes at major programs like USC, Georgia and Miami.
The coaching carousel was working overdrive this year with double-digit vacancies before even reaching the end of the regular season. There was a firing before the season even started with the Illinois Fighting Illini parting ways with Tim Beckman eight days before their season kicked off and that set the stage for a number of coaches being fired, resigning and retiring.
Some were complete surprises like former USC Trojans head coach Steve Sarkisian being fired in October for alcohol-related issues and the Georgia Bulldogs firing Mark Richt after 15 years and 144 wins in Athens.
Then there was the winningest active head coach in the FBS, Frank Beamer retiring, which came on the heels of of the midseason “resignation” from former South Carolina Gamecocks head coach Steve Spurrier. It’s not surprising to see them retire, but the timing of Spurrier’s announcement was curious considering it was in the middle of the year.
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There were sudden and sobering retirements, however, from former Missouri Tigers head coach Gary Pinkel when he revealed in November he was battling cancer and had to step down after winning back-to-back SEC East titles the previous two years.
Pinkel followed former Minnesota Golden Gophers head coach Jerry Kill who had to retire midseason due his battle with epilepsy.
With those coaches and more than a dozen others, off the sidelines and out of the locker room, it’s time to usher in a new era, a new voice and a new direction. Some will be hits and some will be misses who will be replaced in a few years.
Without further delay, here are the best coaching hires of this year’s coaching carousel.
UTSA is the only FBS team with a coaching vacancy. When it’s filled, the ranking will be updated.
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