This will be the final Coaching Carousel Report for the CFB season as we recap the final hirings and look ahead to who might be on the hot seat as we look forward to spring practice and the start of next season! Pretty soon, we will be moving back to the College Football Hot Seat!
Hirings This Week
Eric Morris/North Texas
As mentioned in a previous article, we mentioned that North Texas would most likely go with a young candidate with ties to Texas. That is exactly what they did. While Eric Morris is leaving his OC position at Washington State he has deep ties to the state of Texas. He was born in Texas, played and coached at Texas Tech and was the head coach at Incarnate Word where he went 24-18 in 4 seasons. His coach at Texas Tech was the late Mike Leach and his Air Raid offensive scheme is built like his former coach. This will work great at North Texas as their main rival (USTA) run the same scheme and will give us a great rivalry for years to come.
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Kenni Burns/Kent State
The Golden Flashes have hired University of Minnesota AHC/RB coach as their 23rd head football coach. He is a former Indiana University RB and has stops in D2 football at North Dakota State, Southern Illinois, and finally landing in FBS at Wyoming then getting onto current Minnesota HC PJ Flecks staff at Western Michigan and he followed him to Minnesota. Burns has a tall order in front of him with the number of players that Kent State has lost to the portal during the transition period.
Zach Arnett/Mississippi State
Arnett was named the interim coach in the wake of the death of HC Mike Leach. That interim tag was removed this week and Arnett signed a 4-year contract. This was a bit surprising to name a successor so quickly, but they felt they could continue the foundation that Leach was building at Mississippi St. It’s rare to see a young head coach get an SEC job but in the portal age of CFB, speed of hiring is crucial now. He has been on staff since 2020 and has zero head coaching experience. If the players are on board and if he can keep the same staff (and players) that Mike Leach had then he has a chance to be very successful with this opportunity.
Brian Newberry/Navy
After 3 seasons as DC of Navy,Newberry gets promoted to the head coach position this week. This does not come as a surprise to anyone as Navy tries to keep it in the family. Coaching at any of these service academies is unlike any other coaching position. The students cannot redshirt, and they cannot take NIL money due to government regulations, as their education is paid for in full by the government. Navy definitely needs a new voice and Newberry seems to be the right choice for them as he understands the standards and commitment that goes with coaching at The Naval Academy.
Way Too Early Preseason 2023 College Football Hot Seat
Jimbo Fisher/Texas A&M
Goes without saying that Fisher will be on the hottest seat to start this season. The Aggies finished the season with an underwhelming 5-7 record after many predicted them to contend for the CFB Playoffs this season. Fisher has already fired OC Darrell Dickey and they have 22 players who placed their names in transfer portal. This is a critical offseason for Jimbo, as he will need to fill roster holes and completely change his staff. If it weren’t for the absurd contract, Jimbo would be on the unemployment line, and not on the College Football Hot Seat.
Pat Fitzgerald/Northwestern
Very surprised that Fitzgerald is still with this program after Northwestern’s 1-11 campaign. Fitzgerald did announce the firing of their DC, DL coach and WR coach shortly after the season ended. We see this all the time with coaching staffs. The team struggles, the AD says to bring in some new voices but if that doesn’t work it becomes the HC who will typically get canned after that. In the ever changing Big Ten landscape, it’s imperative that staff keep up with all the changes that are occurring in major college football.
Mario Cristobal/Miami (FL)
After a season of high expectations, Cristobal and the staff will be on the hot seat heading into the season. They will bring back QB Tyler Van Dyke for one more season, but the biggest question will be the status of OC Josh Gattis. Who, after winning the Broyles Award in 2021 as the Michigan OC, may not return to Miami. Gattis did not live up to expectations this coming season as the offense was the underwhelming aspect of this team. Miami is quickly becoming College Football Hot Seat U.
Mel Tucker/Michigan State
Typically, one disappointing season won’t get you fired in East Lansing, but a bad offseason and poor player management won’t help your cause. The expectations at Sparty have been high since Tucker signed that 10 Year 95 million dollar fully guaranteed extension after the 2021 season. Tucker defeated Michigan in 2021 and led them to a Peach bowl victory. Since then, it has not been great for Tucker. He did lose to Michigan (badly) this season 29-7. Finished 5-7 on the season and he had multiple players suspended for the postgame antics in the Michigan tunnel where players used their helmets as weapons. Tucker and his staff have not had the best recruiting year with high school players or the portal. His record is now 18-14 as MSU head coach and 12-13 in conference play. This is a name to watch as he seems to be losing his grip on the team heading into 2023.
Jeff Hafley/Boston College
Another name that survived the hot seat the past season. BC finishes with a 3-9 record and 15-20 overall. The starting quarterback, Phil Jurkovec, has transferred out to Pittsburgh for his final season. They have been fairly quiet in the portal so far this offseason. Hafley’s seat will be red hot entering the season with a short leash expected.
Tom Allen/Indiana
Allen survives at least one more season in Bloomington. But this season could be his most difficult season yet. The portal has not been kind to the Hoosiers. They have 3 quarterbacks in the transfer portal and a total of 14 players overall, including star LB Dasan McCullogh. We saw that Allen seemed to have lost the locker room towards the end of the season during his pre-game speech against Purdue. Allen did hire Bob Bostad to coach the OL next season from Wisconsin and to assist with recruiting. If Allen cannot produce a winner this season, he won’t be given another chance next season.
Neal Brown/West Virginia
The new AD at West Virginia has retained Brown for the upcoming season. Brown will need to replace outgoing OC Graham Harrell as he has taken the same position at Purdue under new HC Ryan Walters. Brown has been flirting with mediocrity his entire tenure at West Virginia, compiling a 15-20 record overall and never winning more than six games. A solid 8-win season should keep his employment secure.
Billy Napier/Florida
While it was only his first year at Florida, these fans are spoiled and will want to see instant results. They will be losing their starting QB Anthony Richardson to the NFL Draft but they did just announce the signing of former Wisconsin QB transfer Graham Mertz in hopes of re-loading for next season. Six wins will not get it done in Gainesville with these fans. Napier will need to contend for an SEC title next year for the fans to continue to support him.
Let us know who you expect to be on the 2023 College Football Hot Seat!
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