NCAA College Football Coaching Carousel Has Stopped
Only Time Will Tell
Round and round it goes. The more it spins, the more we know. So exactly what have we learned now that the hire of Bill Blakenship by Tulsa has officially ended the coaching carousel in college football landscape. Nine head coaches were fired, five resigned, and seven left to take another head coaching position at another school. Here’s a complete list of all the college football coaching changes.
ARKANSAS STATE
OUT – Steve Roberts: Resigned on November 29 after going 45-63 in 9 seasons
IN – Hugh Freeze: Promoted from offensive coordinator December 2
BALL STATE
OUT – Stan Parrish: Fired November 22 after going 6-19 in 2 seasons
IN – Pete Lembo: Elon University head coach…hired December 20
COLORADO
OUT – Dan Hawkins: Fired November 9 after going 19-39 in 5 seasons
IN – Jon Embree: Washington Redskins tight ends coach…hired December 5
UCONN
OUT – Randy Edsall: Hired at Maryland on January 2 after going 65-46 in 12 seasons
IN – Paul Pasqualoni: Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator…hired January 13
FLORIDA
OUT – Urban Meyer: Resigned December 8 after going 64-15 in 6 seasons
IN – Will Muschamp: Texas defensive coordinator…hired December 11
INDIANA
OUT – Bill Lynch: Fired November 28 after going 19-30 in 4 seasons
IN – Kevin Wilson: Oklahoma offensive coordinator….hired December 7
KENT STATE
OUT: Doug Martin. Resigned Nov. 21 after going 28-53 in seven seasons
IN: Darrell Hazell, Ohio State assistant head coach/wide receivers coach. Hired Dec. 20.
LOUISIANA-LAFAYETTE
OUT: Rickey Bustle. Fired Nov. 27 after going 41-65 in eight seasons
IN: Mark Hudspeth, Mississippi State wide receiver coach/passing game coordinator. Hired Dec. 12.
MARYLAND
OUT: Ralph Friedgen. Fired Dec. 20 after going 74-50 in 10 seasons
IN: Randy Edsall, Connecticut head coach. Hired Jan. 2.
MIAMI
OUT: Randy Shannon. Fired Nov. 27 after going 28-22 in four seasons
IN: Al Golden, Temple coach. Hired Dec. 12.
MIAMI OF OHIO
OUT: Mike Haywood, hired at Pittsburgh on Dec. 16 after going 10-15 in two seasons. (Haywood was fired Jan. 1 after he was arrested on domestic violence charges.)
IN: Don Treadwell, Michigan State offensive coordinator. Hired Dec. 31.
MICHIGAN
OUT: Rich Rodriguez. Fired Jan. 5 after going 15-22 in three seasons.
In: Brady Hoke, San Diego State coach. Hired Jan. 11.
MINNESOTA
OUT: Tim Brewster. Fired Oct. 17 after going 15-30 in four seasons
IN: Jerry Kill, Northern Illinois coach. Hired Dec. 5.
NORTH TEXAS
OUT: Todd Dodge. Fired Oct. 20 after going 6-37 in four seasons
IN: Dan McCarney, Florida defensive line coach and assistant head coach. Hired Nov. 30.
NORTHERN ILLINOIS
OUT: Jerry Kill. Hired at Minnesota on Dec. 5 after going 23-16 in three seasons.
IN: Dave Doeren, Wisconsin defensive coordinator. Hired Dec. 13.
PITTSBURGH
OUT: Dave Wannstedt. Resigned Dec. 7 after going 42-31 in six seasons
IN: Todd Graham, Tulsa coach. Hired Jan. 10.
SAN DIEGO STATE
OUT: Brady Hoke, hired at Michigan after going 13-12 in two seasons.
IN: Rocky Long, promoted from defensive coordinator Jan. 13.
STANFORD
OUT: Jim Harbaugh. Hired as San Francisco 49ers head coach Jan. 7 after going 29-21 in four seasons.
IN: David Shaw, Stanford offensive coordinator. Hired Jan. 13.
TEMPLE
OUT: Al Golden, hired at Miami after going 27-34 in five seasons.
IN: Steve Addazio, Florida offensive coordinator. Hired Dec. 23.
TULSA
OUT: Todd Graham, hired at Pittsburgh after going 36-17 in four seasons
IN: Bill Blankenship, promoted from senior associate head coach/running back coach.
VANDERBILT
OUT: Robbie Caldwell. Resigned Nov. 27 after going 2-10 in one season
IN: James Franklin, Maryland offensive coordinator. Hired Dec. 17.
Dennis Franchione Hired As Texas State Head Football Coach
Who Could Forget
Former Alabama and Texas A&M coach Dennis Franchione has accepted the head coaching position at Texas State in which Tim Brewster and Rocky Long were candidates. Franchione was a coach at Texas State back in 1990, when the school was known as Southwest Texas State, where he coached for just two seasons and accumulated a record of 13-9.
Franchione, 59, was removed from his position at A&M after the 2007 season in which it was reveled he was sending out a an exclusive newsletter sent to boosters who paid handsomely for information about their Aggie football team. He takes over for Brad Wright who was fired after a 4-7 season as Texas State prepares itself for to join the WAC in 2012.
Franchione has a 187-101-2 record over 25 years but without a doubt his most crowning achievement as a coach was when he was the head man on the sidelines for the Aggies and he lead them into a beatdown by Oklahoma 77-0.
Primetime College Football: Insight Bowl
TALENT
The 21st annual Insight Bowl will see for the third time in four seasons the Minnesota Golden Gophers as they take on the Iowa State Cyclones in Arizona at Sun Devil Stadium.
The Gophers fell to Kansas last season, 42-21 in this bowl, and were also defeated by Texas Tech 44-41 in overtime back in 2006. Overall Minnesota is just 5-8 in bowl games and has dropped its last three postseason contests. The last time Minnesota captured a victory in a bowl game was in 2004 when the Gophers slipped past Alabama, 20-16, in the Music City Bowl. 2009 was an inconsistent season for Minnesota, which finished with a mere 6-6 overall and 3-5 in the Big Ten.
The Golden Gophers did very little offensively all season long and tallied just 295.8 total ypg on the season, and that lead to a mediocre 21 ppg. The ground game struggled and the team averaged a meager 97.6 ypg on 2.9 yards per carry, ranking 112th in the country. Daune Bennett scored 6 rushing touchdowns on the season, but the tailback rushed for just 376 yards, while Kevin Whaley added 325 yards and 2 scores on 4.2 yards per attempt. The passing attack was not much better for the Gophers, as the team threw for just 198.2 ypg during the regular season. Adam Weber was inconsistent completing just 51.6 percent of his throws. Weber totaled just 2,321 yards in the air and tossed just 12 touchdowns against 14 interceptions. The only reliable target for Weber has been Eric Decker, who led the team with 50 receptions, 758 yards and 5 touchdowns but he is listed as questionable due to a sprain foot.
Tim Brewster’s Gophers come into this matchup allowing 24 ppg, but struggles against the pass and the run. Opponents have thrown for 217.4 ypg against the Gophers, and stopping the run has been an even bigger problem for Minnesota, as the team is being gashed for 146.7 ypg on the ground and has also allowed 18 rushing touchdowns. Lee Campbell has racked up 112 tackles and 9.5 for a loss. Nate Triplett has 96 tackles.
The Cyclones also finished with a mere 6-6 overall record and 3-5 in the Big 12. This is the 10th bowl appearance for Iowa State, and the first for the team since 2005. The Cyclones have dropped seven of their nine bowl matchups, but one of their two victories came in the 2000 Insight Bowl, as Iowa State defeated Pittsburgh, 37-29.
Paul Rhoads Cyclones have been mediocre at best offensively, finishing the regular season averaging a mere 21 ppg. The rushing attack has been successful turning out 177.3 ypg. Alexander Robinson has rumbled for 1,058 yards and 6 touchdowns on the season, while quarterback Austen Arnaud has contributed with 485 yards and 7 rushing scores on the ground but only throwing for 1,799 yards, tossing 13 touchdowns against 11 interceptions. The Cyclones at times use San Antonio’s Robert E. Lee High Schools Jerome Tiller to pass the ball. Marquis Hamilton has been the most reliable wideout hauling in 46 receptions for 574 yards and 4 touchdowns while Jake Williams has scored 4 times on 320 yards.
Iowa State has held the opposition to just 22 ppg on the season while surrendering a whopping 414.3 total ypg. Iowa State was gashed for 169.3 ypg on the ground, and against the pass the team was even worse, allowing 245.0 ypg through the air including 22 touchdowns. On the season the Cyclones have collected 14 interceptions and have also recovered 16 fumbles. Jesse Smith has racked up a team-high 128 tackles and Christopher Lyle has 11 tackles for loss and 4 sacks.
The Golden Gophers hold a commanding 22-2-1 edge over Iowa State in the all- time series, but over the past 85 years these two schools have only collided three times. All three matchups went in favor of Minnesota, including the last meeting in 1997 when the Golden Gophers pounded Iowa State, 53-29.
PICK: Iowa State University Cyclones
