CBS grades the coaching carousel changes to date

HugMug · Dec 6, 2021

CBS coaching changes rankings

Tech got a good grade with McGuire at A-. Not sure about Riley's A+ - I guess on paper. Dykes a B+ for tcu. smu's Lashlee gets an A-. Cumbie gets a B.

Anyone see any grades that don't make sense to them...or are underrated/overrated?

Venables got a B- as a hire for ou and I think that is too high.

College football coaching carousel

IN	OUT	ANALYSIS
n/a	Mario Cristobal	Cristobal went 35-13 in four seasons in Eugene with a pair of Pac-12 championships to his name. He left to take over at Miami, where he served as a player and assistant coach. The Hurricanes fired Manny Diaz Monday morning with the hopes of landing Cristobal.
Mario Cristobal (Oregon)	Manny Diaz	Miami fired Diaz (finally) to roll out the green and orange carpet for Cristobal, who is as embedded in the community as any coach in the country. Cristobal is a strong recruiter and had plenty of success at Oregon. Time will tell if this is a match made in heaven but there's no doubt he was Miami's guy.   Grade: A
Jay Norvell (Nevada)	Steve Addazio	Norvell was 33-26 in five seasons at Nevada with plenty of postseason appearances. He also oversaw the development of one of the better quarterbacks in college football in Carson Strong. Norvell is an established Mountain West coach who hasn't had a losing conference record since 2017. Grade: A-
n/a	Jay Norvell	Norvell went 33-26 in five seasons at Nevada, taking the Wolf Pack to four bowl games. He left on Dec. 6 to take over fellow Mountain West member Colorado State.
Brent Venables (Clemson DC)	Lincoln Riley	This is Venables' first stint as a college head coach after serving as Dabo Swinney's defensive coordinator since 2012. He was on Bob Stoops' staff at Oklahoma from 1999-2011, which gives him some familiarity with the program. Oklahoma has had success with first-time head coaches (Stoops, Lincoln Riley), but it's still a risk. After all, Venables has been a hot name on the coaching circuit for more than a half-decade. Grade: B-
Michael Desormeaux (Louisiana co-OC)	Billy Napier	Louisiana opted to stay internal and promote Desormeaux -- a former UL defensive back -- to the head job. The Ragin' Cajuns are betting on continuity and hoping that keeping the program infrastructure in place can continue the unprecedented success in Lafayette. Grade: B
Joe Moorhead (Oregon OC)	Tom Arth	Moorhead's experience as a head coach at Mississippi State from 2019-20 will certainly help revitalize a program that needs a boost. How many times can Akron say that its hire is a highly-regarded assistant with experience who's on multiple lists going into the offseason? Grade: A-
Marcus Freeman (Notre Dame DC)	Brian Kelly	Freeman knows South Bend from his time as Kelly's defensive coordinator, and has been widely-regarded as one of the future stars of the coaching industry. With that said, this is his first head coaching job and he's doing it at one of the most storied schools in college football history. Grade: B
John Sumrall (Kentucky ILB coach)	Chip Lindsey	Sumrall was on Neal Brown's staff at Troy from 2015-18. His experience there, as well as Ole Miss, Kentucky and Tulane, gives him plenty of recruiting connections. With that said, Troy expects to be one of the top Group of Five teams in the country on an annual basis. It's going to have to give Sumrall some time to figure out how to be a head coach at this level. Grade: C+
n/a	Bronco Mendenhall	Mendenhall resigned suddenly on Dec. 2 after six seasons leading the Cavaliers. The 55-year-old former BYU coach said he will coach UVA in its bowl game, but plans to take time away from college football to recharge.
n/a	Kalen DeBoer	DeBoer was hired by Washington after going 12-6 in two seasons at Fresno State. His 9-3 campaign in 2021 featured big wins over UCLA and San Diego State. He'll be joined through the transfer portal by his quarterback Jake Haener, who actually began his college career with the Huskies.
Brent Pry (Penn State DC)	Justin Fuente	Pry has connections up and down the east and southeast, and served as a graduate assistant at Virginia Tech from 1999-97. Bottom line ... he knows how Frank Beamer built the culture of the program. With that said, he has never been a head coach and this is a team that demands ACC contention every year. That's not realistic in the short term, and we'll see what happens after that. Grade: C+
Brian Kelly (Notre Dame)	Ed Orgeron	LSU landed one of the better coaches in college football as Kelly ranks No. 3 among active FBS coaches in wins. Conversely, he has never coached further south than Cincinnati. There might be some growing pains as Kelly, 60, tries to learn the ways of the SEC, but his winning pedigree speaks for itself. His coaching acumen combined with more recruiting resources in the SEC makes this a home run hire. Grade: A
Sonny Cumbie (Texas Tech OC)	Skip Holtz	Cumbie follows the model of the young, up-and-coming assistant that helped take rival Louisiana -- and Louisiana Tech under Sonny Dykes -- to prominence. He has a knack for recruiting quarterbacks, which will win him plenty of fans in Ruston. Grade: B
Lincoln Riley (Oklahoma)	Clay Helton	Riley has made three CFP appearances and led Oklahoma to its most successful stretch in recent memory. He'll bring creativity, offensive success and recruiting prowess to a program in desperate need of a boost. Grade: A+
Sonny Dykes (SMU)	Gary Patterson	Dykes travels just 40 miles across the Metroplex to take over the program he beat in September. He took SMU to 10 wins for the first time since 1983 and went 25-10 in his last three years. It's a safe hire, but his success is transferrable at TCU. Grade: B+
Kalen DeBoer (Fresno State)	Jimmy Lake	DeBoer isn't a big name, but the former Fresno State coach has won everywhere, from NAIA to the Big Ten. He has a way with quarterbacks and will be tasked with fixing one of the worst offenses in the Power Five. Grade: B
Rhett Lashlee (Miami OC)	Sonny Dykes	Lashlee, the offensive coordinator at Miami, helped bring SMU back to prominence as an assistant in 2019. He has done strong work with quarterbacks at each of his stops and should be able to continue much of the brand campaign that has reenergized SMU. Dykes, meanwhile, is expected to be named the next coach at TCU in the coming days. Grade: A-
Billy Napier (Louisiana)	Dan Mullen	Napier was 39-12 in four seasons with the Ragin' Cajuns, including three straight double-digit win seasons. His recruiting prowess throughout the southeast is a perfect fit for what Florida needs. Grade: A
Jerry Kill	Doug Martin	Kill joins the program weeks after the Aggies announced plans to join Conference USA. He's an experienced coach with a 154-101 record while climbing from D-II to the Power Five. It's as good a hire as could have been expected at a program with one winning record since 2002. Grade: B+
Jake Dickert (interim)	Nick Rolovich	Dickert led Washington State to a 3-2 record in place of Rolovich this year, including a 40-13 evisceration of Washington in the Apple Cup. The combination of success down the stretch and continuity he brings to the program makes this a solid hire given the market this silly season. Grade: B+
n/a	Rod Carey	Temple fired Carey on Nov. 29 after he went 12-20 in three seasons.
Clay Helton (USC)	Chad Lunsford	The Eagles landed a coach who was 46-24 at USC and won a Rose Bowl. That's not just a home run, it's a grand slam. Grade: A+
Jim L. Mora	Randy Edsall	On one hand, it's great that UConn got a coach with a history of at least some success at the NFL and college levels. On the other hand, he Mora also has a history of allowing his teams to regress. What will happen at UConn? It's hard to imagine him building it into a power, but at least he brings some buzz to Storrs. Grade: B+
Don Brown	Walt Bell	Brown, recently the Arizona defensive boss, was 43-19 as the coach at UMass from 2004-08. He led the Minutemen to two FCS playoff appearances, and lost in the national championship in 2006. His familiarity with the program and experience as a top-tier defensive coordinator is perfect for the program. Grade: B+
Joey McGuire	Matt Wells	McGuire isn't a household name as Baylor's former linebackers coach, but he will fit in perfectly with what Texas Tech needs. He has been on Baylor's staff since 2017, promoted to associate head coach, and is also a hall of fame high school coach after leading Cedar Hill (Texas) to 12 straight playoff appearances and three state titles. Those ties will come in handy on the recruiting trail. Grade: A-
n/a	Butch Davis	Davis said he will not return once his contract expires on Dec. 15. Davis, who is 24-30 in five seasons with the Panthers, has gone so far as to say the administration is "sabotaging" the football program through financial constraints.