While the TCU Horned Frogs may still be trying to recover from that ass-whooping the Georgia Bulldogs laid on them over a week ago, the rest of the country seems to have put the National Championship in the rear view mirror. It’s on to 2023. We’re talking about recruiting classes, schedules, and of course, coaching changes.
Every coaching cycle is interesting in its own way, but it felt like this year’s cycle was particularly eyebrow-raising. We got our usual blend of up-and-comers and retreads, but man, there are a couple of massive swings for the fences in there, too. I don’t have the time or the patience to take a deep dive into every single hire, but I did want to take a moment to offer up a thought or two on some of the more noteworthy hires as we head further into 2023.
New Head Coaches in 2023
Arizona State: Kenny Dillingham – I like the forward thinking Arizona State is doing with this hire. At 32 years old, there are some questions about whether or not Dillingham is ready to helm an entire program. But, at least the Sun Devils are trying to modernize their offense. I will give them credit for not going the dinosaur route yet again.
Auburn: Hugh Freeze – Not my cup of tea if I’m an athletic director making the hire. I don’t think I’d want Freeze’s Righteous Gemstones ass molding the young men at my university. But, hey – that’s just me. You beat Alabama a couple of times and it seems as though you’ve got a job for life in the SEC.
Cincinnati: Scott Satterfield – Satterfield’s situation with Louisville was a weird one. He coached some halfway decent teams, but I guess because he wasn’t getting them into the playoffs, the fans and booster were ready to run him out of town. Props to Satterfield for getting ahead of that and getting out. Cincinnati’s moving to the Big 12, but the Bearcats will be just fine.
Colorado: Deion Sanders – Alright, we’re swinging for the fences here. Who knows what will happen? Could it work? Could it not? I don’t know. But, don’t wear a damn hat to a meeting at Colorado moving forward.
Florida Atlantic: Tom Herman – I feel like Herman’s name has been popping up for every coaching vacancy since he left Texas, and now, Florida Atlantic was the only program to actually pull the trigger on it.
Georgia Tech: Brent Key – I guess this technically isn’t a change, as the Yellow Jackets just scratched the interim tag off of Key’s name card. But, I was one of the ones rooting for him to get a crack at the full-time job after seeing how he was able to steady the ship and damn near get Georgia Tech to a bowl game last season.
Liberty: Jamey Chadwell – Man, we were talking about Chadwell potentially getting a power five job! So…this move to Liberty almost feels like a lateral move. If you’re a Liberty fan, you have to feel like you’ve hit the jackpot!
Louisville: Jeff Brohm – It’s like those two old friends that you know would be perfect for each other, but the timing was never right. They finally end up together making sweet, sweet love. Maybe that’s a bit of a graphic description for the college football world, but it sums up exactly how I feel about Brohm ending up as the head man for the Cardinals.
Mississippi State: Zach Arnett – The loss of Mike Leach left a gaping hole in the college football world. I’m happy that Mississippi State elected to give Arnett a crack at the job. With all the talk about that Leach offense in Starkville, the Bulldogs defense has been pretty damn underrated under Arnett.
Nebraska: Matt Rhule – The Cornhuskers needed a guy who could come in and just completely blow up and rebuild the program. Rhule has proven to be one of the best in the game at that (at least…the college game). Nebraska fans should be doing cartwheels over this hire.
UAB: Trent Dilfer – Boy, you want to talk about swinging for the fences…how about the Blazers looking to Dilfer in this spot?!?! I have no analysis for it. Just….this is a thing that happened and we’ll all see how it plays out next fall.
UNLV: Barry Odom – Who had Barry Odom getting a crack at a Group of Five head coaching job on their bingo card?!?! I love this move from UNLV. Odom has been one of the more consistent defensive coordinators in the game over the last few seasons, and he still has head coaching chops. Don’t be surprised when Odom gets this program to the next step in 2023.
Wisconsin: Luke Fickell – Has there ever been an up and coming head coach more perfectly groomed for Big Ten football than Luke Fickell? This should be a match made in heaven.
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Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network, and a Dogs Playing Poker on velvet connoisseur. He is a strong supporter of Team GSD, #BeBetter, and ‘Minds right, asses tight.’ “Big Natural” covers the Tennessee Titans, Nashville, Yankee Candle, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley.
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