Coaching Carousel (South Florida)

South Florida Bulls

A couple of years ago, Skip Holtz was an up and comer in the college football coaching circles.  After winning the Conference USA title two years in a row at East Carolina Holtz got his first crack at a BCS conference job.  Holtz took over at South Florida for Jim Leavitt who was fired for alleged abuse of players.

It started out well for Holtz.  His first year in Tampa was alright.  They won 8 and beat Clemson in the Mieneke Car Care Bowl.  However the success of that initial season didn't last.  They only won 5 games last year and only 3 games this season.  His best year was with Leavitt's players.  They've gotten worse every year.  At the end of three years the administration felt that they needed a change.

The South Florida job is one that many thought could be a sleeping giant.  They are in the fertile Florida recruiting grounds and even though Florida State, Miami, and Florida rule the state the Bulls can still get plenty of players.  They've improved their facilities and play in an NFL stadium which can be enticing to prospects.  Let's remember that Leavitt had them all the way up to #2 in the nation at one point before he was fired.  So the potential to have success is there.

Potential Cadidates
Mario Cristobal (Florida International Head Coach)
It was Cristobal that was a hot name last year and was reportedly offered the Rutgers, Penn State, and Pittsburgh jobs.  Cristobal turned down all those jobs hoping that his veteran team would allow him to get a better job this next year.  Well injuries ruin their season and Cristobal isn't as hot of a name anymore.  But he is still a good coach and would be a perfect fit for the Bulls.

Willie Taggert (Western Kentucky Head Coach)
Unlike Cristobal, Taggert is a very hot name for available jobs but he has been very selective on where he wants to go.  He wants to find the right fit for himself.  That might be at South Florida.  Taggert is a Florida native and has had success recruiting within the state.  Most importantly he has the support of a lot of top high school programs within the state.

Chad Morris (Clemson Head Coach)
Morris' name hasn't been thrown around too much for this job.  Mainly because he's been rumored to higher profile jobs.  But this could be a great first head coaching job for him.  He can bring his spread offense to South Florida where he can get the fast athletes he is use to at Clemson.  But his lack of head coaching experience could hurt him.

Gus Malzahn (Arkansas State Heach Coach)
Much like Morris, Malzahn would bring an exciting style of offense to South Florida.  But also unlike Morris, Malzhan has experience running a program and that could give him an edge.  He is an up and coming name having success where ever he has been.  Malzahn could be interested in this job because it would be a step up job wise and give him a shot at a BCS level job.

Coaching Carousel (Auburn)

Auburn Tigers

To say that Gene Chizik's tenure at Auburn was a roller coaster is an understatement.  Fans were unhappy that Auburn hired Chizik (who had a 5-19 record at Iowa State) and felt there were better coaches out there.  Chizik answered a lot of critics with a National Championship season in his second year.  Lead by Heisman Trophy winning QB Cam Newton the Tigers went undefeated and beat Oregon in the National Championship Game.  So it's hard to imagine how a coach who won a National Championship two years ago can be fired two years later.

However it was what happened after the National Title season that caused Chizik to be fired.  In year three things started to slide.  Auburn only won 7 games during the regular season, but was dominated by the top teams in the conference.  Without Cam Newton the offense struggled and it was clear there wasn't a lot of talent.  Defensively it wasn't much better.  It was clear that Chizik wasn't brining in the top talent needed to compete in the SEC.
Chizik could have had another year to get things on track, but this year was just flat out awful.  Auburn finished the season with only 3 wins and didn't win a single game in conference.  You can't do that in the SEC and expect the administration to just stand by.  It was a time for a change.

Potential Candidates
Bobby Petrino (Former Arkansas Head Coach)
Remember when Petrino was at Louisville and Auburn tried to hire him before they fired Tommy Tubberville?  Well they wanted him then, they can sure get him now.  For all the crap that Petrino has caused he is a proven winner and would be a great hire for the Tigers.  But do they want to deal with all the headaches associated with that?

Kirby Smart (Alabama Defensive Coordinator)
Smart has been a hot head coaching candidate for the past couple of years.  And Auburn would be wise to kick the tires and see if he is interested.  Smart has coordinated the Crimson Tide defense which has been one of the top defenses in the nation.  But you have to wonder how much of that is him or is it Saban.  Plus you wonder if Smart would be willing to go to Alabama's big time rival and have to compete against Saban.  Doesn't seem to likely.

Charlie Strong (Louisville Head Coach)
Rumor is that Strong has already interviewed for this job.  Don't know if that is true because that usually doesn't take place till after the season.  But Strong would be a great choice.  He has built the Louisville program back up that they are returning to the BCS.  He is a good recruiter and has experience in the SEC.  It's only a matter of time before he gets a better job.

Gus Malzahn (Arkansas State Head Coach)
Another popular name in the coaching search is former Auburn offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn.  It was Malzahn who guided the Tigers offense that won the National Title.  Without Malzhan the Tigers struggled this past season.  Auburn also has a history of hiring defensive minded coaches and may want to bring in an coach whose speciality is offense.  Malzahn also went to Arkansas State to get some head coaching experience which should help when he gets to a BCS job.

Larry Fedora (North Carolina Head Coach)
Fedora has only been at North Carolina for a year, but your sure to hear his name come up in coaching searches.  Mainly because the NCAA is going to be laying down some punishment on the Tar Heels and Fedora may not want to deal with all those sanctions.  He is a very good coach and a proven winner at Southern Miss.  His first year at North Carolina he lead them to the Coastal Division Title, but they can't compete because they are on a bowl ban. 

Coaching Carousel (Arkansas Razorbacks)

Arkansas Razorbacks

Unlike most of the schools that are looking for coaches, the University of Arkansas have know all season long that they would be hiring a new coach at the end of the season.  The Razorbacks are in this predicament because successful HC Bobby Petrino's incredibly dumb off the field decisions.  Arkansas tabbed John L. Smith to be the interim coach for the season.  Smith likely knew that he'd only be the coach for the year, but was going to use this year as a try out.


Everything was set up for success for Smith.  he had a veteran roster with a stud QB in Tyler Wilson, a returning star RB Knile Davis and an improved defense.  This team was built around the offense and Bobby's brother Paul was the offensive coordinator who many thought would pick up where older brother left off.

Instead this year has been a nightmare in Fayetteville.  It all started when they lost to Louisiana-Monroe.  Losing to a Sun Belt school isn't very good, but little did everybody know that it was going to go downhill from here.  In their match up against #1 Alabama the Razorbacks got blown out 52-0.  Two more games later they were sitting at a 1-4 record.  Arkansas rallied to win 3 of 4.  However with three games remaining against ranked team it doesn't look like they'll win another game.

Arkansas is sitting in a good spot.  They play in the tough SEC West, but the program has a ton of talent in it and there is a history of success.  Add in that they sit in a good recruiting spot and the Razorbacks are most likely the top job that will be open.  We know that John L. Smith won't be the coach next year, but who will?

Possible Candidates

Charlie Strong (Louisville Head Coach)
It's likely that Strong could have this job if he wanted it.  Strong has done a great job of rebuilding the Louisville program (ironically that Petrino also came from) into a team that will likely go undefeated in the regular season.  Strong is an excellent defensive mind who is a strong recruiter and has experience in the SEC (former Florida DC).  Add in that he is an Arkansas native and it all adds up.  But Strong could be holding out for a better job.

Gus Malzahn (Arkansas State Head Coach)
Another popular, but underrated name for this job is a former Arkansas coordinator.  Malzahn was a former Springdale High football coach who became the offensive coordinator under former HC Houston Nutt.  Malzahn has gone on to win a National Title at Auburn (offensive coordinator) and is now the current Arkansas State head coach.  Malzahn left a cushy OC job to take a Sun Belt HC job.  Likely to get some HC experience before a better job comes calling.  Why not a school where he has a lot of connections?

Butch Davis (Former North Carolina Head Coach)
Another Arkansas native that could be in the running is former Miami and North Carolina HC Butch Davis.  Davis has had success where ever he's gone.  But there is the whole NCAA violates situation at North Carolina that he has to deal with.  That could scare off the Arkansas administration.  But a lot of that wasn't necessarily his fault.  A lot of that can be blamed on John Blake and other academic staffers.  But the administration could go with Davis because he is a proven winner.

Tommy Tubberville (Texas Tech Head Coach)
One name that always seems to come up when their is an SEC opening is Tommy Tubberville.  The former Auburn and Ole Miss head coach wants badly to get back in the SEC and he isn't shying away from it.  This was the same coach that went undefeated at Auburn.  After a couple of so so season at Texas Tech he's shown that he can still build a team and has the Red Raiders actually playing some good defense.

Mike MacIntyre (San Jose State Head Coach)
A lesser name that has been tossed around is the current San Jose State HC.  You may be asking why MacIntrye?  Well despite San Jose State not having much success, MacIntyre has fielded some competitive teams and he is highly regarded in coaching circles.  But the main reason is that the former Dallas Cowboys assistant has a big fan in Arkansas alumn Jerry Jones.  Jones has a lot of sway and could thrown the Spartans HC's name in the mix.  Crazier things have happened.

Coaching Carousel (Gus Malzahn)

One of the hottest names in college football coaching the past few years is Gus Malzahn. Through stints at Arkansas, Tulsa, and most recently Auburn Malzahn's offenses were some of the best. His offense was run perfectly by Cam Newton and that allowed Newton to win the Heisman and Auburn to win a National Title. With all the notoriety, Malzahn was rumored to be the favorite for jobs at Vanderbilt, North Carolina, Mississippi, and Kansas. However it was Malzahn that "shocked" everybody and took a job at Arkansas State of the Sun Belt. This was the same guy that turned down Vanderbilt in the SEC for a job in the Sun Belt???? Now it was a surprised, but I'm not shocked by this. Let's take a look at why this makes perfect sense.

Gain Head Coaching Experience

Look at all the successful coaches in college football now. All of them got their start as a head coach at a lower level or another job. Urban Meyer was at Bowling Green and Utah before he want to Florida. Les Miles was at Oklahoma State before LSU. Brady Hoke was at Ball State and San Diego State before Michigan. By going to non BCS conference coaches are able to work through mistakes or a bad year without having too much pressure on them. Malzahn will be able to have years of practice running a FBS program before he takes his next job.

Talented Team

Malzahn is taking over an Arkansas State team that just won the Sun Belt with a 8-0 conference record and 10-2 overall. Now they don't necessarily have BCS caliber talent, but they have the ability to contend for the conference for the next couple of years. Plus previous coach Hugh Freeze ran a spread offense that has similarities to the system that Malzahn runs. Arkansas State also has junior QB Ryan Aplin who also lead the team in rushing. And we know from his time already, Malzahn system works when he has mobile QBs.

Location, Location, Location

Malzahn has a long history in the state of Arkansas. He grew up in the state, walked on at Arkansas, coached and won state titles in Arkansas, and was the offensive coordinator at the University of Arkansas. So it's safe to say that Malzahn knows the state. It is where he is the most comfortable. This allows him to have vital recruiting ties within the state and area to better his chance to be successful.

Future

We all know that Malzahn isn't going to coach at Arkansas State for the rest of his career. He is preparing himself for the next job. Whether that job is his "dream job" or another stepping stone. I don't have any sources, but I see one place that I feel he would take in a heart beat. The University of Arkansas. Currently Bobby Petrino is the head coach, but we all know that he isn't known for sticking around at a school for too long. Malzahn probably is aware of that and could be taking the steps to prepare himself for that job. He can be at Arkansas State and gain his head coaching experience, develop even more recruiting ties, and then when Petrino leaves he is ready to take over.

But who knows, maybe he just really likes Arkansas State. But he isn't as crazy as others might think.