When the coaching carousel began in September, Deion Sanders wasn't a complete afterthought but hovered more on the fringes than the forefront. By December, Sanders stepped out of a jet in Colorado in a familiar spot -- as the center of attention.
He had interviewed for Power 5 jobs, most recently with TCU in 2021. A move from Jackson State to the FBS was inevitable, but where? A lighter-than-normal coaching cycle, especially in the Southeast, seemed to decrease the chances of a Sanders jump.
Colorado wasn't a likely destination for the Pro Football Hall of Famer, or even a probable coaching vacancy when the season began. After a search process that began with other candidates, Colorado zeroed in on Sanders and brought him to the Rockies late on Dec. 3.
Sanders' hiring at Colorado undoubtedly highlights a coaching carousel that, while not matching its predecessor in notable names and schools, contained plenty of interesting subplots. Most of the key jobs are filled, so it's time to break down the biggest hires, the most head-scratching ones and the emerging trends from this year's head-coaching carousel.
Here are 10 takeaways from the coaching cycle so far.
Jump to:
Fickell a fit at Wisconsin | Louisville a huge winner
ASU gets homegrown guy | Lack of diversity | Freeze finds a home
Rhule returns to Big Ten | Stanford must develop and retain
Retreads | Experiments
Almost no downside to Colorado's hire of Sanders
Every coaching hire carries risk. Sanders is still relatively new to college coaching. Just because he dramatically elevated Jackson State in the SWAC doesn't mean he can do the same for Colorado in an improving Pac-12.
But Colorado had fallen so far, both in performance and relevance, that a dynamic hire like Sanders has no real downside. Sanders gives the program an unprecedented bump in relevance, and his presence and ability to attract talent significantly increases the chances of better on-field play.
Because of Sanders, Colorado will be the story of the college football offseason. He's that magnetic and truly the perfect coach for the transfer portal/NIL era. The program's publicity bump comes after a 1-11 year and with only one winning record during a full season since 2005. While I didn't love everything Sanders said in his initial team meeting, his comment about the program being so down for so long -- and how things would change under his watch -- really resonated.
Colorado seemed close to a hire about a month ago, according to sources. Former BYU and Virginia coach Bronco Mendenhall had emerged as a strong candidate. Although Mendenhall is a good coach who had success in the region, the pivot to Sanders certainly could be seismic for the CU program. Sanders is already making strides in recruiting and attracting transfers. Players who wouldn't have imagined themselves at Colorado before he arrived are now considering the Buffaloes.
Few teams have been hit harder by the portal than Colorado, which lost a group of standout players last year. Sanders could flip the portal from a negative to a positive, but he will need support from Colorado's administration to help with incoming transfers. The school's overall support for Sanders will be key in the transition. But the hire already has been a huge success, and Sanders is just getting started.
Fickell fits Wisconsin's bold plan
Chris McIntosh is about as Wisconsin as it gets. He was born and raised in Pewaukee, just outside Milwaukee, and became an All-American offensive tackle for the University of Wisconsin under transcendent coach Barry Alvarez. After a career in business, he returned to Wisconsin as a deputy athletic director under Alvarez, the school's AD. He was involved in the very on-brand Wisconsin hires of football coach Paul Chryst and basketball coach Greg Gard.
When Wisconsin promoted McIntosh to AD to replace the retiring Alvarez, many assumed he would keep the status quo and uphold the continuity that has been integral to the program's success. But McIntosh has made a series of bold moves, unpopular among some but designed to push the program forward.
First, he fired Chryst on Oct. 2, despite a 67-26 record and nine wins just last season. Interim coach Jim Leonhard, long pegged as the favorite to replace Chryst, had a seven-game runway to prove he deserved the permanent job. Despite mixed results, Leonhard had support from players and others around the program. But McIntosh shocked everyone on Nov. 28 by hiring Cincinnati's Luke Fickell, one of the most successful and coveted coaches on the market. Fickell didn't seem like a realistic target for Wisconsin but saw the school as a perfect fit. The popular Leonhard, meanwhile, won't remain on staff after Wisconsin's upcoming bowl game. Fickell also hired an offensive coordinator in Phil Longo, who will run an up-tempo system that will be unrecognizable to most Badgers fans.
This period could go down as the time when Wisconsin made uncharacteristic decisions and paid a price. Or McIntosh's moves could be remembered as the ones needed to take a very good program outside its comfort zone and closer to competing on a national level, especially with an expanded College Football Playoff coming in 2024.
"They've been incredibly difficult decisions, but they've been based upon what I think is in the long-term interest of our program," McIntosh told me last month. "I don't spend a lot of time thinking about if they're bold or not. I have just maintained that it's a priority to keep the interest of Wisconsin football at the forefront and for the long term. I'm committed to building a championship-level program."
Louisville a winner in the coaching cycle
Scott Satterfield is a good coach who ultimately wasn't a great fit at Louisville. There are plenty of examples similar to him, including Sonny Dykes, who didn't click at Cal but has led TCU to its first CFP appearance. Perhaps Satterfield will have a similar impact at Cincinnati, although my concern is that the job seems too similar to the one he left at Louisville.
Either way, Satterfield's departure allowed Louisville to hire the man many wanted to get the job when Satterfield arrived: Jeff Brohm. After leading Purdue to its first Big Ten championship game appearance, Brohm decided to head home. Most coaches wouldn't entertain leaving the Big Ten or the SEC for a job in the ACC, Big 12 or Pac-12, but Brohm is different. His connection to Louisville is different. He's the biggest star from the most decorated football family in the city and at the university. Brohm is back where he belongs.
There are no guarantees with coaching hires, and sometimes going home brings more problems than leaving for a new destination. But Brohm could make a similar impact at Louisville as his own coach there, Howard Schnellenberger. Before the Big Ten championship game, Brohm told me about the confidence Schnellenberger would instill in him and his Louisville teammates.
"He was the best in getting his team to think that they're way better than they are," Brohm said. "Sometimes he would say the outlandish things like, 'We're on a collision course for the national championship. The only variable is time.' Sometimes he'd say when we lost, 'Hey, we were going to win, but the clock just ran out.' That's the one thing I remembered. Because of our head coach, we believed we could beat anybody, even though we probably had no chance in a few of those games."
Brohm should restore a similar swagger at Louisville. He's an aggressive coach who runs a fun offense and should get the team closer to championship contention.
Arizona State finally makes a homegrown hire
The "sleeping giant" label is applied to several programs in college football, but arguably none has worn it longer than Arizona State. Coaches love the job and its potential, but ASU hasn't had an AP top-10 finish since 1996, also its last Rose Bowl.
Maybe finally hiring a coach with direct connections to the university and the region will change ASU's fortunes. Kenny Dillingham is an ASU alum who grew up in the Phoenix area and has targeted this job during an accelerated career path. He knows high school coaches and the top private trainers. Dillingham has spoken with great knowledge about the reasons behind a spike in college quarterbacks from Arizona.
Arizona State's hiring history has trended toward coaches not from the area: Herm Edwards, Todd Graham, Dennis Erickson, Dirk Koetter and Bruce Snyder all had ties to other places. Dillingham is much younger at 32, but he has spent time at programs in different regions -- Memphis, Auburn, Florida State and Oregon -- before returning home. He has the strong roots that ASU has lacked.
Dillingham will have a learning curve, like any young head coach, and ASU isn't in the most stable position as a program. But there's little doubt Dillingham and his staff, which includes former Phoenix-area high school coaches Shaun Aguano (Chandler), Charlie Ragle (Chaparral) and Jason Mohns (Saguaro), will make significant gains in local recruiting and create more excitement around a program that needs a jolt.
Another disappointing cycle for diversity
The increased attention on diversifying college football's coaching ranks simply isn't translating to the actual hires. Of the 19 teams that have named new coaches as of Dec. 13, only three chose coaches of color in Sanders, Western Michigan's Lance Taylor and Purdue's Ryan Walters, who was hired Tuesday. Sanders was already a head coach with a truly unique profile and a clear path to the FBS, either in this cycle or next year's. Taylor, who spent this past season as Louisville's offensive coordinator, and Walters, who spent the past two seasons as Illinois' defensive coordinators, are so far the only Black assistants getting their first opportunities to lead. Walters did emerge from a candidate pool that included sitting FBS coaches.
From a historical perspective and with respect to recent trends, the pattern is both disappointing and not surprising. There's a strong desire among most athletic directors for previous head-coaching experience, which puts Black coaches at a disadvantage. Although Sanders' move from an HBCU school to the FBS is a positive, how many others can realistically make the jump? Others have been considered for FBS jobs, but they ultimately haven't landed them.
There is a shortage of coaches of color at the coordinator level, especially on offense, the spot where athletic directors instinctively look for head coaches. Of the six FBS coordinators hired as head coaches so far, five come from the offensive side and the only defensive coordinator, Barry Odom at UNLV, had previously been a Power 5 coach.
But there are still plenty of good candidates -- ESPN outlined 45 of them this summer -- such as Michigan offensive coordinator Sherrone Moore, Florida State offensive coordinator Alex Atkins, Florida A&M coach Willie Simmons and others.
The numbers are getting worse. So far, six coaches of color will not return in 2023 -- ASU's Edwards, Colorado's Karl Dorrell, Florida Atlantic's Willie Taggart, UNLV's Marcus Arroyo, Stanford's David Shaw and Navy's Ken Niumatalolo. The main bright spot continues to be Colorado, which became the first Power 5 program to hire three consecutive Black coaches (Sanders, Dorrell and Mel Tucker) and had Walters among its top candidates.
Hugh Freeze fits Auburn's football checklist
Freeze would have been a controversial hire for any Power 5 school, given the factors that led to his downfall and eventual resignation at Ole Miss. ESPN broke down what his hiring means for Auburn, but it essentially came down to this: From a football standout, he hits what they want on the Plains.
Auburn needed an SEC insider after the short and tumultuous tenure of Bryan Harsin, who never really had a chance to succeed there. The school needed a ravenous recruiter who could keep pace and ultimately elevate Auburn's talent base, while capitalizing on an increasingly strong position with NIL. Auburn also needed someone not afraid to compete with Alabama coach Nick Saban, Georgia coach Kirby Smart and the other A-list programs in the league.
Freeze checks those boxes, perhaps better than even Auburn's other main target, Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin. He will take an aggressive approach to recruiting and already has two wins over Saban while leading Ole Miss. His offenses have been consistently productive, and while quarterback remains a question for the Tigers, Freeze's work with former Auburn QB Malik Willis and others is encouraging.
Auburn could have looked beyond Freeze (and Kiffin) for Harsin's replacement. But the pool of realistic targets with SEC roots, head-coaching experience and success against Alabama isn't very deep. Freeze's hire will never sit well with some, and that's understandable. But viewing things strictly through a football prism, Auburn's choice makes sense.
Retread predictions come true (mostly)
After a 2021 coaching cycle filled with big-name hires -- both at the head coach and coordinator level -- this year's cycle was pegged to be more low-key, with both the jobs open and the men filling them. Several industry sources expected a retread-heavy market, rather than one filled with first-time head coaches.
They were somewhat correct. Coaches like Tom Herman (Florida Atlantic) resurfaced, while former Power 5 coaches Kevin Wilson (Tulsa) and Odom (UNLV) got new opportunities at Group of 5 programs. Herman, who spent the season as a CBS college football analyst, continues a retread trend at FAU, which previously hired Willie Taggart and Lane Kiffin to lead the program. He seems likelier to follow Kiffin's path than Taggart's, as Herman's results at Texas weren't bad -- 32-18, 4-0 in bowl games -- but just not good enough.
Wilson and Odom had less success, albeit at tougher jobs with Indiana and Missouri, respectively. After six seasons as Ohio State's offensive coordinator, Wilson returned to a state where he largely built his profile as an offensive playcaller at Oklahoma. Odom, who has spent his entire career in the nation's midsection, heads out to Las Vegas and a program that has tried different types of coaches with little success.
Several former head coaches surfaced in other searches, including Mendenhall, but the cycle also included several opportunities for assistants who had not previously led programs.
Dilfer, Poggi experiments will be interesting
There's nothing wrong with an outside-the-box approach toward coaching hires, as it can often be refreshing. Charlotte went that route in making Biff Poggi the first hire of the cycle. UAB followed with arguably the most stunning move so far, selecting former NFL quarterback Trent Dilfer to lead its program.
Poggi has spent time at Michigan in an analyst/advisory role, working closely with head coach Jim Harbaugh and others. But almost all of his experience comes as a high school coach in Maryland, first at The Gilman School and then St. Frances Academy, which he built into a national powerhouse. He replaces Will Healy, also a different type of hire who had some initial success but couldn't sustain things at Charlotte. Poggi clearly knows the East Coast recruiting scene and can apply what he learned at Michigan to energize the Charlotte program. The school had some safer options, including several veteran Power 5 coordinators, but decided to go bold with Poggi.
The Dilfer hire also has some potential but came across as more of a head-scratcher. UAB had the longest runway to conduct its search after transcendent coach Bill Clark stepped down in June. The school ultimately went with Dilfer, whose coaching experience is limited to high school ball in Nashville and the Elite 11 quarterback camp. His initial staff hires also lack much on-field college coaching experience. Maybe UAB will look brilliant with its approach as it prepares to enter the American Athletic Conference, but the school also had a vast candidate pool of current and former FBS coaches and coordinators at its disposal. Did UAB overthink its process? The next few years will tell.
Rhule should help Nebraska finally adapt to the Big Ten
The most frustrating part of Nebraska's first decade-plus in the Big Ten is the traits that defined the Huskers' most dominant teams -- and the same ones needed to succeed in this league -- have eluded Big Red year after year. Athletic director Trev Alberts made it clear that restoring line-of-scrimmage play, a powerful run offense and overall discipline would be priorities in finding Nebraska's next coach.
Matt Rhule meets the criteria, despite his struggles in the NFL. He came up coaching both the offensive and defensive line, and the Temple teams he coached -- both as head coach and offensive coordinator -- set school rushing records. Rhule isn't afraid of a challenging situation. He could have taken over more favorable situations than Baylor coming out of Temple, as Oregon also wanted him. Instead, he went to an unfamiliar region, led a program coming off a horrendous scandal and led it to the Big 12 championship game in his third season.
Rhule hasn't coached in the Big Ten but played in the league at Penn State in the mid-1990s. He will recognize and embrace the characteristics Nebraska must demonstrate to win in this league. Under his watch, Nebraska should stop beating itself so often. It should fare better in closer games. The run game and line play will tick upward, too. Rhule should recruit well and capitalize on Nebraska's NIL clout, but the Huskers have brought in good enough players during their Big Ten tenure. They simply haven't developed enough of them, which should change with Rhule at the helm.
Stanford's Taylor focused on development, retention
Roster management is simply harder for programs like Stanford in the portal era. Stanford will lose players, just like every program, but has a harder time filling spots with transfers. New coach Troy Taylor seems to understand that Stanford will be at its best when recruiting, developing and retaining players, while using the portal when it can to fill gaps.
Unlike Sanders at Colorado, Taylor went out of his way to ensure his new players knew he wanted them in Cardinal uniforms.
"If I'm going to have a program based on love, the first thing that I'm going to do can't be trying to push people out the door," Taylor said Monday during a conference call with national media Monday. "That's not love, that's not sincere. ... The sincere invitation -- no matter if you're a good player, a great player or injured -- that you're invited in our program. That's how we're going to lead. That's how we're going to do things, and we're going to do it that way from the beginning.
"It's not only the right thing to do. People are drawn to that."
Taylor added that players function best when they're in a safe environment and not consumed with anxiety. That's the correct approach at a school that doesn't need to sell itself but must keep its top players for reasons beyond an incredible degree.
And Stanford must become better in adding transfers. Taylor recognizes Stanford has a smaller pool of transfers it can add because of the school's academic standards, but it also has a broader national reach.
"I look at the positives outweighing the negatives in terms of that," Taylor said. "We're certainly bringing in people that fit."
Taylor brings an offensive scheme that can elevate Stanford, but his roster strategy will be key, and he's off to a good start.