Current BCS Top 25 Coaches

[HopHead]

Just out of curiosity, I took the current top 25 teams in the BCS poll just released and looked at their head coaches' histories. I found some of the trends interesting.

• Out of the twenty-five head coaches, only seven coached in the NFL and only two in the top 10 (Les Miles was a TE coach for the Cowboys from 1998-2000 and Nick Saban came from the Dolphins).
• Of those seven, four came directly from the NFL to their current NCAA head coaching gig. Those are Nick Saban, Steve Spurrier, Bobby Patrino and Kirk Ferentz. Most would agree that Kirk Ferentz is the only one that left the NFL on "good terms". The other three are generally regarded to be college coaches that tried and failed in the NFL.
• The previous positions for the coaches break down like this:
  
  • NCAA Head Coach - 9
  • NCAA Off. Coordinator - 6
  • NCAA Def. Coordinator - 5
  • NFL Head Coach - 3
  • NCAA Assistant Head Coach - 1
  • NFL Position Coach - 1
• Eight of the coaches were promoted from within their own teams when their former head coach moved on to different schools. This skews some of the trends.

Please don't take this as any sort of proof that Leslie Frazier, Jon Gruden, etc. couldn't succeed at the University of Minnesota. However, it certainly looks like they would be the exception more than the rule. I did this merely because I was curious and not because I was trying to prove any kind of point.

 

[Goldmember]

I would say what the list really shows is that having stability in a program is a greater advantage than happening to stumble upon the right HC. 8 promoted HC's among the Top 25 is a lot for the sort of programs that could have gone shopping if they wanted to.

 

[50PoundHead]

I would say what the list really shows is that having stability in a program is a greater advantage than happening to stumble upon the right HC. 8 promoted HC's among the Top 25 is a lot for the sort of programs that could have gone shopping if they wanted to.

Yep!

 

[MrGopher]

I would say what the list really shows is that having stability in a program is a greater advantage than happening to stumble upon the right HC. 8 promoted HC's among the Top 25 is a lot for the sort of programs that could have gone shopping if they wanted to.

Bingo.

 

[HopHead]

In case anybody is curious, the eight coaches promoted from within are from:

Oregon
Boise St.
TCU
Utah
Wisconsin
Oklahoma St.
Florida St.
West Virginia

 

[mplsbadger]

Thanks for posting this. Very informative.

 

[TCF=UnitedWeStand]

I would say what the list really shows is that having stability in a program is a greater advantage than happening to stumble upon the right HC. 8 promoted HC's among the Top 25 is a lot for the sort of programs that could have gone shopping if they wanted to.

Along these lines, although he has not been my first choice, take a look at this nugget from Jerry Kill's profile on the NIU web site:

"The loyalty is exemplified by his coaching staff. Eight of Kill's 10 full-time assistants - including director of sports performance Eric Klein - have been with the head coach for at least nine years, and defensive coordinator Tracy Claeys, running backs coach Rob Reeves and Klein have accompanied Kill at each of his collegiate head coaching stops."

And he has been successful at pretty much every single stop along the way.

 

[wdgold]

I see several names being thrown around and I am of the opinion that we should be concentrating on college head coaches only, particularly D1 level. Now, depending on the program maybe a coordinator would work out. I don't know about Trestman or Frazer, what is there college coaching experience and based on where they are at right now, how does that affect recruiting base? Just my thoughts.

 

[FreakyDeke]

I had never really read up on Kirk Ferentz before, but his resume was about as bad as Brewster's when Iowa hired him. NFL position coach and never a coordinator. He had HC experience, but it was a disaster (at Maine). It obviously worked out for them though and goes to show that it's kind of a crap shoot.

 

[tbebell]

I had never really read up on Kirk Ferentz before, but his resume was about as bad as Brewster's when Iowa hired him. NFL position coach and never a coordinator. He had HC experience, but it was a disaster (at Maine). It obviously worked out for them though and goes to show that it's kind of a crap shoot.

Ferentz, however, already had about 10 years under his belt in the Iowa program coaching under Fry, and had Fry's endorsement for the job, so it was almost the same as a promotion from within.

 

[50PoundHead]

Ferentz, however, already had about 10 years under his belt in the Iowa program coaching under Fry, and had Fry's endorsement for the job, so it was almost the same as a promotion from within.

Plus Ferentz went in with a solid idea of what he wanted to do and stuck with it. It's the "vision thing."

 

[Maverick]

Plus Ferentz went in with a solid idea of what he wanted to do and stuck with it. It's the "vision thing."

Plus if I remember correctly, most hawkeye fans wanted to lynch the AD that made that hire because they wanted Bob Stoops....

 

[tjgopher]

Most would agree that Kirk Ferentz is the only one that left the NFL on "good terms".

And, even then, not really. Ferentz was on Ted Marchibroda's Ravens staff and they knew they were toast at the end of that year. If Iowa hadn't hired Ferentz then, he would have been looking for work elsewhere, unless Billick would have kept him on board. And that was a possibility as Ferentz was highly thought of by Baltimore owner Art Modell and management folks like Ozzie Newsome and Phil Savage. Ferentz would not have been unemployed very long, but he likely would not have been getting another Big Ten head coaching job, either.

So, yes, it is a crapshoot.