2024-25 CFB coaching carousel

Clawson likes Wake Forest. There are only a couple of donors you have to deal with, and they take care of the big stuff (facilities) without meddling. Also: His one year as OC at Tennessee, a gig for which he gave up an FCS coaching job at Richmond, was the most miserable of his life. As the freaking OC, he got hounded and harassed while with his family at Sunday brunch after church. More than once. He doesn't need the spotlight's white-hot glare.
The truth about most coaching hires -- even at the biggest of big-name places -- is that there aren't many big-name, win-the-press-conference hires to be had.
If the playoff started today, here's who would be coaching in it and their previous marquee value:

Dan Lanning, Oregon: Georgia DC. No previous head coaching gig.
Ryan Day, Ohio State: Internal promotion. No previous head coaching gig.
Mario Cristobal: Oregon HC
Rhett Lashlee, SMU: No previous head coaching gig.
Spencer Danielson, Boise State: No previous head coaching gig.
James Franklin, Penn State: Vanderbilt HC
Marcus Freeman, Notre Dame: Internal promotion. No previous head coaching gig.
Steve Sarkisian, Texas: Washington HC; USC HC; Alabama OC
Josh Heupel, Tennessee: UCF HC
Curt Cignetti, Indiana: JMU HC
Kirby Smart, Georgia: Alabama DC. No previous head head coaching gig.
Matt Campbell, Iowa State: Toledo HC.

That's three of 12 who had power conference head coaching jobs to their names before taking their current position.

 

Mack's terrific. Won games and developed two NFL QBs? Terrific.

Unless Bubba Cunningham has $10 million for Riley or just gets lucky, UNC isn't stumbling into something better.

 

That's an interesting name. Ties to the state.
Another guy at a private school and with a contract that is therefore unavailable for public view. I'd love to know how much it would cost to pry him from USC. Maybe nothing. Maybe they'd be so happy to take him off their hands that they'd waive the buyout clause. Then you'd have to wonder if UNC, on the hook for millions to make Mack go away, would pay Riley enough. That's a very big house in LA he'd be leaving.
But you're right. It's probably worth some investigation. It would be a refugee hire, but Carolina doesn't have a great history with these things.

 

... which brings up one other factor that makes a move by Clawson unlikely.

Look at what Mack Brown has done, and how Bubba just kind of dumped him near the end of a season in which the program went 5-6. So ... one shaky season and he's suddenly gone?

Clawson has no issues like that whatsoever to deal with in Winston-Salem. Plus I don't see Clawson as the sort of hungry climber who think he's bigger than a place like Wake Forest. Ron Wellman did well to pick him ... John Currie hasn't impressed me in the least. I could see the latter screwing this up, even though he considered Wellman a mentor. If that's indeed the case, he needs to learn Wellman's ability to be patient, actually support the people hired and seek fit rather than the biggest name he can bring in.

 

The name I heard for UNC is P.J. Fleck from Minnesota. He's been between decent and good at Minnesota. Has an 11-win season and a couple of 9-win seasons there. I think there's a better ceiling at UNC in the ACC than Minnesota in the Big Ten.

But I think the UNC job is going to a draw a LOT of interest. It's a damn good job. You have access to a lot of talent in the region and the brand remains strong. Plus in the next round of conference expansion, it's probably going to be one of the most wanted programs.

 

I guess he and his program could Row The Boat in either Jordan or Kerr lakes.

 

UNC is the Arizona State of the East to me. At a certain point the sleeping giant is just comatose.

 

Candle didn't do himself any favors tonight with an absolutely horrible loss at Akron.

 

Yes. With all the resources and institutional excellence and proximity to talent, they haven't won the ACC since 1980. That's unfathomable.

 

If Tulsa had turned into a G5 darling, the obvious successor would be Kevin Wilson

 

See my post in the college football thread. How you don't set your kicker up in the middle for the game-winning field goal is beyond me.

 

Toledo seems to be on the Heels/Sparky underachievers track relative to its conference. Always supposed to be great in football and basketball but never quite gets the girl at the end of the movie.