Grading Every FBS Coaching Hire this Offseason

Chip Kelly – UCLA – A+

This is an out-of-the-park home run for the Bruins. Kelly’s record as a college head coach is exceptional. His offensive system was virtually unstoppable at Oregon, and his reputation will carry a lot of weight in recruiting. There was always going to be a mad scramble for the services of Kelly if he decided to come back to the college game. UCLA is the big winner of the sweepstakes and the college football offseason with this hire.

Chad Morris – Arkansas – B

Morris is a fantastic offensive mind, and SMU’s growth on that side of the ball under Morris is evident. SMU’s putrid 11.1 points per game in 2014 jumped to almost 28 points per game in Morris’ first year. The Ponies averaged more than 40 his third year, when they cracked .500 in the regular season for the first time since 2011. Morris’ defenses at SMU were not surprisingly unimpressive, and the hiring of a defensive coordinator will likely be a crucial move for Morris’ success in Fayetteville.

Dan Mullen – Florida – A-

I’m willing to bet most Florida fans were drooling over the possibility of Chip Kelly, if for no other reason than just the mere prospect of being able to watch some offense. Despite that not coming to fruition, Florida still did pretty well. Mullen did good work at a program that traditionally has carried significantly less clout than Florida. He went to eight bowls from 2009 to 2017 after the Bulldogs went to just one from 2002 to 2008. He built a decent program out of very little and probably does not get enough credit for it, because outside of 2015, he never quite made it to the national stage. He will have a better opportunity to do that with the resources and reputation of the school in Gainesville.

Willie Taggart – Florida State – B+

Taggart has turned every program he has coached into a better product relatively quickly. He recruited well at South Florida on his way to an 11-win finale season, and the connections he made there should help him. Taggart seems like a strong up-and-comer, although he has never stuck around anywhere long enough for us to draw definitive conclusions about him. This does not feel like an upgrade for the Noles, but that in no way means it was a bad hire.

Joe Moorhead – Mississippi State – B+

Moorhead crushed it at his lone head coaching position, a four-year stint at alma mater Fordham that included three playoff appearances and a conference championship. Moorhead’s two-year stint as offensive coordinator at Penn State coincided with a sharp climb in offensive points per game and an outright conference championship. Moorhead is not a splash name, but he has been instrumental in the rise of the last two programs he coached at.

Scott Frost – Nebraska – A+

After a hire that was pretty universally agreed upon as terrible with Mike Riley, Nebraska crushed it with Frost. Frost rescued a Central Florida program that appeared to be falling head-first into the abyss (which is where Nebraska is right now) after a winless season in 2015. Frost was obviously one of the hottest names in the country this season, and whichever school landed him was going to be a big winner in the offseason. Nebraska is an extra big winner though, because Frost has the potential to stick around for a long time should he succeed. Nebraska is quite literally home for Frost, as he was born there and played there. The Huskers checked all the boxes here.

Mario Cristobal – Oregon – B+

There is a lot to like about Cristobal. He might be the best recruiter in all of college football. Cristobal played an important role in Alabama’s success as its offensive line coach from 2013 to 2016. His lone stint as a head coach was at newly-minted FBS program FIU. He appeared to have the Panthers going in the right direction after a 6-6 season with a shared conference title and an 8-4 season to follow. He was fired a year later after a 3-9 campaign. That is all the head coaching experience he has, and his quick firing leaves the question of whether he can sustain success as a head coach, unanswered. This is not a sure thing, but it is a pretty good gamble for the Ducks.

Jonathan Smith – Oregon State – C

Smith is a quarterback legend at Oregon State, but a pretty big gamble as a head coach. He has a decent track record as a recruiter at Washington, landing some of the most instrumental players in Washington’s rise to prominence. Washington’s offenses under the coordination of Smith were strong the last two years too, but often the weak link in its losses as well. This is a big gamble on a very unproven coach. Oregon State does not exactly have big name coaches lining up for it at the moment though, so perhaps rolling the dice is its best option.

Jimbo Fisher – Texas A&M – A

If this is not a home run for the Aggies, it is pretty darn close. People forget that Florida State was hovering right around mediocre for several years before Fisher officially became the head coach. He rescued the Noles and then went and won a national championship. He is a top-notch recruiter, and his teams are resilient, which will be a welcome sight for Aggie fans.

Herm Edwards – Arizona State – F

I am not exactly sure why Arizona State would like to voluntarily explode its football program, but that appears to be the game plan with this. Edwards was 22 games below .500 as an NFL coach after the 2008 season, which was the last time he coached a game. Both coordinators are gone now, and the situation appears to be deteriorating in Tempe. I thought Todd Graham was a good coach, but I do not blame Arizona State fans for wanting to move on, either. There is no question, however, that he was better for the Sun Devils than what they just pulled out of the NFL’s recycling bin.

Matt Luke – Ole Miss – B

Luke did not do a terrible job this season with the Rebels, and that was enough to hold onto him. Given the sanctions coming down, any coaching search would probably have been a pretty big disaster, and Ole Miss likely would have downgraded. If Luke does not work out, Ole Miss can always let him go down the road and conduct a proper search, but trying to hire a coach now would have been disastrous. This was the right decision, given the circumstances.

Jeremy Pruitt – Tennessee – B+

Somehow, someway, after all that nonsense, Tennessee ended up with a pretty solid hire. Any time a team hires a coordinator with no head coaching experience, it is risky. Pruitt has been hugely successful as a defensive coordinator at three different schools though. If a team is going to hire a coordinator, Pruitt has got to be one of the most appealing options. Given the way Tennessee’s coaching search has publicly embarrassed them to this point, this has to feel good for the Vols.