As the college football regular season concluded last weekend, so did the jobs for many head coaches, either because they were leaving for better opportunities or were fired. Some, like Texas A&M football's Jimbo Fisher, were let go weeks ago, while Michigan State has been without Mel Tucker since nearly the start of the season. However, unlike most years, there haven't been as many higher-profile openings. Four programs have made hires: Texas A&M, Michigan State, Mississippi State, and Northwestern. As the college coaching carousel is now in full gear, we take a look at how each of these hires grades in regards to fit, their potential for success, failure, and what challenges they could face along the way.
Texas A&M – Mike Elko
Mike Elko to Texas A&M was the perceived move all along in this college football coaching carousel. Elko was Fisher's defensive coordinator for the Aggies right before leaving to take the Duke head coaching job. Perhaps that is why Kentucky's Mark Stoops' stint in College Station was so short-lived. Nonetheless, this feels like the best possible move Texas A&M could make in the current coaching landscape.
Elko was last year's ACC Coach of the Year after bringing Duke to a 9-4 record, including a bowl win thanks in part to his stellar defense. It was the most wins for the Blue Devils since 2018 when they won eight games. The three years before Elko's arrival, they won a total of 10 games combined, winning only three the season before. If not for injuries at quarterback this season, Duke would probably be much better than their 7-5 record, which included wins over Clemson and NC State.
With the way that Fisher arrived and left College Station, this move feels a bit substandard in its initial effect. But maybe that's what Texas A&M needs. This is a program that hasn't won anything of merit since 1998, their last conference championship when they were members of the Big 12.
Elko was one of the more big-name hires available this season who was undoubtedly going to be getting calls. His familiarity in College Station should at the very least sit well with Texas A&M football fans. The question now becomes how well will this fit be?
From what's being said, Elko has a much different approach than Fisher, which obviously has to be considered positive. If Elko can be the CEO type of head coach that takes advantage of all the inherent resources surrounding him, along with putting together a good staff, there's no reason this hire can't work. But what a time to come in when the SEC is about to add former Big 12 members Texas and Oklahoma, who will no doubt be vying for the same recruits.
This may not have been a splashy hire, the headline-sparking hire, but it is a good hire.
Grade: B+
Mississippi State – Jeff Lebby
After the untimely and unfortunate passing of former head coach Mike Leach at the end of last season, Mississippi State more or less decided to stick with Leach's defensive coordinator, Zach Arnett, to take the reins this season instead of going through an arduous coaching search.
Arnett was a highly regarded replacement for the late Leach but quickly fizzled out after the Bulldogs finished the season 5-7 and 1-7 in SEC play. That was partly due to their horrendous offense that ranked 102nd in the nation. That's why they turned to Oklahoma's Jeff Lebby to hopefully enhance that side of the ball quickly.
Lebby's experience as an offensive play-caller should definitely attract higher-caliber players, whether that's in recruiting or the transfer portal. He was under Lane Kiffin at Ole Miss from 2020-2021, so recruiting the state of Mississippi should be an advantage in his hiring.
Lebby's resume is pretty impressive, where his offenses are known to create explosive plays. His units have ranked inside the top-25 in each of the last five seasons as a coordinator, per HailState.com. Coming from Oklahoma this season, the Sooners ranked 4th overall in total offense, where they averaged over 500 yards per game.
The most concerning part for Lebby is that of any first-time head coach: inexperience. Luckily, Starkville isn't the premier job in the SEC, although it still resides in arguably the toughest conference in college football. After Leach's passing that was followed by Arnett's lackluster performance, this feels like a great hire for Mississippi State, who needs some optimism within the program. But no job in the SEC is easy. Lebby will need a clear vision of how to establish this program and create wins in a conference in which they are scarce.
Grade: A-
Michigan State — Jonathan Smith
The Mel Tucker situation at Michigan State left the program in dire straits, needing to rebuild the program, if for nothing else, from a cultural standpoint. But overall, the entire program could use an overhaul going right down to the scheme.
The Spartans have been known for their tough defenses dating back to the Mark Dantonio days. Bringing in Oregon State's Jonathan Smith in should offer a more balanced approach, although it is his pro-style offense that he specializes in. It was one that attracted former Clemson quarterback DJ Uiagalelei to transfer to Corvallis, therefore it could attract other transfers or hopeful recruits in the future.
Rebuilding the pieces in East Lansing might not be a quick fix, though, especially from the offensive side of the ball that ranked 129th in yards per game (272.5) and 132nd in points per game (13.3) (per Team Rankings) this season, resulting in a 4-8 overall record and 2-7 within the Big Ten.
The concern with Smith's hire is that of fit. The 44-year-old has never coached outside the Northwest, last coaching as the offensive coordinator at Washington before taking over at Oregon State back in 2018. So how can he recruit against the likes of Michigan and Ohio State? Better yet, how will he be able to compete in the new Big Ten that is bringing in Pac-12 runaways? At least he has experience in that area.
The good thing is Smith has been a great developer of talent, often working with less. Much like at Oregon State and having to compete in the shadow of the bigger in-state rival, he'll have to do similar in East Lansing.
Grade: A+
Oregon State – Trent Bray
The Beavers decided to stay in-house with their new head coach, and really, who can blame them? Oregon State football is essentially in no man's land right now as a program after losing Jonathan Smith, who brought them out of depravity years back. But also, it's just them and Washington State as the only remnants of the Pac-12, meaning they have no conference home.
Promoting Trent Bray, the defensive coordinator, was all about stability, which this program needs more than ever right now, as it gets set to meet a time of uncertainty. Bray's job at this point will be holding onto the pieces that Smith built and containing it as much as possible, starting with the roster.
With the transfer portal set to open on Dec. 4, a mass exodus was likely to occur with an unknown hire. With a familiar face, there's a better chance Oregon State can keep most of their team intact. However, that, among many other factors like financials and future scheduling, will continue to be at the forefront for this team as this new era of college football is set to go underway next season. This was about the best move Oregon State could pull off.
Grade: -A
Syracuse – Fran Brown
For those who don't know Fran Brown, he was the defensive backs coach for Georgia the last two seasons. In fact, outside of his time with Temple back in 2019 when he served as a co-defensive coordinator, that's as high as his coaching promotions have gone until Syracuse hired him as their lead man this week.
Syracuse seemingly made this hire because of Brown's recruiting prowess. The Orange just haven't been able to successfully compete against the likes of their ACC counterparts because they either can't attain or hold onto talent. Some of that is said to be attributed to not having a solid NIL structure in place, which will most definitely be something Brown needs to fix.
As far as recruiting in and around the area, that should be no problem for the former Georgia coach. He's spent a lot of his coaching career around the Northeast, so he has plenty of ties there. But putting together a solid staff will also need to be put in place, especially for a first-time head coach who has never been a coordinator.
It's unclear what Brown's Syracuse contract is as of yet, but it's likely to be toward the bottom of the other coaches in the ACC. Syracuse is a bargain shopper because they lack most of the resources that the other big-name schools possess. Nonetheless, this is a risky move by the university, as hiring a coach merely off recruiting capabilities, cheap or not, may not produce the results they're looking for.
Grade: -C
Northwestern – David Braun
The first job to open up the college football coaching carousel was perhaps the one that no one saw opening up for the unforeseeable future in Northwestern. Pat Fitzgerald, a former alum and head coach with the program dating back to 2006, had thought to be a lifer for the Wildcats. That was until a hazing scandal allegation cost him his job back in the summer just before the start of the 2023 season.
Scrambling for answers, Northwestern decided to go with David Braun, who was just hired at Northwestern back in January. For what Braun was able to do in making chicken salad out… well, you know. The former North Dakota State defensive coordinator turned a team that won one game last season and four over its last two into a 7-5 team on their way to a bowl game for the first time since 2020.
Being one of the lower-tier teams in the Big Ten—who's about to fall even lower with next year's Pac-12 additions—being the head coach for Northwestern football isn't an easy job. A school with high academic standards that's far less committed to football with the limited resources to prove it doesn't attract a lot of offers, especially against heavy competition.
Presumably, this was the best possible hire that Northwestern could make. And at the very least, it seems pretty evident that Braun has rallied this team, winning four out of their last five games. He seems to have built a cohesive unit that could very well, for the most part, stay intact.
Again, the biggest challenges for Braun are the program itself and its commitment to football, along with the competition. It's also Braun's first head coaching gig. But this is certainly a place he can cut his teeth.
Grade: B
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