Is everyone finished now? Now that Jim Harbaugh has left Michigan for the Los Angeles Chargers and he's been replaced by offensive coordinator Sherrone Moore, perhaps now the college football head coaching hires will come to a halt.
Harbaugh's retreat back to the NFL, as we know, wasn't the only major move that shook up the entire college football world. Most are still recovering from Nick Saban's retirement that had a much larger ripple effect causing multiple programs to go in search of their new leading man, among other assistant coaches, after Kalen DeBoer took the job in Tuscaloosa.
Needless to say, this has been one of the most chaotic coaching search offseasons in recent memory, with a total of 19 teams with new hires that include the now four power conferences and the Mountain West.
So, how did each grade out?
Sherrone Moore – Michigan
It became apparent after winning the last three regular-season games for Michigan in which they faced both No. 10 Penn State and Maryland on the road, followed by No. 2 Ohio State, their arch-rival, that the Wolverines were in good hands with Sherrone Moore. Instead of making another exhausting coaching search, attempting to replace the legend of Harbaugh, Michigan instead chose to stick with continuity and stability. Plus, who would be the other realistic option at this point? This was the best choice for Michigan, sticking with a coach that players love and adore (per Bruce Feldman), who will most likely keep intact the team that is currently there.
Grade: A
Kalen DeBoer – Alabama
Kalen DeBoer has been a winner no matter where he's been, including the two seasons he was at Washington going 25-3 and leading the Huskies to the national championship this season. Some critics, including those in Tuscaloosa, will worry about his lack of SEC experience, but two of the greatest coaches of all time that won national titles in the SEC didn't come from SEC coaching in Urban Meyer and Nick Saban.
The question will be how does he stand up to the immense pressure of following in the footsteps of a legend, where a fanbase that has been used to winning for so long now may be impatient with results should they not come quickly. Nonetheless, this has to be regarded as one of the best out of the 2024 college football coaching hires.
Grade: A
Brent Brennan – Arizona
Brent Brennan was originally expected to take this job when Jedd Fisch took it back in 2021. So, it wasn't too surprising that Brennan would be offered the job again this time around. However, in his entire head coaching career, he's 34-48, never winning more than seven games in a season, and going 0-3 in bowl games. His one standout year was the COVID season where San Jose State finished 7-1 and ranked 24th in the country. He also won the Mountain West Coach of the Year for that season.
Grade: C-
Jedd Fisch – Washington
When DeBoer headed for Alabama, Washington had to act quickly in finding their next head coach. Many expected Fisch would be landing another job next season if he presented similar results to what he did at Arizona this season. But as the dominos started to fall after Saban retired, Fisch's name quickly came up for the Huskies job. And rightfully so.
It could be a challenging Year 1 for Fisch, however, and the Huskies are set to lose a lot of production, whether through the NFL Draft or transfer portal. Fisch has proven that he can handle tough situations and rebuild a team. Washington made the best move possible given the timeframe in hiring Fisch.
Grade: A-
Mike Elko – Texas A&M
Mike Elko quickly became one of the hotter names in this college coaching cycle due to his impressive work he did at Duke over the past two seasons. At a basketball school, he went 16-9 in his two years in Durham, and maybe opponents respect the Blue Devils when they played them, especially defensively.
Elko comes in with familiar experience with Texas A&M, serving as defensive coordinator under former head coach Jimbo Fisher. So Elko knows the structure and the expectations in College Station. The question is, can he finally get the Aggies into the playoffs? Regardless, this has to be considered one of the best hires because of his former experience and his coaching abilities in a tough place to win at Duke.
Grade: A-
Jonathan Smith – Michigan State
Knowing that Oregon State was being left in the dust and conference-less with Pac-12 dismantling, Smith saw his opportunity to coach of a Big Ten school and ran. Who can blame him? Granted, it will be a much different Big Ten next season with some of Smith's former Pac-12 opponents joining the conference, but that shouldn't be a problem.
Smith has proven he's a great developer of talent despite recruiting challenges. The Spartans are definitely in need of developing talent and altogether fixing their horrid offense from last season. Smith can do that and more by rebuilding a culture in East Lansing.
Grade: A
Jeff Lebby – Mississippi State
Looking to pretty much totally rebrand themselves after the tragic loss of Mike Leach that was then followed by Zach Arnett, who didn't even finish a full season in Starkville, the Bulldogs look toward Jeff Lebby. The former Ole Miss, UCF, and Oklahoma offensive coordinator has had great success building impressive offenses. But he's about to walk into a hornets' nest in what is set to be an even more highly competitive SEC in 2024 — and Mississippi State has never been considered one of the elite of the group. This is a tough job for a first-year head coach.
Grade: B-
David Braun – Northwestern
There may not have been a more impressive job done in the country than what David Braun did at Northwestern this season, replacing Pat Fitzgerald after he was fired for cause due to hazing allegations. Braun was hired in January as a defensive coordinator, and by July, he was the interim head coach. All he did was take the Wildcats from being a 1-11 team to an 8-5 one, winning their first bowl game since 2020. Considering the circumstances, along with being a tough place to find wins, Braun deservedly earned the head coaching title.
Grade: A
Fran Brown – Syracuse
Some things make sense about this hire, while others do not. Poaching a Georgia coach, yeah, that makes sense. Taking one that has experience recruiting in the Northeast, that makes sense. But taking a 40-year-old position coach that has never held a head coaching title and was only a co-defensive coordinator once doesn't make a lot of sense.
This is a stretch and one of the more odd college football coaching hires from Syracuse, who looks to retrieve some sort of relevance back to their program after years of having none. Brown will have his work cut out for him, starting with the NIL collective. He was able to bring in former Ohio State starting quarterback Kyle McCord from the portal.
Grade: D+
Trent Bray – Oregon State
The Beavers essentially had no other choice but to promote from within after Smith left for Michigan State. It's doubtful there were going to be many suitors anyway with all the uncertainty surrounding the program and their lack of a conference now. Bray has been with the Beavers since 2018, so the hope is that there will be at least some sort of continuity going on within the program where there is currently little left. The problem with Bray is that he's never coached an FBS game. It could be an uphill battle for Oregon State next season.
Grade: C
Curt Cignetti – Indiana
Was there a hotter name in college football (not named Deion Sanders) than Curt Cignetti after he won 10 games for James Madison in 2023? The college football world finally started taking notice after that, but he was winning lots of games long before that; in fact, he had three double-digit win seasons since taking over the program in 2019. Now let's see what he can do at Indiana, a place that is mostly forgotten about when you're talking college football.
Grade: A
Manny Diaz – Duke
Manny Diaz gets another shot at being a head coach, albeit in the ACC where he last coached the Miami Hurricanes. Diaz earned his second head coaching job after his impressive defenses at Penn State. Unlike at Miami, there won't be quite the pressure to win with the Blue Devils like there was with the Hurricanes. Diaz went 21-15 as coach of the Hurricanes. His problems were building a sustainable culture and letting his players run all over him. We'll see how his second stint goes. This is a middle graded college football coaching hire for Duke.
Grade: C
Willie Fritz – Houston
Houston is possibly one of the more underrated jobs in the country, due mainly to its high proximity to high recruiting ground. Now that Texas and Oklahoma are off to the SEC, the Big 12 is essentially wide open for someone to take the reins in the conference. Hiring Fritz, who helped make successful turnarounds at Georgia Southern and Tulane, this is one of the better college football coaching hires for a team that has been looking for a proven winner.
Grade: A
Jeff Choate – Nevada
Coming off of back-to-back 2-10 seasons and void of a double-digit win season since 2010, Nevada is looking for answers. Going after someone who had some success at the FCS level, plus his time on the Texas Longhorns staff as a co-defensive coordinator seemed like a good fit for the Wolfpack. Keeping a Nevada team above .500, as is historically seen, is about the standard. So if Choate can do that, it may be deemed a success.
Grade: C
Jay Sawvell – Wyoming
With Craig Bohl retiring, Jay Sawvell, who had been on the Wyoming staff since 2020 as defensive coordinator and safeties coach, seemed like the right successor. That remains to be seen. This won't be quite on the level of Nick Saban, but replacing a legend like Bohl was at Wyoming is not going to be easy, especially for a first-time head coach like Sawvell, 52, will be.
Grade: C
Bronco Mendenhall – New Mexico
Bronco Mendenhall gets another opportunity as a head coach, this time with the Lobos. In 17 years of head coaching experience at both BYU and Virginia, he's 216-135 (.625) with seven career bowl wins and a former 2006 Mountain West Coach of the Year. This could be a good fit for the now 57-year-old.
Grade: B+
Spencer Danielson – Boise State
Spencer Danielson is a unique hire in that after Andy Avalos was fired midseason, Danielson took over to go 3-0 and win a conference title. He's the first person in FBS history to do such a thing. He's also been around the Boise State program since 2017 in some capacity. Continuity certainly goes a long way but it will be interesting to see how Danielson does with a full season under his belt in 2024 and how he produces.
Grade: B-
Sean Lewis – San Diego State
Sean Lewis came and went for Deion Sanders' Colorado Buffaloes. It started out red hot and then fizzled out quickly when Colorado simply could not block anything, leaving their offense to falter. That was hardly Lewis' fault, as it was more a recruiting and roster issue. It was really no surprise that a Mountain West team like San Diego State came calling for him. This is a solid hire.
Grade: B+
Ken Niumatalolo – San Jose State
With Brent Brennan leaving for Arizona, Ken Niumatalolo was a part of the latest domino effect of Saban's retirement. In his 16 years with Navy, he went 192-109 (.568). But his last three seasons were dismal, going 11-23. Apparently, his triple-option won't be following him to San Jose State, which has to be deemed a plus due to the modernity of offenses now.
Grade: D
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