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With so many new coaches in college football, especially in the Pac-12, we take a look at how well each of the hires will turn out:
Mike Leach, Washington State. Leach obviously knows how to win. He went to a bowl game every year at Texas Tech with a total record of 84-43. He may have the tools to win right away in Pullman with Jeff Tuel at quarterback and Connor Halliday behind him. Leach likely went to Washington State because of the receiving corps, led by Marquess Wilson, one of the best in the nation. I think there will be a short adjustment period in Year 1, but this is a great hire and Leach should have success in Pullman. BUY
Rich Rodriguez, Arizona. Rodriguez’s system was not a fit at Michigan but it should be in the wide-open Pac 12. Arizona is terrible defensively, but the offense should be up and rolling within a couple of years. I don’t like Arizona in Year 1 of Rich Rod’s tenure, but it’s a good hire long-term. BUY
Larry Fedora, North Carolina. Fedora had a lot of consistent success at Southern Miss and he brings strong discipline to a program that has talent through the roof but has had problems off the field. Fedora should do a remarkable job in Chapel Hill and get the Tar Heels to reach their full potential as a program. BUY**Charlie Weis, Kansas. Weis simply is not a college coach. I don’t know if he speaks over the head of college kids or just isn’t made for the type of game that is played in college football, but he was made to be a coordinator in the NFL. This hire makes about as much sense for Kansas as Bobby Valentine’s hire for the Red Sox. The two hires were likely made for the same reason as well — publicity. SELL**
Jim Mora, UCLA. This seems like more of the same for the Bruins. Mora brings an NFL-type game to Pasadena that will likely be as bland as it has been at UCLA for the past decade. Mora has done a good job changing the environment at UCLA, but I just don’t think Mora is the right fit to take the Bruins to the next level. SELL
Urban Meyer, Ohio State. In my opinion Meyer is the best coach in college football. Nick Saban is the best recruiter, but Meyer is the best coach. Nobody in the country gets his players ready to play as well as Meyer does. He has the right fits to run his offense immediately and many experts believe that Ohio State may be the best team in the Big Ten this season. I don’t know if I agree with that, but Meyer will take his dream job and run with it. Love the hire. BUY
Paul Chryst, Pittsburgh. I really like what Chryst did with the offense at Wisconsin and I think he fits the bill at Pitt. We saw what happened when Pittsburgh tried to bring someone in who tried to bring a completely different scheme. It didn’t work. Chryst will stay with the hard-nosed style of football Pitt fans are used to seeing, but he should bring a more disciplined approach to a program that badly needs it. A lot of people have questions about his abilities to do the job based on his lack of experience as a head coach (this will be his first year as a head coach), but I am not one of them. This was a great hire for Pitt. BUY
For more new coaches to buy or sell on like Kevin Sumlin at Texas A&M, Todd Graham at Arizona State or Bob Davie at New Mexico visit BYUtahInsiders.com.
Trevor Amicone is the editor of byutahinsiders.com, a website that will be launched before the 2012 football season to cover both Utah and BYU football as well as national college football. Follow his very entertaining Twitter feed at @TrevorAmicone.
