Who did Pat Hobbs miss out on in 2020?

First, some news and notes: I guess the boys at nj.com read On the Banks. Despite them yelling about replacing Schiano, it wasn’t until today – Friday, 9/18 – that they published their list of potential replacements. OTB had a similar story five days ago! I don’t have a subscription to nj.com and it’s behind their paywall so I have no idea who they’re suggesting. If you can read it, please share with us their thoughts and if there are any common names.

It’s 2019: Chris Ash is fired and Pat Hobbs (sigh) has to hire a new football coach.

He didn’t want Greg Schiano. And you guys questioned his judgement!

As the story goes, there were people – donors, big wigs, some folks with clout – who did want GS back. And they won out.

But, curious minds wanted to know who else was hired at the D1 level that year? Besides Rutgers bringing back GS, who else made a move in the 2019-20 cycle. As it turns out, there were 24 head coaching hires in the FBS and another 16 hires in FCS heading into the 2020 football season. So, who did Hobbs miss out on? And were they worth the effort?

Of those 24 hires in 2020, only six are still on the job at the school that hired them that year: Dave Aranda (Baylor), Mike Norvell (Florida State), Eli Drinkwitz (Missouri), Ricky Rahne (Old Dominion), Jeff Traylor (Texas-San Antonio). and Schiano. Safe to say at least two of them are currently on the hot seat.

And the other 18? Well, incredibly, two of them died: Shawn Clark of App State and Mike Leach at Mississippi State. There was one outright retirement with Brady Hoke at San Diego State. And there were 11 who were fired; 12 if you count the one where they “mutually agreed” to part ways. That list included BC’s Jeff Hafley, Mel Tucker at Michigan State, and Willie Taggert at FAU.

In addition, Kalen DeBoer (Indiana OC to Fresno State), Ryan Silverfield (Memphis Deputy HC to HC), and Lane Kiffin (FAU to Ole Miss) moved on/up to head coaching jobs or better head coaching jobs. Think we could have gotten DeBoer?

I never realized the FCS was so complicated and messy. Looking up those 16 coaches and what happened to them was confusing, with people resigning, being hired with some sort of administrative contracts, or some other footnote. It was exhausting.

The easiest ones to identify were the two that were fired outright, one that “wasn’t renewed” (sounds like he was fired), and the two (out of 16) who are still on the job. Those are Walt Wells at Eastern Kentucky and Doug Phillips at Youngstown State. Among the seven who moved on were Deion Sanders from Jackson State to Colorado and Bobby Petrino from Missouri State. At least it seems that Petrino “moved on” to become the OC at UNLV….which lasted for 21 days until he left for the same job at Texas A&M.

There were three resignations, including one in which the school cancelled the season due to the death of a player. Crises seemed to be a bit more common one level down.

Obviously, Rutgers was not getting Deion Sanders. Probably not Lane Kiffin either. But, Kalen DeBoer (certainly in retrospect) was a good candidate – a Big Ten guy, too.

A few facts about the FBS coaches hired in 2020

• There were nine coordinators in the FBS group who were hired as head coaches; five of them were ultimately fired.

• Six current head coaches moved on to other positions that year; three of them were fired.

• Of those still on the job:

  • Three were coordinators before their hire

  • Two were head coaches moving to another head position

  • One was a former head coach returning to coaching….at the place he previously coached. Hmmm.

There were nine coordinators in the FBS group who were hired as head coaches; five of them were ultimately fired.

Six current head coaches moved on to other positions that year; three of them were fired.

• Three were coordinators before their hire

• Two were head coaches moving to another head position

• One was a former head coach returning to coaching….at the place he previously coached. Hmmm.

Three were coordinators before their hire

Two were head coaches moving to another head position

One was a former head coach returning to coaching….at the place he previously coached. Hmmm.

There are very few slam dunk/sure fire hires. We’re dealing with humans – on both ends of the hiring process – and, as such, we’re subject to personalities, egos, biases, and just plain bad data. Hire the “sure thing” and the next thing you know, there’s a story about how they used to set fires in their yard as a kid (full disclosure: I am not aware of any of these candidates being in that category). But, as a hirer, you find the best person you can, you vet them to the best of your ability, and you hope that the dice roll your way.