CFW Preseason 2024 – The Head Coach Hires
Applewhite, Diaz, Mason, Mendenhall,
Niumatalolo and O’Brien: six blasts from the past
Plus, established coaches Smith, Elko, Cignetti, Fritz, DeBoer, Fisch and Brennan change schools, while Moore moves up.
Those are 14 of the 30 new head coaches this season.
Who says you can’t go home again? Well, maybe not back to the same location, but back to the same old job. That’s exactly what Major Applewhite, Manny Diaz, Derek Mason, Bronco Mendenhall, Ken Niumatalolo, and Bill O’Brien have done. After a few years absent from the top spot, they are back in the saddle again. Back in the head coach position again.
Meanwhile, seven established head coaches – Jonathan Smith, Mike Elko, Curt Cignetti, Willie Fritz, Kalen DeBoer, Jedd Fisch and Brent Brennan – were lured to new schools. The carrot was dangled and they jumped. Will the grass be greener?
And at Michigan, Sherrone Moore, a respected offensive coordinator, moved up.
The New Head Coaches – 2024
It has been six years since Major Applewhite was a head coach. That was at Houston for three seasons from 2016 to 2018. And that was the only time Applewhite was a head coach. Since then, he was an offensive analyst for Nick Saban at Alabama (2019-2020) and an offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at South Alabama from 2021 to 2023. Now Applewhite is the new head coach at South Alabama.
Prior to his three head coaching years at Houston, Applewhite, a former quarterback at Texas (1998 to 2001), was on the staffs at Syracuse, Rice, Alabama and Texas – mostly as an offensive coordinator. He has definitely been around, and he definitely has the experience. At South Alabama, Applewhite has his second chance as a head coach. A native of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Major Applewhite is 46.
Like Applewhite, Manny Diaz has been around too. And like Applewhite, Diaz was previously a one-time head coach. That was 2019 to 2021 at Miami (Florida). Now he is a head coach again – this time at Duke.
Unlike the offensive-minded Applewhite, Diaz is a defensive guru. Since 2002, he has been on the staffs at NC State, Middle Tennessee, Mississippi State, Texas, Louisiana Tech and Penn State – mostly as a defensive coordinator. Most recently, Diaz was the defensive coordinator/linebackers coach at Penn State (2022-2023). But Duke came calling last winter and Diaz said yes. A native of Miami, where his father was once the mayor, Manny Diaz is 50. He played college football at Florida State.
Derek Mason came into fame when he was the defensive coordinator at Stanford. That was 2011 to 2013. Then, in 2014, Mason became the head coach of Vanderbilt. He coached the Commodores for seven seasons – 2014 to 2020. Four years later, Mason is back in the top position again. He is the new head coach at Middle Tennessee.
Since his Vanderbilt days, Mason has been the defensive coordinator at Auburn (2021) and Oklahoma State (2022). He took a sabbatical from football last season. Prior to Vanderbilt, Mason was on the staffs at Weber State, Idaho State, Bucknell, Utah, St. Mary’s, New Mexico State and Ohio. He even had a stint with the Minnesota Vikings. Those years, he coached defensive backs and wide receivers. At Middle Tennessee, Mason is a head coach again. A native of Phoenix, Arizona, Derek Mason turns 55 next month. He played college football at Northern Arizona, where he was a cornerback.
The last time we heard from Bronco Mendenhall, he was the coach of Virginia. That was 2016 to 2021. Prior to Virginia, Mendenhall was the coach of BYU (2005 to 2015). After Virginia, he took a three-year leave from coaching and football. But he is back in 2024. Mendenhall is the new head coach of New Mexico.
Prior to BYU, Mendenhall was a defensive backs coach and defensive coordinator at Northern Arizona, Oregon State and New Mexico. At BYU (11 years) and Virginia (6 years), he compiled a record of 135-81. New Mexico has suffered for a number of years. Mendenhall hopes to turnaround the program. A native of Alpine, Utah, Bronco Mendenhall is 58. He played college football at Oregon State, where he was a defensive back.
It didn’t take long for former Navy coach Ken Niumatalolo to get back into a head coaching position. Just two years ago, Niumatalolo was getting fired in the locker room following the Army-Navy game. Now he is the new head coach at San Jose State.
Niumatalolo spent 16 years at Navy, coaching the Middies to a 109-83 record. Last season, he was a consultant on Chip Kelly’s staff at UCLA. A native of Laie, Hawaii, Ken Niumatalolo is 59. He played college football at Hawaii, where he was a quarterback.
And finally, the last of the blasts from the past is really a blast – none other than Bill O’Brien. He is the new head coach at Boston College. O’Brien has quite a resume on the offensive side of the ball. He has been a tight ends coach, running backs coach, quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator at such schools as Brown, Georgia Tech, Maryland, Duke, Penn State and Alabama, along with a couple of stints with the New England Patriots. O’Brien was also the head coach at Penn State for two seasons (2012-2013) and for the Houston Texans of the NFL from 2014 to 2020. Now he is back in the head coach spot at Boston College.
O’Brien spent last season with the New England Patriots – offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach. Earlier this year, he accepted the offensive coordinator position at Ohio State. But just 22 days later, he resigned to take the head coach job at Boston College. A native of Boston, Bill O’Brien turns 55 in October. He played college football at Brown, where he was a defensive end and linebacker.
So Major Applewhite (South Alabama), Manny Diaz (Duke), Derek Mason (Middle Tennessee), Bronco Mendenhall (New Mexico), Ken Niumatalolo (San Jose State) and Bill O’Brien (Boston College) are the six former head coaches, who after being out of the spotlight for a while, will be head coaches again this season.
Next, there are eight coaches who have been building and establishing their reputations in recent years. Seven of the eight coaches were hired away from their recent head coaching jobs to become the head coach at a bigger and higher profile school. The eighth coach made a significant move, up the ladder.
The first of these coaches is Jonathan Smith. Smith has been the head coach of Oregon State the past six seasons. Each of the six seasons got a little better than the previous ones. He took Oregon State from a 2-10 record his first year to 10-3 and 8-4 records the past two seasons.
Prior to Oregon State, Smith was a quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator at Idaho, Montana, Boise State and Washington. Now he can continue to build his reputation as the head coach at Michigan State, his new employer. A native of Pasadena, California, Jonathan Smith is 49. He played college football at Oregon State, where he was a quarterback.
In two seasons at Duke (2022 and 2023), Mike Elko produced two winners. Duke was Elko’s first head coaching job. Now he has his second one at Texas A&M. The Aggies hired Elko to replace the fired Jimbo Fisher. This will be his second stint at A&M. Prior to Duke, Elko was the Aggies defensive coordinator for four seasons – 2018 to 2021.
Also before Duke and Texas A&M, Elko was a defensive backs coach, linebackers coach and defensive coordinator at Penn, Fordham, Richmond, Hofstra, Bowling Green, Wake Forest and Notre Dame. A native of South Brunswick, New Jersey, Mike Elko turned 46 last month. He played college football at Penn, where he was a safety.
As a head coach, Curt Cignetti has compiled a 119-35 record. He achieved that record at Indiana University-Pennsylvania (2011-2016), Elon (2017-2018) and James Madison (2019-2023). Now Cignetti can improve on his record as the new head coach at Indiana.
Prior to becoming a head coach in 2011, Cignetti was a wide receivers coach, tight ends coach and quarterbacks coach at Davidson, Rice, Temple, Pitt, NC State and Alabama. A native of Pittsburgh, Curt Cignetti is 62. He played college football at West Virginia, where he was a quarterback.
Willie Fritz has been a continuous head coach since 1993, but at five different colleges – Blinn (1993-1996), Central Missouri (1997-2009), Sam Houston State (2010-2013), Georgia Southern (2014-2015) and Tulane (2016-2023). Fritz was a winner at all five schools. At Tulane, Fritz was the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year in 2022. Now he is the head coach at his sixth school – Houston.
A native of Shawnee Mission, Kansas, Willie Fritz is 64. He played college football at Pittsburg State, where he was a defensive back.
Of all the new head coaches, perhaps the one under the most pressure is Kalen DeBoer. DeBoer is the new head coach at Alabama. The pressure of following Nick Saban has to be tremendous. But DeBoer is not lacking in credentials. As the head coach of Washington the past two seasons, he had a 25-3 record. DeBoer coached the Huskies to the national championship game last season. In nine seasons as a head coach (Sioux Falls, Fresno State and Washington), he is 104-12.
DeBoer has also been a wide receivers coach, quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator at Southern Illinois, Eastern Michigan and Indiana. A native of Milbank, South Dakota, Kalen DeBoer will turn 50 in October. He played college football at the University of Sioux Falls. DeBoer also played baseball at Sioux Falls.
I must say, Jedd Fisch has an impressive resume. He has been a wide receivers coach, quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator at Minnesota, Miami (Florida), Michigan and UCLA in the college ranks, and at the Houston Texans, Baltimore Ravens, Denver Broncos, Seattle Seahawks, Jacksonville Jaguars, Los Angeles Rams and the New England Patriots in the NFL. Finally, in 2021, Fisch became the head coach at Arizona. Now he is the new head coach of Washington.
Fisch spent three seasons at Arizona, where his first season was 1-11 and his third season was 10-3. A native of Livingston, New Jersey, Jedd Fish is 48. He graduated from the University of Florida, but did not play football for the Gators. Fisch specifically attended Florida to learn how to coach football from Steve Spurrier.
Brent Brennan has spent most of his career coaching tight ends and wide receivers. He coached these players at Washington, Arizona, Cal Poly, San Jose State and Oregon State. In 2017 Brennan became the head coach of San Jose State, where he coached the Spartans for seven seasons. His record at San Jose State was 34-48. But three of his last four seasons ended with winning records. Now Brennan is the new head coach at Arizona.
A native of Redwood City, California, Brent Brennan is 51. He played college football for UCLA, where he was a wide receiver.
When Jim Harbaugh resigned at Michigan to become the head coach of the Los Angeles Chargers, the Wolverines didn’t look long or far to find his replacement. Within two days of Harbaugh’s departure, his offensive coordinator Sherrone Moore was named the new head coach of Michigan, .
Moore had been on Harbaugh’s staff since 2018, initially as a tight ends coach. Then in 2021, he became the Wolverines offensive coordinator. Prior to Michigan, he was a tight ends coach for Louisville and Central Michigan. A native of Derby, Kansas, Sherrone Moore is 38. He played college football for Oklahoma, where he was an offensive guard.
So, Jonathan Smith (Michigan State), Mike Elko (Texas A&M), Curt Cignetti (Indiana), Willie Fritz (Houston), Kalen DeBoer (Alabama), Jedd Fisch (Washington), Brent Brennan (Arizona) and Sherrone Moore (Michigan) are the coaches moving on to a more prestigious location, with Moore moving on up to the topside at the same location.
Fourteen down and 16 to go. We’ve covered the blasts from the past coming back and the established coaches moving up. That leaves 16 other new hires who are looking to make a name for themselves as college football head coaches.
Syracuse reached out to Kirby Smart’s staff at Georgia to find its new coach – Fran Brown. Brown has been a defensive backs coach at Georgia for the past two seasons. Prior to Georgia, he was a DB coach at Temple, Baylor and Rutgers. A native of Camden, New Jersey, Fran Brown is 41. He played college football at Western Carolina, where he was a cornerback.
UCLA stayed home and made its running backs coach DeShaun Foster the new head coach of the Bruins. Foster has been a running backs coach at UCLA since 2017. Prior to UCLA, he coached the backs at Texas Tech for one season in 2016. A native of Charlotte, North Carolina, DeShaun Foster is 44. He played college football at UCLA, where he was a running back.
Like UCLA, Oregon State also stayed home, promoting its defensive coordinator Trent Bray to the head coach spot. Bray has been on the Oregon State staff since 2018, first as a linebackers coach, then as the DC. Prior to Oregon State, he was a linebackers coach at Arizona State and Nebraska. A native of Flagstaff, Arizona, Trent Bray is 41. He played college football for Oregon State, where he was a linebacker.
Mississippi State hired an offensive guru to be its new head coach – Jeff Lebby. The past two seasons, Lebby has been the quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator for the Oklahoma Sooners. Prior to Oklahoma, he was a QB coach and OC at Baylor, UCF and Ole Miss. A native of McGregor, Texas. Jeff Lebby is 40. Out of high school, he signed with Oklahoma. However, injuries early on ended his playing career in college. Lebby went on to graduate from Oklahoma.
The past two seasons, Jon Sumrall was the coach at Troy, where he compiled a 23-4 record. Now he is the head coach of Tulane. Prior to Troy, Sumrall was a linebackers coach and defensive coordinator at San Diego, Tulane, Ole Miss and Kentucky. A native of Huntsville, Alabama, Jon Sumrall just turned 41 in July. He played college football at Kentucky, where he was a linebacker.
Scotty Walden is the new head coach at UTEP. Prior to this season, Walden was the head coach of Austin Peay for four seasons where he compiled a 26-14 record. Previously, he was an offensive coordinator at Sul Ross State and East Texas Baptist, a head coach at East Texas Baptist and a wide receivers coach and offensive coordinator at Southern Miss. A native of Cleburne, Texas, Scotty Walden is 34. He played college football for Sul Ross State, where he was a quarterback and a safety.
New Mexico State’s new head coach is a former player for the school – Tony Sanchez. After a successful career as a high school coach, Sanchez became the head coach of UNLV in 2015. He coached the Rebels for five seasons (2015-2019) compiling a 20-40 record. Sanchez spent 2021 on the staff at TCU. The past two seasons, he has been the wide receivers coach at New Mexico State. A native of Fairfield, California, Tony Sanchez is 50. He played college football at New Mexico State, where he was a wide receiver.
Buffalo went to Shane Beamer’s staff at South Carolina to seek out its new coach – Pete Lembo. Lembo has been the Gamecocks assistant head coach and special teams coach for the past three seasons. Over the years, he has been a tight ends coach, special teams coach and assistant head coach at Dartmouth, Hampden-Sydney, Lehigh, Elon, Ball State, Maryland, Rice and Memphis. A native of Staten Island, New York, Pete Lembo is 54. He played college football at Georgetown, where he was a center.
Boise State stayed home and elevated Spencer Danielson to its head coach position. Danielson has been on the Boise State staff for the past seven seasons as a defensive line coach, linebackers coach and a defensive coordinator. Prior to Boise State, he was a linebackers coach at Azusa Pacific. A native of Solana Beach, California, Spencer Danielson is 35. He played college football at Azusa Pacific, where he was a linebacker.
Sean Lewis is the new head coach at San Diego State. Previously, Lewis was the head coach at Kent State from 2018 to 2022, where he compiled a 24-31 record. Last season, he was Deion Sanders’ offensive coordinator at Colorado. Prior to Kent State, Lewis was a tight ends coach, wide receivers coach, quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator at Akron, Eastern Illinois, Bowling Green and Syracuse. A native of Oak Lawn, Illinois, Sean Lewis is 38. He played college football at Wisconsin, where he was a tight end.
Jeff Choate, the new head coach at Nevada, is a former head coach. Choate coached Montana State for five seasons from 2016 to 2020. His record was 28-22. Last season, he was the defensive coordinator at Texas. Previously, Choate has been a special teams coach, running backs coach, linebackers coach and a defensive line coach at Utah State, Eastern Illinois, Boise State, Washington State, Florida and Washington. A native of Columbus, Ohio, Jeff Choate turned 53 last month. He played college football at Montana Western where he was a linebacker.
Wyoming looked no further than Laramie to find its new coach – Jay Sawvel. The past four seasons, Sawvel has been Wyoming’s defensive coordinator. Prior to that, he was a defensive backs and special teams coach at Ferris State, Southern Illinois, Northern Illinois, Minnesota and Wake Forest. A native of Barnesville, Ohio, Jay Sawvel is 53. He played college football at Mount Union, where he was a linebacker.
Last year, Bryant Vincent was the offensive coordinator at New Mexico. Now Vincent is the new head coach at ULM. Prior to New Mexico, he was a tight ends coach, quarterbacks coach and an offensive coordinator at South Alabama and UAB. A native of Glasgow, Kentucky, Bryant Vincent is 48. He played college football at West Alabama
Gerald Parker is the new head coach at Troy. He was Notre Dame’s offensive coordinator last year. Previously, Parker has been a tight ends coach, wide receivers coach and an offensive coordinator at UT Martin, Marshall, Purdue, Duke, Penn State and West Virginia. A native of Huntington, West Virginia, Gerald Parker is 43. He played college football at Kentucky, where he was a wide receiver.
A former head coach, Bob Chesney is the new head coach at James Madison. The past six seasons, Chesney coached Holy Cross to a 44-21 record. He also was a head coach at Salve Regina and Assumption. His overall coaching record is 111-46. Before his head coaching years, Chesney was a defensive backs coach, special teams coach and defensive coordinator at Delaware Valley and Johns Hopkins. A native of Kulpmont, Pennsylvania, Bob Chesney turned 47 three days ago. He played college football at Dickinson, where he was a defensive back.
And finally, the new coach at Georgia State is Dell McGee. Like Syracuse, Georgia State went to Kirby Smart’s staff to pick up its new coach. McGee was Georgia’s running backs coach the past five seasons. Prior to 2019, McGee was a running backs coach at Georgia Southern. A native of Columbus, Georgia, Dell McGee will turn 51 next month. Dell McGee played college football at Auburn, where he was a cornerback.
In a late offseason move, Utah State fired its head coach Blake Andersen. The Aggies’ defensive coordinator Nate Dreiling was named the team’s interim head coach for the 2024 season. Dreiling was the DC at New Mexico State the past two seasons. A native of Victoria, Kansas, he will turn 34 in October. Then, just a few days later, Fresno State head coach Jeff Tedford stepped down due to health issues. Bulldogs’ linebackers coach Tim Skipper was named Fresno State’s interim coach for the 2024 season. Skipper, 46, was the running backs coach at Florida in 2015 and 2016, and the linebackers coach for the Gators in 2017 and 2018.
That’s a wrap on the 30 head coach hires and two interim coaches for 2024.
All 10 conferences have at least one new head coach this season. The Mountain West Conference leads the way with eight (six new hires and two interim coaches), followed by the Big Ten and Sun Belt with five each. There are three new head coaches in each the ACC, Conference USA and the SEC. The Big 12 has two new head coaches, while the AAC, Mid-American and Pac-2 have one each.
Of the 30 coaches, a consensus of the media says the best hires are Jonathan Smith (Michigan State), Kalen DeBoer (Alabama), Willie Fritz (Houston), Jon Sumrall (Tulane), Sherrone Moore (Michigan), Jedd Fisch (Washington) and Mike Elko (Texas A&M).
Conversely, the general feeling of the media is that Gerald Park (Troy) and Tony Sanchez (New Mexico State) are the worst hires. Time will tell.
Tomorrow, we’ll unveil this season’s coaches on the hot seat.
Touchdown Tom
August 13, 2024
No comments:
Post a Comment