For the first part, I'll break down the new hires we know about- Rich Rodriguez at Arizona, Mike Leach at Washington State, and the blockbuster of them all, Urban Meyer at Ohio State.
Rich Rodriguez, Arizona
Age: 48
Coaching Résumé
Salem (WV) College (now Salem International University- competed at DII level)
Record: (1988 season) 2-8 (dropped football program after one year with Rodriguez)
Glenville State (1990-1996)- Won 3 conference titles and was national runner-up in 1993 NAIA Championship...Was WVIAC Coach of the Year twice and NAIA COY in 1993.
- Record: 43-28-2
Served as Assistant Coach, Offensive Coordinator, and Quarterback Coach for Tulane from 1997 to 1998 and Offensive Coordinator/Associate Head Coach at Clemson in 1999
West Virginia (2001-2007)- Won 4 Big East Conference championships...2-3 in bowl games he coached (West Virginia won the 2007 Fiesta Bowl but he had already left for Michigan by this time.)...Big East Coach of the Year in 2002, 2003, and 2005.
- Record: 60-26
Michigan (2007-2009)- 0-1 in bowl games
- Record: 15-22
Career Record: 120-84 (2-4 in postseason bowls)
Outlook at Arizona:
In terms of overall fit and realistic athletic department expectations for football, this is a good landing spot for RichRod. It will be new for him conference-wise and regionally since he doesn't have many connections in the area. He'll also need to work hard recruiting so he can get the players he wants for his scheme and deal with the inevitable transfers that will occur. Implementing his run-heavy spread option attack into the finesse Pac-12 could provide some culture shock. The transition will take a few years but if the AD is patient with Rodriguez (and most AD's haven't shown a lot of patience recently), he'll get the necessary athletes to put together a rushing offense to rival Oregon's out west. On paper, it's not a perfect fit, but it could work with time.
Rating this hire on the ever-so-popular scale of 1-10, 10 being "Nick Saban-esque," I'd give this hire a solid 8.
Mike Leach, Washington State
Age: 50
Coaching Résumé
Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo (1987)- Assistant/Offensive Line Coach
College of the Desert (1988)- Assistant/Linebackers Coach
Iowa Wesleyan (1989-91)- Offensive Coordinator
Valdosta State (1992-96)- Offensive Coordinator at Valdosta State....1996 DII Offensive Coordinator of the Year
Kentucky (1997-98)- Offensive Coordinator at Kentucky...mentored Tim Couch
Oklahoma (1999)- Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks Coach
Texas Tech (2000-2009)- 2008 Big XII Coach of the Year, 5-4 in bowl games
- Record: 84-43
Career Record: 84-43 (5-4 postseason)
Outlook at Washington State:
Of the big three hires we've seen so far, this fit is absolutely the most spectacular and best. When it comes to winning in backwater college towns, pirate connoisseur Mike Leach is right up there with the legendary Bill Snyder in terms of guys who win big despite coaching in the sticks. Considering athletic director Bill Moos wanted a flashy offense that would "light up the scoreboard," getting Leach's Air Raid offensive attack was a humongous coup for the Cougars. Moos doesn't (or shouldn't) expect conference championships every single year, but Wazzu can be competitive and has been in the past, including going to its fair share of Rose Bowls. It also has churned out QB's you've heard of like Drew Bledsoe, Mark Rypien, and Ryan Leaf (see video). That's not to say everything is rosy in Pullman, though. There are a few sticking points for me.
WSU is paying Leach a hefty sum of money, almost $2M per year out of an estimated athletic department budget of $38M. Then there is the little matter of two pending lawsuits related to and stemming from alleged mistreatment of Adam James by Leach while at Texas Tech. Leach is eccentric and does come with some baggage and will say awfully weird and rude things from time to time, but Wazzu will put up with that as long as Leach's teams put up the points and wins...and I expect him to do well.
On a scale of 1-10, 10 being "Nick Saban-esque", I'd say about a 7.5...which is about a 10 for Washington State.
Urban Meyer, Ohio State
Age: 47
Coaching Résumé
Ohio State (1986-87)- Tight Ends and Wide Receivers Coach
Illinois State (1988-89)- Outside Linebackers/Quarterbacks/Wide Receivers Coach
Colorado State (1990-95)- Wide Receivers Coach
Notre Dame (1996-2000)- Wide Receivers Coach
Bowling Green (2001-02)- Head Coach...2001 MAC Coach of the Year
- Record: 17-6
Utah (2003-04)- Head Coach....2004 Coach of the Year...2003 and 2004 MWC Coach of the Year...2-0 in bowl games
- Record: 22-2
Florida (2005-10) Head Coach...5-1 in bowl games (4-0 BCS games)...2-time National Champion
- Record: 65-15
Career Record: 104-23 (7-1 in bowl games)
Outlook at Ohio State:
In the biggest shock since Europeans discovered there was land between Europe and Asia (that's sarcasm, folks), the Ohio native Urban Meyer stepped out of his one-year retirement to take the position he once professed to be his "dream job."
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| Dream job indeed |
To that end, it's a perfect marriage as both Ohio State and Meyer really love each other. Philosophically, it'll be an adjustment for the Buckeyes, long-used to seeing bulldozing rushing attacks led by power backs like Archie Griffin, Eddie George, Robert Smith, and Maurice Clarett. I expect Ohio State to be fairly patient with Meyer, as they know that with looming NCAA penalties on the horizon it might be a couple of years before the Buckeyes can officially win any Big Ten and National Championships. With that in mind, Ohio State can afford to wait for Meyer to assemble the athletes he wants to fit his spread option scheme. Once he gets those, Ohio State will win big in the Big Ten. In the meantime, they'll have to manage his stress and fatigue levels. The best way to do that? Pay his staff a really nice salary so they stick around and keep him sane. That's the big risk with Meyer.
Scale of 1-10....I'd give it a solid 9.5, even with Ohio State's insanely high expectations and Meyer's durability concern.
For your bonus, I'll rank the remaining other positions available from best job to worst job.
1. Texas A&M- SEC newbie + easy access to Texas's rich high school talent pipeline = good chance at success, IMO. Sure you got to deal with that conference, but if Arkansas can win, why not A&M?
2. North Carolina- Winnable conference to say the least. Nice facilities, too.
3. Penn State- This would typically be #1 for almost anyone else, but you might've heard that place is a mess right now...off the field and at QB.
4. Arizona State- Arizona is rebuilding, UCLA has no coach, USC is entering its reduced scholarships phase of NCAA purgatory, and the rest of the Pac 12 South isn't that impressive. It should have been easier to win there for Dennis Erickson.
5. Illinois- Kind of on the fence with this program. Some weeks you're like, "Hey, they've got some talent..." Then the next week you're saying "ew!" like an adolescent girl dissecting a frog. You can win here, just don't expect to playing on January 1st that often.
6. UCLA- I'm not convinced they're fully committed to winning in football. Not my cup o' tea if I'm the new guy. It beats the other alternatives, though.
7. Ole Miss- Let's see....division games against Alabama, LSU, Arkansas, Auburn, and Mississippi State every year. Oh and then you play some combination of South Carolina, Florida, Georgia, Tennessee and Vandy for your 8 conference games. No wonder they can't win consistently. That schedule is brutal!
8. Kansas- They only gave Turner Gill two years to win with what was left of the human mound's players? Really?
9. UAB- Well, I guess you could do worse than taking over a team in a winnable conference with access to Alabama and Auburn's table scraps.
10. Memphis- Ummmm.....it's Memphis. I think I personally would take this job if they just offered it to me on the street, but only, only, only, only as my first gig and as a stepping stone to bigger and better things...I'm looking at you Derek Dooley.... That bright orange "T" out in Knoxville could use my help....
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