Every season, a bunch of coaches change jobs, whether by choice or not. Each situation they find themselves in now is unique. Here are the new college football coaches in new places for 2023.
Related: College Football Coaching Changes
College Football Coaches in New Places
ACC
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets: Brent Key
Geoff Collins had a tough job turning the Yellow Jackets from a triple-option offense to a more traditional one. It didn’t work out and Key took over shortly after the start of last season. He led the Yellow Jackets to a 4-4 record, but due to their slow start, they didn’t qualify for a bowl game. They did have some good wins last season, as they defeated Pittsburgh, Duke, Virginia Tech and North Carolina, the latter three of which made a bowl game. He has five returning starters back on offense and six on defense, which should help, but Georgia Tech is not an easy job. Key will have his work cut out for him.
Louisville Cardinals: Jeff Brohm
After Cincinnati hired Scott Satterfield, Louisville was able to hire a coveted local coach in Jeff Brohm who had some success at Purdue. Brohm was 36-34 at Purdue, but there is hope that he can do more at Louisville’s resources and his recruiting ties. He has just 10 total returning starters, but if Brohm can get the offense going they could be solid again after going 8-5 last year.
Big 12
Cincinnati Bearcats: Scott Satterfield
Cincinnati had to replace Luke Fickell, which wasn’t an easy task. They settled on Satterfield, who helped Appalachian State transition from the FCS to the FBS. Cincinnati is making a transition of their own from the AAC to the Big 12. Satterfield can help with that transition. What will make the transition to a better conference even tougher is that the Bearcats only have four returning starters back. The Bearcats can find success in the Big 12, but it might take a while to build their roster back up.
Big Ten
Nebraska Cornhuskers: Matt Rhule
The Scott Frost era at Nebraska did not go as planned. Nebraska made a good pivot to hire Matt Rhule, who didn’t find success in the NFL, but has notably turned programs around quickly at the college level. Both Temple and Baylor started off slowly in year one, but then turned things around and won double-digit games within a few seasons. That is what it is going to take at Nebraska. Rhule has 11 total returning starters, but certainly have enough talent to make a bowl game in year one with Rhule’s coaching.
Northwestern Wildcats: David Braun
After an investigation into hazing going on in the program, Pat Fitzgerald was fired. David Braun has been named the interim coach. He joined Northwestern as the defensive coordinator this offseason. Braun is inheriting a disaster. Not only does he have to clean up the hazing going on in the program, but he also has just seven returning starters from a team that went 1-11 last season. The short term looks bleak for Braun at Northwestern, but he could turn things around, albeit slowly.
Purdue Boilermakers: Ryan Walters
Jeff Brohm left to take the Louisville job, which meant that Purdue needed a new face of the program. They hired Ryan Walters, who was previously the defensive coordinator for Illinois. After having an offensive-minded coach in Brohm, the move to Walters is a significant one. He inherits 10 returning starters and has some talent coming in as well, including Texas transfer Hudson Card. It will be hard for Walters to match what Brohm did, but he has some good players to start with.
Wisconsin Badgers: Luke Fickell
Fickell was doing an incredible job at Cincinnati, where he posted a 57-18 record. That includes him going 4-8 in his first season. Wisconsin hired a coach who is a good fit, given his Midwestern ties and his defensive mindset. The offense will change a bit, but that is probably for the better. Just 11 starters are back, but the Badgers can rely on the running game and Braelon Allen to move the chains, while Fickell tries to work magic on defense. Fickell has a chance at long-term success in Madison, but also could win the Big Ten West in year one.
Pac-12
Arizona State Sun Devils: Kenny Dillingham
Arizona State decided to replace Herm Edwards with a young alum in Kenny Dillingham. Before getting the job, he was the offensive coordinator at Oregon and Florida State. The offensive mindset will help an offense that ranked 76th last season. He has just eight returning starters and it looks like it will take some time to get the Sun Devils back on track. Conference realignment could also change how the rebuilding job goes.
Colorado Buffaloes: Deion Sanders
Colorado has been in the news a ton lately. First, they hired Deion Sanders. Right after that, they hit the transfer portal hard and have plenty of new faces. Then they announced that they will be joining the Big 12. The publicity has been good for the school. Sanders will have limited returning talent, but that was by design, as the Buffaloes won just one game last season. With all of his talented transfers, depth is still an issue. It would be hard to predict success in year one, but Sanders will have plenty of talent coming through Colorado soon.
Stanford Cardinal: Troy Taylor
Taylor has the tough job of replacing David Shaw, who started off well at Stanford before things tailed off. He formerly was the head coach at Sacramento State, so he does know the California area well for recruiting. The tough part of the job is that he’ll have just five returning starters and Stanford doesn’t know what their future conference is at the moment. This will be a very tough job for Taylor considering those factors.
SEC
Auburn Tigers: Hugh Freeze
Freeze is making his return to the SEC with Auburn. The former Ole Miss coach had a 39-25 record with the Rebels and then had a 34-15 record with Liberty. He will have the offense running better, but does just have 10 total returning starters. Freeze can win a lot of games at Auburn, but he’ll have to keep things clean on a recruiting and off-the-field front, which has given him trouble in the past. Year one might be tough, but once he’s able to recruit a few classes, Freeze could lock himself into the job for a longer period of time.
Mississippi State Bulldogs: Zach Arnett
It is never easy replacing a coach that passed away. That is especially true for Mike Leach, who had the brains and personality that set him apart from all other coaches. The Bulldogs turned the reins of the program over to Arnett, the defensive coordinator, for the bowl game. He won the game and Mississippi State awarded him the job on a full-time basis. He has 12 returning starters, including quarterback Will Rodgers. The Bulldogs are projected to finish near the bottom of the SEC, but a bowl game shouldn’t be out of the question.
Group of Five
Charlotte 49ers: Biff Poggi
Poggi takes over at Charlotte after being a long-time high school coach. He also has been an assistant at the Citadel and Michigan. Poggi will have his work cut out for him, but his background as a high school coach in the area may help with recruiting.
Coastal Carolina Chanticleers: Tim Beck
Beck has the hard job of following Jamey Chadwell for the Coastal Carolina job. He has enough on the roster to win the Sun Belt in year one with Grayson McCall at quarterback. His offensive style meshing with what Coastal Carolina has done in the past will be key. He was the offensive coordinator at NC State last season where their offense ranked 93rd, so Beck has to prove himself.
FAU Owls: Tom Herman
Following his firing from Texas, Herman took some time off and was an analyst for the Chicago Bears. Herman has a good offensive mind that could really help the Owls as they transition into the AAC.
Kent State Golden Flashes: Kenni Burns
Kent State saw their head coach Sean Lewis leave to be an assistant at Colorado. Burns was hired after being an assistant at Minnesota. He has ties to the midwest, but has a lot of work to do as the Golden Flashes return just five total starters.
Liberty Flames: Jamey Chadwell
It was a curious move for Chadwell to leave Coastal Carolina for Liberty, but the Flames now have a coach that has a good offense. He can keep the success that Hugh Freeze found at the school and continue that into the future.
Navy Midshipmen: Brian Newberry
Newberry is taking over after being Navy’s defensive coordinator. Navy won 11 games in 2019, but have fallen fast. Newberry was the defensive coordinator, but now as head coach he will have to turn things around which isn’t always easy to do when a coach has already been involved in the program.
North Texas: Eric Morris
Morris is a former star receiver at Texas Tech. He was the head coach at Incarnate Word through 2021 and last year was the offensive coordinator at Washington State. Morris knows how to operate a good passing attack, which can help the Mean Green find success.
Texas State Bobcats: G.J. Kinne
Kinne is a former quarterback for Tulsa and spent some time in the NFL. Since retiring, he has been an offensive assistant and coordinator in the college game and the NFL. He was the head coach at Incarnate Word last season and like Morris knows how to coach a good passing offense.
Tulsa Golden Hurricane: Kevin Wilson
Tulsa is bringing in Wilson, who was formerly the head coach at Indiana and an offensive coordinator at Ohio State. He resigned at Indiana after an investigation into his treatment of players. Wilson can improve Tulsa’s offense, but it will be tough in the AAC.
UAB Blazers: Trent Dilfer
The former NFL quarterback and ESPN analyst turned to coaching and is now moving up from the high school ranks. So far, it looks like he is passionate about the UAB job and can keep the success that Bill Clark started going.
UNLV Rebels: Barry Odom
Odom is the former Missouri head coach where he posted a 25-25 record. Missouri isn’t an easy job in the SEC though and after going back to being a defensive coordinator at Arkansas, Odom will get a chance to prove himself at UNLV. The school hasn’t shown to be great at sustaining success or consistency, so Odom will have to change things.
USF Bulls: Alex Golesh
Golesh is notable for being Tennessee’s offensive coordinator the last two seasons. He helped Tennessee score a ton of points and developed Hendon Hooker. USF hasn’t had much success over the last decade or so, so Golesh needs to implement the offense quickly.
Western Michigan Broncos: Lance Taylor
Taylor is a former Alabama receiver who has worked as an assistant in the NFL and in college. Last season, he was Louisville’s offensive coordinator. Like most new jobs, there is some rebuilding to do at Western Michigan, but they have found success before and Taylor could do the same.
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