College Football Head Coaching Changes for the 2016-17 Season
By Loot, NCAA Football Handicapper, Lootmeister.com
It's not easy to stay abreast of all the coaching changes in college football. Each year, there are a handful of college coaching changes and this year that number tops out at over two dozen. It can make quite an impact on the game, with such a large number of teams taking on new systems and approaches. Let's take a look at all the different coaching changes heading into the 2016 season, as we start to develop our perceptions for the upcoming season. Here are the new head coaches:
Ball State Cardinals—Mike Neu: The 45-year old has held a lot of different positions across many different levels of football. After spending the last two seasons as the QB coach for the Saints, Neu returns to the college ranks.
Bowling Green Falcons—Mike Jinks: At 49, Jinks earns his first college head-coaching job. Basically a high school guy until joining the Texas Tech staff in 2013, the 44-year old takes over a rising BGSU squad.
BYU Cougars—Kalani Sitake: The former BYU fullback and graduate assistant returns home as the Cougars' head coach. The Tonga-born 40-year old gets his first head coaching job after spending the last decade as a positions coach in the Pac-12.
Central Florida Knights—Scott Frost: Replacing longtime head coach George O'Leary, the 41-year old former Nebraska standout gets his first head coaching job with the Knights. For the past three seasons, Frost was the offensive coordinator for Oregon.
East Carolina Pirates—Scottie Montgomery: A former NFL player with a brief career, the 37-year old Montgomery served as Duke's offensive coordinator for the past two seasons. Montgomery replaces Ruffin McNeil.
Georgia Bulldogs—Kirby Smart: After 8 seasons as the Alabama defensive coordinator, Smart, 40, strikes out on his own. Georgia will have a new face on the sidelines since 2000, as Smart returns to his alma mater, where he was a DB from 1995-98.
Georgia Southern Eagles—Tyson Summers: Having bounced around as a positions coach for the past 14 seasons, Summers gets his first head coaching job. He coached the safeties at Georgia Southern in 2006.
Hawai'i Rainbow Warriors—Nick Rolovich: Having played for Hawai'i and serving as an assistant coach here, the 37-year old Rolovich returns as the head coach, as he tries to get the Rainbow Warriors on the right track.
Illinois Fighting Illini—Lovie Smith: Puzzlingly fired as the head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Smith is brought on to coach the Fightin Illini. It is the first head coaching job in college for the 57-year old, who was a position coach at this level for over a decade.
Iowa State Cyclones—Matt Campbell: The 36-year old Campbell takes over for Paul Rhoads after spending four-plus years with Toledo. Campbell won 9 games in three of his four years with the Rockets.
Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks—Matt Viator: After a decade at McNeese State where he was 78-33, the 52-year old takes over for the Warhawks, who slid to a one-win season in 2015.
Maryland Terrapins—D.J. Durkin: The 38-year old Durkin is brought on to get the Terps rolling in the Big Ten. Durkin received accolades for his work with the Michigan "D" as their coordinator last season. This is his first head coaching gig.
Memphis Tigers—Mike Norvell: The 34-year old up-and-comer takes over the Tigers job with the departure of Justin Fuente who is off to Virginia Tech. Norvell spent the past four years as the offensive coordinator for Arizona State.
Miami Hurricanes—Mark Richt: After a 15-year stretch with the Georgia Bulldogs, Richt leaves the SEC and tries to revive the Miami Hurricanes program. The 56-year old is a former quarterback for the Hurricanes.
Missouri Tigers—Barry Odom: After 15 seasons with Gary Pinkel, the Tigers will have a new leader in Barry Odom. The 39-year old has spent the past dozen years working for the program, the last seven as a coach.
North Texas Mean Green—Seth Littrell: The former Oklahoma reserve running back is another first-time head coach in this year's mix. Littrell, 37, spent the past two seasons on the UNC coaching staff.
Rutgers Scarlet Knights—Chris Ash: The longtime defensive coach gets his first head coaching job at age 42, as he tries to lift Rutgers up to the ranks of respectability in the Big Ten. He spent the last two seasons as co-defensive coordinator for Ohio State.
South Carolina Gamecocks—Will Muschamp: The former Florida Gators coach spent one season as Auburn's defensive coordinator, before returning to the head coaching ranks with South Carolina, taking over for longtime coach Steve Spurrier.
Southern Miss Golden Eagles—Jay Hopson: Hopson looks to keep the Southern Miss program on the rise after the departure of Todd Monken. Hopson, 47, is a former positions coach for Southern Miss, having spent the past four seasons as Alcorn State's head coach.
Syracuse Orangemen—Dino Babers: The longtime assistant began establishing his credentials as a head coach several seasons ago. And after an 18-9 run at Bowling Green over the past few seasons, he takes over at Syracuse in his first high-profile gig.
Texas State Bobcats—Everett Withers: The former North Carolina and James Madison head coach takes over for Texas State. The 52-year old is 25-13 lifetime as a head coach.
Toledo Rockets—Jason Candle: With Matt Campbell off to Iowa State, the Toledo gig goes to another youngster in the 36-year old Candle. He has spent the past seven seasons on the Toledo staff, as the Rockets go in-house for their next coach.
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Tulane Green Wave—Willie Fritz: The 56-year old Fritz is a veteran head coach with over two decades of experience. His last gig was a two-year stretch with Georgia Southern, where he went 17-7.
UTSA Roadrunners—Frank Wilson: After 6 seasons as one of Les Miles' more-valued assistants at LSU, the 42-year old Wilson cracks into the head coaching ranks at Texas-San Antonio, taking over for Larry Coker.
Virginia Cavaliers—Bronco Mendenhall: After an 11-year run as the BYU Cougars head coach, Mendenhall takes over for Mike London. The 50-year old Mendenhall has six bowl victories to his credit.
Virginia Tech Hokies—Justin Fuente: Virginia Tech will have a new face on the sidelines for the first time since 1986 with Justin Fuente taking over for the retired Frank Beamer. Fuente was Memphis' head coach for four years, winning 19 games in the past two seasons.
