FanNation - The Republic of Sport

       Today New Mexico State hired UCLA Defensive Coordinator DeWayne Walker as their new HC. This meant that all twenty jobs in college football that were open are now filled, so I decided to rank each hire. Some people probably won't agree with my rankings (those in Knoxville or Alabama), but I will explain each pick. The order is #20 is the worst, #1 the best. Let's start with #20. 


#20. Lane Kiffin, Tennessee - I'm a Tennessee fan, so I got excited when there were talks that Mike Leach might become the next Vols head coach. But those talks died down, and Tennessee went after and got a formerNFL head coach of a pretty bad team: Lane Kiffin. Maybe it will work out, but I just don't think Kiffin can thrive in SEC territory.

#19. Gene Chizik, Auburn - Chizik isn't on the list because of the controversy of his hire (Auburn not hiring Turner Gill possibly because of his skin color and the skin color of his wife), but just Chizik's resume. Chizik did nothing at Iowa State except change their uniform. Don't be shocked if Chizik isn't listed with the university in three or four years.

#18. Mike Locksley, New Mexico - I don't understand how Illinois can got 5-7 and their offensive coordinator can get a head coaching job. I don't know much about Locksley, but I personally wonder what about him made the Lobos decide to hire him.

#17. Mike Haywood, Miami (OH) - Haywood was able to escape Notre Dame and all the controversy surrounding their struggles to come to Miami and try to rebuild a once-dominating team in the MAC. The main reason this hire is so low is that Haywood has no head coaching experience and, like Locksley, the team they are coming from were not too good as of late (Notre Dame was a little bit better than Illinois). I think Haywood has the ability to rebuild Miami, but I wouldn't be shocked if no progress is ever made.

#16. Paul Rhoads, Iowa State - This hire bothers me also. Rhoads, coming from an Auburn school that went 5-7, is hired at Iowa State to replace Gene Chizik, who went to Auburn to become the new head coach. Auburn's defense was pretty darn good at the beginning of the year (held Mississippi State to 2 points!), but just fell apart at the end (0-36 whooping by Bama). I would not have been surprised if Rhoads would have had no coordinating job in Division IA. Instead, he's named a head coach.

#15. Doug Marrone, Syracuse - I have one question about this hire: "Who is Doug Marrone?" Turns out he is a Syracuse alum and was the offensive coordinator for the New Orleans Saints. Syracuse went after some notable coaches at smaller schools (one being Skip Holtz), but in the end ended up with Marrone. I believe they had no where else to go, as Holtz and some others said they wouldn't take the job, and decided to go with someone who's used to Syracuse.

#14. Dave Clawson, Bowling Green - Another hire that puzzles me. Clawson, the coordinator of a Tennesee offense that led to the firing of Phillip Fulmer, gets rewarding for causing a trainwreck. I believe that this hire was made because of Clawson's work at Richmond and Fordham, not from his job with the Vols. I believe that Clawson could be a pretty good coach, but I believe he'll stay away from the SEC.

#13. Danny Hope, Purdue* - I have an asterisk beside Hope because he was named the replacement for Joe Tiller last year. I don't really know a whole lot about Danny Hope, only that he was the HC at Eastern Kentucky for six years and was the OL coach here last year and from 1997-2001. He has a fitting name, as all Purdue fans can do from now on is Hope.

#12. Stan Parrish, Ball State - Brady Hoke bolted from Ball State to go to California and coach San Diego State (a move that really doesn't make sense to me besides the $). This kind of left Ball State shocked, and I think they made a good move by staying within the team and promoting Stan Parrish to head coach. Parrish was the OC this year and was the QB coach the previous season. He was also the OC at Michigan from 2000 to 2001. I believe that Ball State will still be a competitive team in the MAC, but don't expect another season like 2008 any time soon.

#11. Tim Beckman, Toledo - Toledo did a nice job by snagging Beckman from Oklahoma State. Beckman was the DC for the Cowboys, and the previous two seasons was the CB coach for Ohio State. Toledo had been the best team in the MAC from the end of Gary Pinkel's run as head coach until 2006. The MAC has gotten stronger since the day's when Toledo won almost every game they played, but I think Beckman has a good chance at rebuilding them to at least bowl eligibility every year.

#10. Gary Andersen, Utah State - Andersen was the DC at Utah the last five seasons, and this year moves to try and help out a horrible Utah State team. The Aggies have been horrible (last bowl game was 1997, compiled a 28-75 record over 9 seasons, former HC Brent Guy left with a 9-38 record), and they need someone who can get build up a good defense and help install an offense that can compete with the likes of Fresno State and Boise State year after year. Although that seems near impossible, I believe that Andersen was the best candidate for the job.

#9. Rich Ellerson, Army - I was glad when I found out that Army hired Ellerson. Army is in desperate need of a proven winner, and Ellerson appears to be one. At Cal Poly, Ellerson lead the team to a 52-38 record over eight years before coming to West Point. Ellerson has ties to the Army, as his brother John was a captain of the Army football team in the early 60's. Ellerson runs the triple option offense, which is something that Army has been trying to successfully run without much success. Maybe, just maybe, Ellerson can turn Army around and actually make the Navy vs Army game something to watch again.

#8. Bill Snyder, Kansas State - Snyder is no stranger to K-State, as he was the head coach from 1989 to 2005 and rebuilt the team from the laughingstock of college football to annual contenders. Many may think Snyder is too old (he's 69) to rebuild the team once again, but I would give him the benefit of the doubt. I believe that Snyder will only be in Manhattan for two or three seasons as he tries to just jumpstart the team and turn it over to a younger coach. Who knows? He might wind up coaching into his 80s like Joe Paterno.

#7. Dabo Swinney, Clemson - I've heard sports radio stations ask callers to call in and tell how Swinney got his nickname "Dabo". Answer: When he was little, his older brother couldn't say "That Boy", so he called him "Dabo." The name stuck. Anyway, I remember seeing that he was named the interim head coach and I thought that he would never be a candidate for the head coaching job. The first game I saw him coach changed my mind. After a punt, the punter for Clemson very shuggishly walked back to the sidelines. Dabo ran to him, yelled at him, pointed back to the field, and made the punter run back to the sidelines. That made me like Dabo, and made me believe that he had the stuff to be a head coach somewhere big. Still, I was sort of surpised that Clemson named him head coach, but I believe it was a smart decision.

#6. DeWayne Walker, New Mexico State - People usually don't think of "football" when they see "New Mexico State", but things could change with DeWayne Walker as new head coach. Walker was a highly touted defensive coordinator for UCLA, and it seemed to just be a matter of time before he would become a head coach. There were rumors that Ken Norton was going to become UCLA's next DC. Now that's a possibility as Walker moves to replace Hal Mumme. I believe that New Mexico State has opportunities to become a winning school, but it just didn't pan out under Mumme. I think that things could change with Walker.

#5. Ron English, Eastern Michigan - I considered putting this hire at the top of this list! I believed that English should have been a head coach when Michigan cleared staff after Lloyd Carr retired (I say Michigan should have considered promoted him to head coach), but instead he moved to Louisville to become DC. Although Louisville struggled this year, English is moving back to Michigan to try and turn around an Eastern Michigan squad that hasn't been to a bowl since 1987 (their only bowl) and has had only 6 winning seasons since 1974! English will need all the help he can get, but the Eagles showed some progress at the end of this year, beating Central Michigan 56-52. I would be very surprised if the Eagles never make a bowl while English is head coach.

#4. Brady Hoke, San Diego State - As I mentioned earlier, I don't understand why Hoke left a 12-1 Ball State team to become the head coach of a 2-10 San Diego State team. Can we say "rebuilding"? Hoke might have messed up with this move. I mean, leaving Ball State to go to a BCS school, ok, that's a good move! But leaving Ball State to go to another non-BCS team that's worse than the team you left, just kind of a head scratcher. Although I think it's a dumb move by Hoke, I think it's a brilliant move by San Diego State.

#3. Dave Christensen, Wyoming - Joe Glenn looked to be on the right track with the Cowboys, leading them to a bowl game in his second year. Things just went downhill from there, and they fired Glenn after a 4-8 season. They made the best hire by a non-BCS school by hiring Missouri's OC Dave Christensen. Like a lot of the other coaches on this list, it was only a matter of time before Christensen became a head coach. Wyoming needs to just start from the ground up, and Christensen will be able to install an offense that could be a force to be reckoned with in the Mountain West. If Wyoming gives Christensen all the pieces of the puzzle and let him make all the big decisions considering the team, he can take Wyoming to where it appeared Joe Glenn was leading them.

#2. Steve Sarkisian, Washington - Washington was pathetic this year, finishing the year with an 0-12 record. As expected, Ty Willingham was fired. There was talk that Mike Leach could be going to Washington, but those talks soon ended. Washington made an excellent hire bringing in USC offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian as head coach. He's a lot like the #1 coach: he's young, he's got experience, and he's part of a national championship team. Washington needs to do a lot of things if they want to win any time soon. Luckily, they have Sarkisian to help them out.

And the NUMBER ONE COACHING HIRE IS......................................................................



#1. Dan Mullen, Mississippi State - Like I just said, Mullen is the ultimate new head coach: he's young, he's got a lot of experience, he help build some of the best QBs ever in college football (Alex Smith and Tim Tebow, just to name a few). Mullen had been loyal to Urban Meyer, following him from Bowling Green to Utah to Florida. I was kind of surprised when I heard that Mississippi State pulled this off. It was basically a toss up for #1 between Mullen and Sarkisian, but I felt like there's just something about Mullen that makes him just a litte better head coaching prospect. I believe that Mississippi State will have things turned around in no time, thanks to the work put in by Coach Mullen.