Well Bunk, this time last year most Auburn fans anticipated that we needed to make a head coaching change to regain hope and hasten decline in roster management and on the recruiting trail. One year later we have CBH, a 6-2 record with two big road wins, and an improving recruiting class that will likely be in the 15-20 range and should have several potential impact transfers that will not count in the rankings. With that said, several teams find themselves in Auburn’s shoes from a season ago, and looking at it from a 10,000 ft view this is how I see it playing out:
Southern Cal: They will target James Franklin early and decide after getting leveraged by Franklin for a nice pay day with Penn State to turn to and land Southern California native Dave Aranda. Not a sexy hire, but neither was Pete Carrol and we know how that turned out.
LSU: It seems as though LSU is destined to land a Saban disciple with their next hire, or that’s how it feels right now. I’m sure I’ll be wrong here, but after Woodward chases Jimbo Fisher, Mario Cristobal and Mel Tucker, they will end up with Bill O’Brien (big change from my previous projection). This will be a calamity for LSU but I get the feeling that’s the way this search is trending. However if O’Brien is the hire he’ll never have better access to talent, facilities, and support the way he will at LSU, so maybe it all works out.
Florida: This is the job that I think @Rejects favorite G5 Coach Billy Napier finally decides he wants. Florida will offer plenty of support, he’s familiar with the recruiting landscape from his time in the SEC. With the right coaching staff UF can be a consistent championship caliber program in the SEC along with teams like Alabama, UGA, LSU, A&M and when we’re right Auburn. Those are your premier teams in our league when everything is as it should be.
Miami: Lane Kiffin heads back to South Beach for a chance to compete for championships in the ACC every year, which will not happen at Ole Miss. While he’s always going to keep the Rebs competitive, Kiffin has a chance to do something special with the Canes and he’s a big city Miami kind of guy that is a perfect fit for their culture.
TCU: It’s going to be to Sonny Dykes as he presses all the right buttons for what they are looking for in FT Worth.
Ole Miss: The Rebels promote Jeff Lebby and it’s the right move as I think Lebby is a very good coach and recruiter.
Virginia Tech - I’d hire Texas A&M DC Mike Elko as his DNA is tailor made for that job. Instead Va Tech will hire a solid Head Coach in Dave Clawson and I understand it, I just think Elko is a perfect fit for VT.
Washington - The Huskies brass want an avid recruiter to take charge of their program, but I think they’ll land on solid program builder Justin Wilcox. Wilcox is a very good talent evaluator and a solid defensive coach who will get far more support and better facilities at UW than he ever had at Cal.
Baylor: OC Jeff Grimes gets promoted and it’s the right call.
Arizona State - Jay Norvell has been linked to this job for a while now behind the scenes, and I think he’s a really good fit for the people in Tempe.
Texas Tech: If it’s me and I’m the AD at TT I’m hiring Art Briles and I don’t give shit what anybody else in the league thinks. Briles is a proven winner and that program is on life support. That said I don’t expect TT brass to let that hire happen so I’ll go with Baylor Associate HC Joey McGuire as he seems to fit what TT brass is looking for.
Washington State - Kalen Deboar is a fantastic young offensive mind who follows a long list of good offensive minded head coaches at WSU (Mike Price, Mike Leach, Rolovich).
SMU: The Ponies will stick with an offensive minded HC who has Texas recruiting ties and bring in Arkansas OC Kendall Briles. KB is ready for a HC job and SMU is a fantastic job to cut his teeth on.
Louisiana - UL has turned into a premier G5 job that will no doubt have plenty of suitors. I think Miami OC Rhett Lashlee gets the job and will be more successful than most Auburn fans would anticipate.
That’s it for now, but I’m looking forward to seeing how close this is in about 4-5 weeks from now.
Southern Cal: They will target James Franklin early and decide after getting leveraged by Franklin for a nice pay day with Penn State to turn to and land Southern California native Dave Aranda. Not a sexy hire, but neither was Pete Carrol and we know how that turned out.
LSU: It seems as though LSU is destined to land a Saban disciple with their next hire, or that’s how it feels right now. I’m sure I’ll be wrong here, but after Woodward chases Jimbo Fisher, Mario Cristobal and Mel Tucker, they will end up with Bill O’Brien (big change from my previous projection). This will be a calamity for LSU but I get the feeling that’s the way this search is trending. However if O’Brien is the hire he’ll never have better access to talent, facilities, and support the way he will at LSU, so maybe it all works out.
Florida: This is the job that I think @Rejects favorite G5 Coach Billy Napier finally decides he wants. Florida will offer plenty of support, he’s familiar with the recruiting landscape from his time in the SEC. With the right coaching staff UF can be a consistent championship caliber program in the SEC along with teams like Alabama, UGA, LSU, A&M and when we’re right Auburn. Those are your premier teams in our league when everything is as it should be.
Miami: Lane Kiffin heads back to South Beach for a chance to compete for championships in the ACC every year, which will not happen at Ole Miss. While he’s always going to keep the Rebs competitive, Kiffin has a chance to do something special with the Canes and he’s a big city Miami kind of guy that is a perfect fit for their culture.
TCU: It’s going to be to Sonny Dykes as he presses all the right buttons for what they are looking for in FT Worth.
Ole Miss: The Rebels promote Jeff Lebby and it’s the right move as I think Lebby is a very good coach and recruiter.
Virginia Tech - I’d hire Texas A&M DC Mike Elko as his DNA is tailor made for that job. Instead Va Tech will hire a solid Head Coach in Dave Clawson and I understand it, I just think Elko is a perfect fit for VT.
Washington - The Huskies brass want an avid recruiter to take charge of their program, but I think they’ll land on solid program builder Justin Wilcox. Wilcox is a very good talent evaluator and a solid defensive coach who will get far more support and better facilities at UW than he ever had at Cal.
Baylor: OC Jeff Grimes gets promoted and it’s the right call.
Arizona State - Jay Norvell has been linked to this job for a while now behind the scenes, and I think he’s a really good fit for the people in Tempe.
Texas Tech: If it’s me and I’m the AD at TT I’m hiring Art Briles and I don’t give shit what anybody else in the league thinks. Briles is a proven winner and that program is on life support. That said I don’t expect TT brass to let that hire happen so I’ll go with Baylor Associate HC Joey McGuire as he seems to fit what TT brass is looking for.
Washington State - Kalen Deboar is a fantastic young offensive mind who follows a long list of good offensive minded head coaches at WSU (Mike Price, Mike Leach, Rolovich).
SMU: The Ponies will stick with an offensive minded HC who has Texas recruiting ties and bring in Arkansas OC Kendall Briles. KB is ready for a HC job and SMU is a fantastic job to cut his teeth on.
Louisiana - UL has turned into a premier G5 job that will no doubt have plenty of suitors. I think Miami OC Rhett Lashlee gets the job and will be more successful than most Auburn fans would anticipate.
That’s it for now, but I’m looking forward to seeing how close this is in about 4-5 weeks from now.
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