All three of these guys are very well respected and are waiting for the "right" job to open. But that's the problem. All three of those coordinators are very qualified for the top level jobs, but I'm not sure they'd be hired for one specific reason. No head coaching experience. It's very rare for one of the elite jobs to hire a coordinator. Florida did it most recently with Will Muschamp and he's on the hot seat now.
Now I'm not saying that these coordinators should just go take the first job offered. You still want to go to a place where you can have success. Look at what Gus Malzahn did. Probably knowing that Gene Chizik would be fired he took the Arkansas State job for a year building off Hugh Freeze's success and parlayed that experience into the Auburn job. Could wee see a new trend starting? Personally I think Chad Morris could be a good hire by Texas if Mack Brown is gone. But would Texas hire a coordinator? I don't think so.
Let's take a look at which top coordinators should go to help build that experience and what school might be
Pat Narduzzi
Stepping stone job: Bowling Green or UConn End Job: Nebraska
He's done a great job with Mark Dantonio building year in and year out the best defense in the Big 10 and this year the nation. He's very aggressive dialing up exotic blitizes and putting pressure on offenses to make mistakes. He was thought to be the favorite at Cincinnati before they hired Tommy Tubberville. A good place he could end up is either UConn because of his ties to the Northeast or even Bowling Green if Dave Clawson takes another job. The Bowling Green job would give him a chance for a ready made success and that could help him get a job like the Nebraska one. Bo Pelini is on the hot seat and is due to leave Lincoln within the next few years. Whether by choice or because he has to. Narduzzi would be a perfect fit with his aggressive defense and likely ball control offense.
Chad Morris
Stepping Stone Job: SMU End Job: Texas A&M
With Morris uptempo spread attack having such great success at Clemson he's become a favorite for many jobs. Before coming to Clemson Morris was the offensive coordinator at Tulsa. Before that he was a high school head coach in Texas for 17 years. Those ties would make him a great coach within the state of Texas. That's why I thought he should have been the choice at Texas Tech instead of Kliff Kingsbury. I'd be a fan of Morris getting the Texas job, but that's likely to open this year. What he could do is take the SMU job if June Jones is let go (looks likely). Morris can build off of Jones' work and use his connections to make the Mustangs a player in the AAC. That could lead to a job at Texas A&M. Let's be honest. Sumlin isn't going to be at A&M for that much longer. He lobbied for the USC job and has end goals of being an NFL coach.
Kirby Smart
Stepping Stone Job: Florida Atlantic End Job: Alabama or Georgia
With all the success that Alabama is having, especially on defense it's no wonder why every school wants Smart. The problem is that he's clearly in Nick Saban's shadow and some athletic directions might be worried that away from Saban he won't be as effective. And I'm not convinced that Alabama would turn the keys over to him when Saban retires if he is still the coordinator there.Going to a school like Florida Atlantic would give Smart a great spot to prove them wrong. The Owls aren't too far off from competing in Conference USA and would allow Smart to continue to gain connections in Florida. That could allow him to go back to his alma mater when Richt finally leaves. Or go back to Alabama and secure his spot as Saban's successor.
No comments:
Post a Comment