College Football Preview: Coaching Carousel, Part 2

With the college football season rapidly approaching, KSJ will looks at the teams, players, coaches, and issues surrounding college football

Yesterday I looked at part 1 of the coaching carousel in college football. And today we continue to look at the new coaches in college football.

Mississippi State, Dan Mullen
Previous Job: Offensive Coordinator, Florida
Previous Coach: Sylvester Croom
Analysis: Mullen was the man behind Urban Meyer all these years. He is also known to groom great college quarterback(see; Alex Smith & Tim Tebow). Mullen though has no coaching experience and is going into a rough place to coach at Mississippi St. I think it's a great hire because he wants to be in Starkville and willing to find the right players to fit his spread offense.

Oregon, Chip Kelly
Previous Job: Offensive Coordinator, Oregon
Previous Coach: Mike Bellotti
Analysis: Kelly was named the coach-in-waiting last season and former coach Bellotti decided to step down earlier this season to become the AD at Oregon. Kelly has no head coaching experience but he has been an successful assistant coach and recruiter. Oregon shouldn't miss a beat, because they are familiar with Oregon. I personally thought Oregon should have tried to hire Boise St. coach Chris Peterson instead of naming Kelly as the successor. And Kelly hasn't exactly gotten off to a hot start as several members of the team decided to transfer. Oregon still returns a talented team so the jury will still be out on Kelly as a head coach.

New Mexico, Mike Locksley
Previous Job: Illinois
Previous Coach: Rocky Long
Analysis: Well the excitement in New Mexico completely dissipated after being accused of sexual harassment. He is of course Innocent until proven guilty, but that is not the way to start at a new job. Locksley is one of the best recruiters in the nation and was a crucial part of the turnaround at Illinois. If he can get past the sexual harassment charges, this should be an excellent hire.

New Mexico State, Dwayne Walker
Previous Job: Defensive Coordinator, UCLA
Previous Coach: Hal Mumme
Analysis: Walker wanted to be a head coach and he got his wish. Only one problem though, New Mexico St. hasn't been to a bowl game in over 40 years. Walker did an excellent job as the defensive coordinator at UCLA. His teams were always ranked near the top of the Pac-10 in overall defense. He is ready to be a head coach, but he will face a mountain of a challenge at New Mexico St.

Purdue, Danny Hope
Previous Job: Assistant Head Coach, Purdue
Previous Coach: Joe Tiller
Analysis: Hope was another coach-in-waiting. He was named the successor to former coach Joe Tiller last season. Hope was an head coach for five seasons at Eastern Kentucky has been an offensive coordinator at Purdue and Louisville. He will look to turnaround a program that has fallen on hard times since the bearded one Kyle Orton was the quarterback.

San Diego State, Brady Hoke
Previous Job: Head Coach, Ball St.
Previous Coach: Chuck Long
Analysis: San Diego St. better hope Brady Hoke is a lot better than predecessor Chuck Long. Of course nothing could be worse than the 9-27 record that the Chuck Long tenure produced. Hoke is a very good coach, producing a great turnaround at Ball St. But San Diego St. is completely different. First of all they have to compete with both UCLA and USC for recruits. And second they play in a decrypted stadium which is hard to convince recruits to come and play there. Hoke is known as a quality recruiter and an excellent defensive coach and he has put together a great coaching staff. Excellent hire.

Syracuse, Doug Marrone
Previous Job: Offensive Coordinator, New Orleans Saints
Previous Coach: Greg Robinson
Analysis: Another this coach can't be as bad as the last coach situation. Greg Robinson was an complete disaster in his tenure at Syracuse. Of course Syracuse did beat Norte Dame last year, but that's another coaching disaster. So what does Syracuse do to replace Robinson? They bring in another NFL assistant coach. Like Robinson, Marrone was an NFL assistant before landing in Syracuse. Morrene though is an graduate of Syracuse, so he knows the recruiting landscape. Marrone is also very passionate about the school and will do everything in his powers to make Syracuse a contender again.

Toledo, Tim Beckman
Previous Job: Defensive Coordinator, Oklahoma St.
Previous Coach: Tom Amstutz
Analysis: Beckman has never been an head coach and never produced a great defense at Oklahoma St. He's spent time coaching in Ohio, so he knows the landscape, and Toledo is one of the best coaching jobs in the MAC.

Utah State, Gary Anderson
Previous Job: Defensive Coordinator, Utah
Previous Coach: Brent Guy
Analysis: Anderson is highly regarded as a recruiter and an defensive coordinator. He also has coaching experience and has spent the majority of his coaching life in Utah. Utah St. will be a difficult to turnaround, but Anderson is the right man for the job.

Washington, Steve Sarkisian
Previous Job: Offensive Coordinator, USC
Previous Coach: Tyrone Willingham
Analysis: Another this coach can't be worse than the previous coach. Tyrone Willingham was an disaster in Seattle. So enter Sarkisian, who is familiar with the Pac-10 after spending time on the USC coaching staff. Sarkisian has also put together an hell of a coaching staff, convincing Nick Holt to jump from USC to Washington for the defensive coordinator spot. Washington has the recourse's to be a contender in the Pac-10, and it will be Sarkisian's job to get them there.

Wyoming, Dave Christensen
Previous Job: Offensive Coordinator, Missouri
Previous Coach: Joe Glenn
Analysis: A lot of great coaches in college football history once stopped in Wyoming. Could Christensen be the next? Christensen was a key ingredient in Missouri's turnaround the past couple of seasons. He groomed Chase Daniel into one of the best quarterbacks in college. Christensen though hasn't been an head coach, and Wyoming hasn't had a winning season in a while.