The AAC will be undergoing a dramatic makeover following the 2022 football season, as three of its premier football brands — Cincinnati, Houston and UCF — are set to depart for the Big 12. The exit of those three will coincide with the arrival of Charlotte, Florida Atlantic, North Texas, UTSA, Rice and UAB from Conference USA. Collectively, the makeover will change the dynamics of the league, which has stood out in recent years from its Group of Five peers for success on the gridiron.
As the transition transpires, a void for coaching leadership within the conference will emerge. Cincinnati coach Luke Fickell, UCF’s Gus Malzahn and Houston’s Dana Holgorsen are each big names in the profession. The hole created by their absences could allow a new coach such as Jeff Traylor of UTSA, Bill Clark at UAB or Willie Taggart at FAU to come in and claim some early clout.
Before we get to the future of the AAC, though, there is still one more season to go under the league’s current configuration, and it will be coached by a mostly familiar group of men. Stan Drayton is in for Rod Carey at Temple and Rhett Lashlee has replaced Sonny Dykes at SMU, but the other nine coaches are familiar faces returning to the league.
So without further ado, here is how our staff at CBS Sports voted in a breakdown of the AAC coaches entering 2022. Voters used varying criteria that absorbs head-coaching history, recent on-field results, future potential and intangibles into one ranking.
Fickell solidified his stranglehold atop the AAC coach rankings by leading Cincinnati to a College Football Playoff appearance last season. He is 44-7 over his last four years since posting a 4-8 mark in his debut campaign at the helm. As the first coach to ever guide a Group of Five school to the CFP, Fickell has been provided with opportunities to move up the ladder to the Power Five. Instead, he’s building a legacy with a…
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