Will it be a busy year on the coaching carousel in college football?
Last year saw some of the more shocking coaching movement in recent history, headlined by Lincoln Riley’s stunning departure from Oklahoma to USC and Brian Kelly leaving his long-time perch at Notre Dame for the appeal of the SEC at LSU.
Which big jobs could open this time around? And which coaches aren’t necessarily on the hot seat, but are under a lot of pressure to show progress in 2022?
Let’s dive in.
Coaches on the hot seat
Scott Frost – Nebraska
Following a historic two-year stint at UCF, Scott Frost was expected to execute a major turnaround at Nebraska, his alma mater. Instead, the Huskers have struggled mightily over his four seasons in Lincoln.
Frost has a 15-27 record and no bowl appearances at Nebraska. In 2021, the Huskers went 3-9 with a 1-8 mark in Big Ten play. Remarkably, they went 0-8 in one-possession games and are 5-20 in one-possession games during Frost’s tenure. His teams have been marred by turnovers, a lack of discipline and exceptionally poor special teams play.
Despite the consistent losing, school leadership decided to bring Frost back for the 2022 season under a restructured contract that includes a significantly reduced buyout. Frost fired a big chunk of his staff and brought in Mark Whipple from Pitt to be his offensive coordinator. Additionally, longtime starting QB Adrian Martinez transferred to Kansas State and the Huskers added Casey Thompson from Texas.
Will those changes help the close losses flip into wins? The team’s 2022 schedule is very manageable. If Frost can’t at least get this team to a bowl, it’d be surprising if he wasn’t shown the door — especially with a much more manageable buyout that reduces on Oct. 1.
Herm Edwards – Arizona State
After Arizona State had a string of mediocre seasons under Todd Graham, Herm Edwards was hired off the ESPN set by ASU athletic director Ray Anderson, Edwards’ old agent. To put it nicely, the hire was looked at quizzically at the time. Five years later, it’s a surprise Edwards is still employed.
The win-loss results haven’t been terrible — 25-18 (17-14 Pac-12) in four seasons — but the Sun Devils haven’t competed for championships like Anderson envisioned. On the whole, ASU hasn’t elevated from the level of play it exhibited under Graham. Beyond that, the team has been an undisciplined, turnover and penalty-prone mess on the field and an even bigger mess off the field. Among…