George O'Leary said last week he would make a decision about his coaching future following the season.
Can UCF wait that long?
With a losing season now guaranteed and little hope of a turnaround in the final five games, the No. 1 priority should be focused on - sorry for the blatant rip-off - making UCF great again.
If GOL plans to stick around in 2016 and beyond, that needs to be communicated. It may not be pretty in terms of a large portion of the fanbase and ticket sales going forward, but it's a commonly-held belief that Dr. Hitt will let GOL go out on his own terms.
Recruiting, with just four commits in the fold, is seemingly on hold. A major reason UCF is in this predicament, in addition to injuries, is a lack of recruiting. It's a lack of scholarships but also a lack of talent, particularly among the upperclassmen. The jury is out on some of these younger players, but the bottom line is that UCF needs to sign the best possible class come February. It's hard to do that when a coach is year-to-year.
UCF has enough on their plate right now with the AD search. I expect the search process to ramp up over these next few weeks with a candidate identified by late November, hopefully sooner.
But the most important search, if it happens this year, would be the one for a new head coach.
My concern when I look around the country is the sense it will be a very competitive offseason for hiring football coaches. There are already five confirmed openings:
-Illinois
-Maryland
-North Texas
-USC
-South Carolina
That list will grow. Purdue, Virginia, Iowa State, Miami, Rutgers and USF are all possible openings in addition to schools in the lower G5 tier. And that's assuming the SEC remains stable. There will be even more openings since it's likely several of those schools pluck away sitting head coaches.
For the sake of timing and recruiting (December is just as important as January), UCF needs to be ready to move forward as quickly as possible once the regular season wraps up on Thanksgiving.
While I assume GOL may give an indication to Dr. Hitt prior to the end of the season so they can plan accordingly, I don't know that for a fact. If this really is it, I think announcing retirement prior to the final two home games is the best situation since it will lift the cloud of negativity and allow for a celebration of the GOL era. It also changes the mood of those two national ESPN broadcasts.
But I know GOL has always said he dislikes those sort of "Farewell Tour" announcements, making that comment back when Howard Schnellenberger announced it would be his final season at FAU.
In any case, if this is the final month and a half of the GOL era at UCF, I've been thinking about who might be in the mix to be the next head coach. I don't know if there's a slam-dunk candidate, someone that you know would be perfect and also accept right on the spot without consideration of other competition.
Ideally, you're looking for head coach experience, recruiting ties in Florida and the Southeast and general likeability would be a plus. Somebody to become the face of the program that could help sell tickets. I think it's debatable whether it's best to have a background in offense or defense. Age is largely irrelevant as well, in my opinion. At the end of the day, you're just looking at the best candidate.
This isn't meant to be a hot board, but a start of one. Over the weekend, I tried to compile a master list of conceivable head coach candidates. I did include several that are an extreme stretch and others that could be in play if they are let go by their respective schools. My NFL list is small, that will likely need to be adjusted. But I always have a concern over NFL guys and how committed they really are to working in the college game.
UCF ties:
Brent Key - UCF OC
George Godsey - Houston Texans OC
Gene Chizik - North Carolina DC
Darin Hinshaw - Cincinnati Passing Game Coordinator
Tim Beck - Ohio State OC
Rick Stockstill - Middle Tennessee head coach
Dave Huxtable - NC State DC
Geoff Collins - Florida DC
Jim Fleming - Rhode Island HC
Tyson Summers - Colorado State DC
Active head coaches:
Dino Babers - Bowling Green
Matt Campbell - Toledo
Matt Wells - Utah State
Justin Fuente - Memphis
Matt Rhule - Temple
Mark Richt - Georgia
Charlie Strong - Texas
Butch Jones - Tennessee
Dana Holgorsen - West Virginia
Doc Holliday - Marshall
Jeff Brohm - Western Kentucky
Pete Lembo - Ball State
P.J. Fleck - Western Michigan
Rod Carey - Northern Illinois
Brian Polian - Nevada
Willie Fritz - Georgia Southern
Mark Hudspeth - Louisiana-Lafayette
Bill Clark - UAB
Joey Jones - South Alabama
Danny Rocco - Richmond
Everett Withers - James Madison
NFL ties:
Doug Marrone - Jacksonville Jaguars OL coach
Jon Gruden - Former Tampa Bay Bucs coach
Jay Gruden - Washington Redskins coach, former Orlando Predators
Current coordinators:
D.J. Durkin - Michigan DC
Kirby Smart - Alabama DC
Doug Nussmeier - Florida OC
Eddie Gran - Cincinnati OC
Scott Frost - Oregon OC
James Coley - Miami OC
Aaron Roderick - Utah co-OC
Billy Gonzales - LSU passing game coordinator
Dameyune Craig - Auburn co-OC
Rhett Lashlee - Auburn co-OC
Lincoln Riley - Oklahoma OC
Jeremy Pruitt - Georgia DC
Brent Venables - Clemson DC
Glenn Spencer - Oklahoma State DC
Former head coaches:
Greg Schiano - Former Rutgers/Tampa Bay coach
Butch Davis - Former Miami coach
Ed Oregeron - LSU DL coach
Randy Shannon - Florida associate HC / DC
Mack Brown - out of coaching
Tommy Bowden - out of coaching
Bo Pelini - Youngstown State coach
Mike Stoops - Oklahoma DC
Mario Cristobal - Alabama OL coach
Jim Tressell - Former Ohio State coach
Jeff Tedford - Former California coach
Can UCF wait that long?
With a losing season now guaranteed and little hope of a turnaround in the final five games, the No. 1 priority should be focused on - sorry for the blatant rip-off - making UCF great again.
If GOL plans to stick around in 2016 and beyond, that needs to be communicated. It may not be pretty in terms of a large portion of the fanbase and ticket sales going forward, but it's a commonly-held belief that Dr. Hitt will let GOL go out on his own terms.
Recruiting, with just four commits in the fold, is seemingly on hold. A major reason UCF is in this predicament, in addition to injuries, is a lack of recruiting. It's a lack of scholarships but also a lack of talent, particularly among the upperclassmen. The jury is out on some of these younger players, but the bottom line is that UCF needs to sign the best possible class come February. It's hard to do that when a coach is year-to-year.
UCF has enough on their plate right now with the AD search. I expect the search process to ramp up over these next few weeks with a candidate identified by late November, hopefully sooner.
But the most important search, if it happens this year, would be the one for a new head coach.
My concern when I look around the country is the sense it will be a very competitive offseason for hiring football coaches. There are already five confirmed openings:
-Illinois
-Maryland
-North Texas
-USC
-South Carolina
That list will grow. Purdue, Virginia, Iowa State, Miami, Rutgers and USF are all possible openings in addition to schools in the lower G5 tier. And that's assuming the SEC remains stable. There will be even more openings since it's likely several of those schools pluck away sitting head coaches.
For the sake of timing and recruiting (December is just as important as January), UCF needs to be ready to move forward as quickly as possible once the regular season wraps up on Thanksgiving.
While I assume GOL may give an indication to Dr. Hitt prior to the end of the season so they can plan accordingly, I don't know that for a fact. If this really is it, I think announcing retirement prior to the final two home games is the best situation since it will lift the cloud of negativity and allow for a celebration of the GOL era. It also changes the mood of those two national ESPN broadcasts.
But I know GOL has always said he dislikes those sort of "Farewell Tour" announcements, making that comment back when Howard Schnellenberger announced it would be his final season at FAU.
In any case, if this is the final month and a half of the GOL era at UCF, I've been thinking about who might be in the mix to be the next head coach. I don't know if there's a slam-dunk candidate, someone that you know would be perfect and also accept right on the spot without consideration of other competition.
Ideally, you're looking for head coach experience, recruiting ties in Florida and the Southeast and general likeability would be a plus. Somebody to become the face of the program that could help sell tickets. I think it's debatable whether it's best to have a background in offense or defense. Age is largely irrelevant as well, in my opinion. At the end of the day, you're just looking at the best candidate.
This isn't meant to be a hot board, but a start of one. Over the weekend, I tried to compile a master list of conceivable head coach candidates. I did include several that are an extreme stretch and others that could be in play if they are let go by their respective schools. My NFL list is small, that will likely need to be adjusted. But I always have a concern over NFL guys and how committed they really are to working in the college game.
UCF ties:
Brent Key - UCF OC
George Godsey - Houston Texans OC
Gene Chizik - North Carolina DC
Darin Hinshaw - Cincinnati Passing Game Coordinator
Tim Beck - Ohio State OC
Rick Stockstill - Middle Tennessee head coach
Dave Huxtable - NC State DC
Geoff Collins - Florida DC
Jim Fleming - Rhode Island HC
Tyson Summers - Colorado State DC
Active head coaches:
Dino Babers - Bowling Green
Matt Campbell - Toledo
Matt Wells - Utah State
Justin Fuente - Memphis
Matt Rhule - Temple
Mark Richt - Georgia
Charlie Strong - Texas
Butch Jones - Tennessee
Dana Holgorsen - West Virginia
Doc Holliday - Marshall
Jeff Brohm - Western Kentucky
Pete Lembo - Ball State
P.J. Fleck - Western Michigan
Rod Carey - Northern Illinois
Brian Polian - Nevada
Willie Fritz - Georgia Southern
Mark Hudspeth - Louisiana-Lafayette
Bill Clark - UAB
Joey Jones - South Alabama
Danny Rocco - Richmond
Everett Withers - James Madison
NFL ties:
Doug Marrone - Jacksonville Jaguars OL coach
Jon Gruden - Former Tampa Bay Bucs coach
Jay Gruden - Washington Redskins coach, former Orlando Predators
Current coordinators:
D.J. Durkin - Michigan DC
Kirby Smart - Alabama DC
Doug Nussmeier - Florida OC
Eddie Gran - Cincinnati OC
Scott Frost - Oregon OC
James Coley - Miami OC
Aaron Roderick - Utah co-OC
Billy Gonzales - LSU passing game coordinator
Dameyune Craig - Auburn co-OC
Rhett Lashlee - Auburn co-OC
Lincoln Riley - Oklahoma OC
Jeremy Pruitt - Georgia DC
Brent Venables - Clemson DC
Glenn Spencer - Oklahoma State DC
Former head coaches:
Greg Schiano - Former Rutgers/Tampa Bay coach
Butch Davis - Former Miami coach
Ed Oregeron - LSU DL coach
Randy Shannon - Florida associate HC / DC
Mack Brown - out of coaching
Tommy Bowden - out of coaching
Bo Pelini - Youngstown State coach
Mike Stoops - Oklahoma DC
Mario Cristobal - Alabama OL coach
Jim Tressell - Former Ohio State coach
Jeff Tedford - Former California coach
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