It is often said that coaches never last long. More often than not, coaches are either fired or leave their program. That leaves us watching the coaching carousel go round and round as coaches move from school to school each year. This year is no different. In fact, the carousel is moving faster this year as programs all around college football are firing and hiring their leaders. From former NFL stars making waves in the college football world to old coaches making their way back home, the coaching carousel is full of great stories.
PrimeTime in Colorado is Bizarre
NFL legend Deion Sanders’ short time at Colorado has been unconventional, to say the least, as was his exit from Jackson State. After winning the SWAC Championship for the second straight time, Sanders elected not to show up for his press conference. Instead, Sanders took his team back to the JSU campus, announced to his players that he was taking a new job, and then got on a plane and headed to Boulder, Colorado. Sanders has said he will coach the Tigers in the Celebration Bowl.
The next few days in Colorado were even more Bizarre. In his first speech to his team, Sanders advised the Buffaloes players to go ahead and jump into the transfer portal. Sanders has not been shy about the way he will run the Colorado program. He knows he is inheriting a team that finished at the bottom of the Pac-12, going 1-11. Sanders seems to believe that the problem is personnel, and he made it known that he will be aggressive in pursuing that talent.
PrimeTime is already making moves in the Colorado locker room. In a bizarre press conference, Sanders named his son and current JSU quarterback Shedeur Sanders as the Buffaloes’ new quarterback. Five-star Jackson State receiver and defensive back Travis Hunter has also made it known that he will follow coach Prime to Boulder. Sanders also landed five-star receiver Winston Watkins, cousin of NFL star Sammy Watkins, beating out programs like Alabama and Texas A&M.
It’s clear Colorado’s problems don’t just lie with the players but also the coaching staff. That is an issue that Sanders is also addressing aggressively. The best hires in his short time as Colorado head coach are offensive and defensive coordinators.
At OC, Sanders hired Sean Lewis who was head coach at Kent State from 2018-2022. At DC, PrimeTime made a big splash, hiring Charles Kelly, who served as assistant defensive coordinator and safeties coach at Alabama under Nick Saban. Sanders also brought some SWAC flavor to the Pac-12 as he welcomed former Mississippi Valley State head coach Vincent Dancy to Boulder as part of the assistant coaching staff.
Scott Satterfield, Out with the Old and In with the New
Scott Satterfield’s relationship with his former program, Louisville, was less than stellar. Louisville fans were ready to carry the Cardinals head coach to the airport. But when former Cincinnatti coach Luke Fickell decided to make the move to Wisconsin, Satterfield was quickly hired a week later. Satterfield will enter the Bearcats program with challenges galore, but also a program ready to succeed.
Cincinnati, who made the College Football Playoffs last season, are making the move to the Big-12 conference. That move will become official in July of 2023. With that in mind, Bearcats athletic director John Cunningham knew that his program needed a coach with Power-five coaching experience. Enter Scott Satterfield.
Satterfield spent four seasons with Louisville in the ACC where he went 25-24. Satterfield also led the Cardinals to a win over Mississippi State in the 2019 Music City Bowl. Satterfield also has experience moving conferences, a big plus for Louisville. Satterfield guided Appalachian State in their move to the Sun Belt in 2014.
Satterfield will face steep challenges in the NIL department at Cincinnati. He is leaving a program in Louisville that is known to have a larger NIL fund, something Cincinnati does not possess. However, the Bearcats have made their commitment to success on the football field clear. Cincinnati has raised a program-record $7.25 million in an annual assistant salary pool. This will allow their new head coach to hire solid coordinators and bolster the Bearcats coaching staff as they make the move to the Big 12.
Jeff Brohm Heads Home to Louisville
After Satterfield headed to Cincinnati, the Louisville Cardinals went looking for their next head coach. Their search ended when they landed on a familiar face that they had pursued before. Former Purdue head coach, Jeff Brohm, was born and raised in Louisville and later played quarterback for the Cardinals. From 2003-2008, Brohm was an assistant coach with Louisville. Now, after six seasons with Purdue, Brohm has come back home.
A big upgrade for Louisville, Brohm has proved himself a fantastic coach. He took Purdue to the Big-10 championship this year and pulled off some major upsets, earning Purdue’s football team the nickname “the Spoilermakers.” Brohm’s record of 36-34 over six seasons at Purdue is nothing very impressive on its own. However, when you consider that Purdue was 9-39 in four seasons before Brohm took over, the former Louisville quarterback has shown he is a true program builder.
Building up the Cardinals program should prove no issue for Brohm. At Purdue, there are strict academic guidelines limiting who the team can bring in. At Louisville, however, those guidelines are not so strict. Throw in the fact that Louisville has a substantial NIL fund, and Brohm should be able to build this program into a serious player in the ACC.
Things will also be made easier as Brohm leaves the crowded Big-10 and enters the ACC. The Big-10 is full of football powerhouses like Ohio State, Michigan, and Penn State. Meanwhile, the ACC has diminished over the years. There is no clear-cut “best team” outside of Clemson, leaving a wide-open path for Brohm to make a run at an ACC Championship.
UAB Takes the JSU Route to Success
Many have accused UAB of playing copycat as they hired former NFL quarterback Trent Dilfer. Jackson State hired Deion Sanders, an all-time NFL great, and things went well for the Tigers. Now, UAB is trying to replicate that success in Birmingham. Much like Sanders, Dilfer was a star in the NFL. He was a standout player at Fresno State and later led the Baltimore Ravens at quarterback to a Super Bowl victory in 2001.
Dilfer is one of the few coaches making his college football coaching debut. For the last four seasons, Dilfer served as head coach at Lipscomb Academy in Nashville, Tennessee, where the Mustangs went 44-10. For two seasons prior to Dilfer taking over, the Mustangs won a total of three games. Dilfer’s impact on the Lipscomb Academy program cannot be understated, as he also led the team to two consecutive state titles.
Dilfer has already started to fill out his coaching staff. Perhaps his best hire was one that was not surprising. Dilfer has reportedly hired Sione Ta’ufo’ou, who was Dilfer’s defensive coordinator at Lipscomb, to join him at UAB. Ta’ufo’ou delivered an impressive defense for Lipscomb Academy. Over three seasons, the Mustangs defense had 14 shut outs under Ta’ufo’ou.
UAB Blazers football is no stranger to revitalization. In 2014, it was announced that the football program would be discontinued. But in 2017, Blazer’s football came back with a vengeance, finishing 8-5 and making it to the Bahamas Bowl. Since the program came back, the Blazers have won two Conference USA titles. Now, Trent Dilfer will look to continue that success as the newest head coach of the UAB Blazers.
