There will be 11 new Power 5 coaches when the 2023 season kicks off, assuming we are done with the 2022-23 hiring cycle.
The Sporting News has been tracking the hiring practices at the Power 5 level for the past seven coaching cycles (77 hires). The most common place to find a new coach is to hire a Group of 5 head coach, and two of the 10 hires in this cycle fit into that category. (We are counting Luke Fickell as a G5 coach because Cincinnati was in the AAC during his tenure, but also including Cincinnati’s new hire as a Power 5 hire because it will be in the Big 12 next season.)
The interesting trend this cycle involved the “Other” category, which is made up of NFL assistants, out-of-work coaches and FCS coaches. Three of the 11 hires — Deion Sanders, Matt Rhule and Troy Taylor — made up this group and brings the total to 13 in the past seven years. Included in this group are Kansas State’s Chris Klieman, who won the Big 12 this year, Illinois’ Bret Bielema, who finished second in the Big Ten West, and UCLA’s Chip Kelly, who has the Bruins at No. 18 and in the Sun Bowl. This group has had a fairly high success rate, and Sanders and Rhule in particular are thought of as excellent hires.
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| New Hire | 2017-22 | 2023 |
| P5 Head coach | 8 (12 percent) | 2 (18 percent) |
| Promoted | 10 (15 percent) | 2 (18 percent) |
| P5 Coordinator | 13 (20 percent) | 2 (18 percent) |
| P5 Assistant | 3 (5 percent) | 0 |
| G5 Head coach | 22 (33 percent) | 2 (18 percent) |
| Other* | 10 (15 percent) | 3 (27 percent) |
* Includes NFL assistants, coaches out of football, FCS coaches
Here are the initial grades for the Power 5 hires this cycle listed alphabetically by program:
Arizona State: Oregon offensive coordinator Kenny Dillingham
The Sun Devils are rolling the dice on a 32-year-old who will be taking his first head coaching job after successful offensive coordinator stints at Oregon, Florida State, Auburn and Memphis. The last four coaches Arizona State has hired since its last top 10 season in 1996 had an average age of 54, so this is certainly an effort to shake things up. Everyone is after the next Lincoln Riley, and Dillingham, an Arizona native, fits the mold in terms of being a hot young OC. How quickly he can attract players in his home state, which has been a major problem, will be worth watching.
Grade: B+
Auburn: Liberty head coach Hugh Freeze
It appears Freeze was No. 2 on Auburn’s wish list behind Lane Kiffin, but he’s not a bad consolation prize. Freeze went to four bowl games in five years at Ole Miss, beat Alabama twice, then was fired for contacting escorts with a school-issued phone. He also was involved in NCAA violations with the Rebels. Liberty gave Freeze a chance after two years off, and the 53-year-old showed he’s still an elite offensive coach. The Flames were 34-15 in four years. He has a checkered past, but so does Auburn. This one’s going to be real rosy or real rocky. Nothing in between.
Grade: A-
Cincinnati: Louisville head coach Scott Satterfield
The Bearcats will enter the Big 12 without Luke Fickell, who guided them to the CFP in 2021. In comes Scott Satterfield, who was close to being run out of Louisville after four years and a 25-24 record. Satterfield was highly successful at Appalachian State, but that didn’t translate to the Power 5 level and most Cardinals fans didn’t bat an eye when he departed. That’s a bit of a red flag.
Grade: C+
Colorado: Jackson State head coach Deion Sanders
Sanders was in demand after three strong seasons at Jackson State, and it appeared his two best options were USF and Colorado, and he chose the Buffaloes. Sanders is bringing his son Shedeur and has already named him the starting quarterback. Coach Prime is certainly a disrupter and this program has not seen this kind of national attention in years. The publicity has been great. How it translates against a challenging schedule next year will be fascinating.
Grade: A
Georgia Tech: Assistant HC, OL coach Brent Key
Key wasn’t really considered a strong candidate when Geoff Collins was let go after Georgia Tech’s loss to UCF that dropped the team to 1-3. Key made an immediate impact with an upset at Pitt the next week, and as he navigated toward a 4-4 finish as interim, his candidacy took hold. New AD J Blatt, who crossed paths with Key when Key was a Nick Saban assistant, was convinced Key was ready for the full-time job. He has been a recruiting coordinator at the G5 or P5 level for 14 years, started for four years at Tech and is aware of what didn’t work during the Collins era. Could he be the next Sam Pittman, an unknown O-Line coach who injects life into a program?
Grade: B
Louisville: Purdue head coach Jeff Brohm
Cardinals fans are thrilled with the swap from Satterfield to Brohm, and for good reason. Brohm went to four bowl games in six years at Purdue and earned the school’s first Big Ten West title this season. Louisville wanted its former QB to come home when it last had an opening. The sales pitched worked this time, and the Cardinals should elevate to the 9-11 win plateau soon enough.
Grade: A-
Mississippi State: Defensive coordinator Zach Arnett
Mississippi State wasted little time promoting Arnett, 36, to full-time coach after Mike Leach suddenly died on Dec. 12. Arnett was on the San Diego State staff for nine years before coming to Starkville in 2020. His three defenses in the SEC were ranked No. 52, 31 and 39. It was surprising that Mississippi State didn’t seem to interview more candidates and conduct a more national search and let Arnett run the program as an interim coach for a longer period.
Grade: C
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Nebraska: Matt Rhule, former Carolina Panthers head coach
Rhule was a flop in the NFL, but he was widely considered a strong candidate at whatever jobs opened across the college landscape given his track record at Baylor and Temple. It took him three years at Baylor to go from 1 win to 11 wins, and it took him three years at Temple to go from two wins to 10 wins. Incredibly, Nebraska, which once had a 35-year bowl streak, now has the longest bowl-less streak of any Power 5 program (six seasons). He has plenty of work to do in a balanced an improving Big Ten West, but the feeling is he will rebuild once again.
Grade: A-
Purdue: Illinois defensive coordinator Ryan Walters
Walters, 36, was reportedly heavily in the mix at his alma mater Colorado this offseason as well. His defense at Illinois went from No. 49 last season to No. 2 this season. He has seven years of P5 defensive coordinator experience (five at Missouri, two at Illinois) and will need to keep the offense humming at Purdue without quarterback Aiden O’Connell. Purdue has proven to be a tough place to sustain success, as the Boilers have not made three straight bowls since a stretch from 1997 to 2004 under Joe Tiller. Walters is highly thought of, but his lack of Big Ten experience, head coaching experience and natural geographical fit will be a challenge.
Grade: B-
Stanford: Sacramento State head coach Troy Taylor
Taylor reportedly got the job over former Dallas Cowboys coach Jason Garrett. Taylor comes aboard after three highly successful seasons at Sacramento State, where he went 30-8 and 23-1 in league play. His offense is wide open, which will be a dramatic shift from David Shaw’s Stanford attack. It will take time to implement a major philosophical shift at Stanford, a school that cannot turn over its roster via the transfer portal because of its admission standards, so rebounding from back-to-back 3-9 seasons may take some time.
Grade: C+
Wisconsin: Cincinnati head coach Luke Fickell
Fickell was the absolute prize of this hiring cycle, and it seemingly came out of nowhere. Interim coach Jim Leonard, a favorite among the Badger faithful, had led UW to a 4-3 record after Paul Chryst was let go on Oct. 2 and appeared to be the front-runner for the job. But AD Chris McIntosh hired the only coach to get a Group of 5 team to the College Football Playoff in Fickel, who compiled a 57-18 record at Cincinnati. Fickell played at Ohio State and was a Buckeyes assistant for 15 seasons, so he knows the league and understands the Midwest footprint. Expectations are high for him to get Wisconsin back into the top 10 on a regular basis.
Grade: A
