College football coaching carousel grades 2023: Auburn, Colorado ace tests
By John Buhler
Deion Sanders has the potential to transform Colorado into a Pac-12 behemoth
Without question, this is the best hire any team made in this cycle. Colorado gained some much-needed juice, and then some, by prying Deion Sanders away from Jackson State. The Buffs went 1-11 last year in a lost season. He will have CU playing in a bowl game in year one. With USC and UCLA leaving in 2024, it is about to be rocking in Boulder not seen since the Bill McCartney era.
Grade: A+
Wisconsin prying Luke Fickell away from Cincinnati reinvigorates the Badgers
It was going to take the right job for Luke Fickell to leave Cincinnati. UC was going Power Five next season, but the opening at Wisconsin was too good to pass up. While Fickell may want to bring the vertical passing game to Madison, he knows how to build a winning culture from the ground up. With the Big Ten going divisionless, Wisconsin will make the playoff sooner rather than later.
Grade: A
Charlotte identified Biff Poggi extremely early in the process off Michigan’s staff
You have to applaud the conviction Charlotte had in locating and identifying Biff Poggi to be the 49ers’ next head coach. The former Michigan assistant was a long-time high school head coach in Maryland and had been on Jim Harbaugh’s staff twice in Ann Arbor. While this hire does not move the needle, Charlotte being the first team to hire its coach in this cycle signifies a level of strength.
Grade: B
Hugh Freeze was the one Auburn could hire to make Alabama, Georgia squirm
We all knew that Hugh Freeze was going to leave Liberty at some point. It did not even take a decade for him to resurface back in the SEC. Auburn needed to hire a head coach who could recruit and challenge the likes of major rivals Alabama and Georgia annually. Freeze is not without major controversy, but Auburn wants to win and win big. By landing Freeze, the Tigers can now compete.
Grade: A