Grading every college football coaching hire from 2022 after year 1
By John Buhler
Jon Sumrall did the best job of any first-year head coach out of the Group of Five
No head coach in the Group of Five did a better job in year one than Jon Sumrall did at Troy. Not only did the Trojans win the Sun Belt in year one under his guidance, but they finished the season 12-2 and ranked inside of the top 25 in any poll that matters. Troy has a proud football history, but for the Trojans to be an absolute wagon in year one under a first-time head coach is just incredible.
Grade: A
Jim Mora took UConn to a bowl game in year one while living in a haunted house
Not all jobs are created equally. UConn, a program that decided it was not going to play during COVID, made it to a bowl game under first-year head coach Jim Mora. While Mora has had plenty of success elsewhere before, college and pro, for him to take national independent UConn to a bowl game in year one while his family was living inside of a haunted house is the stuff of legend.
Grade: A-
UMass reached into the past with Don Brown and that was a most horrible idea!
Don Brown may have been an all-time head coach at UMass over a decade ago, but this is what happens when reaching into one’s past goes horribly wrong. The Minutemen now compete at the FBS level. Though Brown won championships previously in Amherst, UMass went 1-11 in his first year back on the job. All the while, Michigan continued to be an absolute buzz saw without him…
Grade: D
Lincoln Riley had USC back in College Football Playoff conversations in year one
Success was sure to follow Lincoln Riley to USC from Oklahoma, but who saw the Trojans being one win away from making the College Football Playoff for the first time ever in year one under his watch? USC needs to get more physical in the trenches to have any realistic shot at winning a national title under him, but for now, Riley has USC in its best place since Pete Carroll led the team.
Grade: A+