3 new college football coaches who will thrive right away, 2 who will struggle
By John Buhler
We're going through changes across major college football. The Pac-12 is dead and the new Power Four might as well be on life support. Unless the ACC can get its stuff together, it might become a Power Two in short order. NIL is here to stay, but the coaching carousel has been spinning out of control of late. It may have stopped with Dell McGee taking over at Georgia State, but what a ride...
The fact that we are approaching three dozen head-coaching changes in one offseason is staggering. Furthermore, the retirement of Nick Saban, as well as Jeff Hafley defecting for the NFL and Chip Kelly willingly taking a demotion in the Big Ten certainly made it arguably the wackiest offseason ever. We have survived for now. Spring practice is underway, but this is only the beginning.
So what I am going to do today is list three incoming head coaches that I think will have great success right away, as well as two I think will struggle out of the gate. Even though I am not bullish on Alabama, Michigan and Washington all having new head coaches, we have to give Kalen DeBoer, Jedd Fisch and even Sherrone Moore the benefit of the doubt. Their teams are not going under.
Without further ado, here are three new hires to buy stock in and two more to sell before it is too late.
Mike Elko will succeed right away with the Texas A&M Aggies
Now that the dust has settled a bit, I am really starting to like the Mike Elko hire by Texas A&M more and more. The Jimbo Fisher era in College Station left a rotten taste in my mouth. The Aggies were a shell of themsleves after Elko left to be the Duke Blue Devils head coach in 2022. Two years later, guess who's back, back again? Elko's back. Tell a friend. Oh, he is going to have such a good season...
Whether it be having a familiarity with all things Gig Em, a fairly navigable schedule, or simply not being Fisher, the Elko hire is simply Good Bull. He still probably has friends in town and is returning to Texas A&M at a time when the Aggies actually have tempered expectations. While I would not say that they will be good enough to contend for a playoff spot, this team should be going at least 8-4.
Of the three mid-tier fringe contenders in the SEC, I kind of like what could lie ahead for Texas A&M more than say Auburn or Kentucky. Although I think teams like Tennessee and Oklahoma will be better than them, the Aggies might actually be a tad underrated heading into this college season. If Elko could win right away at a place like Duke, imagine what he can do with Texas A&M's resources.
Texas A&M may be dysfunctional as hell, but Elko's familiarity with the place helps him out a ton.