AGAZ03 said:
It mirrors FL State with Deon Sanders. LSU had the obvious hire and picked the wrong guy,
Florida State hired Mike Norvell in 2020. At the time, he was head coach at Memphis where he had accumulated a 38-15 record. This is after stints in progressively higher coaching positions at Tulsa, Pittsburgh, and Arizona State.
At the same time, Deion Sanders was offensive coordinator at a private high school. This is after being fired from his scandal-ridden Prime Prep venture and a couple years as a head coach at a different high school. He first attempted to coach in 2012 but only managed to actually coach for five of those eight years.
Currently, Dave Aranda has a 14-9 record as the head coach at Baylor including a Sugar Bowl win, albeit he inherited Matt Rhule's program. He has been a defensive coordinator at 7 progressively larger universities, most recently 3-4 years as associate head coach and DC at LSU where he was one of the most sought-after defensive coaches in the country.
Sanders may end up being a great coach, but there was no proof in 2020; his resume had nothing to qualify him as a head coach at a major power five program. Even if he does end up being good, he probably needs some time running a much smaller program to learn the ropes before jumping into the fire. Far from being an obvious hire, it might have been the biggest reach in modern college football.
