Look-back on recent splash hires and overall grades as of Nov 7 2023:
Splash hires are considered $$ upgrades and usually come off a firing of previous coach.

Ole Miss- Lane Kiffin Grade B-
Miss State- Mike Leach Grade B+ (rest in peace)
Nebraska- Scott Frost Grade F
Florida- Billy Napier Grade C-
FSU- Mike Norvell Grade A
UCLA- Chip Kelly Grade C-
A&M- Jimbo Fisher Grade C-
Oregon- Dan Lanning Grade B+
Michigan State- Mel Tucker Grade C+
Miami- Mario Christobal Grade C
Louisville- Jeff Brohm Grade A+
Auburn- Bryan Harsin Grade C-
LSU- Brian Kelly Grade B-
Kansas- Leipold Grade A+
OU- Brent Venables Grade C+
Texas- Steve Sark Grade C+

Forgot Lincoln Riley: Grade B

And Harsin isn't the Auburn coach anymore.....

Tough standards. Manning only a B+? Dude has one loss and is currently #6 in the country.

If you notice most of your B+ or A's are programs with very low expectations such that going 8-4 is a banner year. We are in the group of teams that has a long history of 7-5 and 8-4 that thinks it should get to the next level. Apparently it's really, really hard.

This is why it seems to be more than just the head coach that creates winning traditions. It's also why it seems many coaches aren't successful in more than one place. I know they have big egos, but when a fit works - stay.

JP_Losman said:

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Look-back on recent splash hires and overall grades as of Nov 7 2023:
Splash hires are considered $$ upgrades and usually come off a firing of previous coach.

Ole Miss- Lane Kiffin Grade B-
Miss State- Mike Leach Grade B+ (rest in peace)
Nebraska- Scott Frost Grade F
Florida- Billy Napier Grade C-
FSU- Mike Norvell Grade A
UCLA- Chip Kelly Grade C-
A&M- Jimbo Fisher Grade C-
Oregon- Dan Lanning Grade B+
Michigan State- Mel Tucker Grade C+
Miami- Mario Christobal Grade C
Louisville- Jeff Brohm Grade A+
Auburn- Bryan Harsin Grade C-
LSU- Brian Kelly Grade B-
Kansas- Leipold Grade A+
OU- Brent Venables Grade C+
Texas- Steve Sark Grade C+

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Now thats funny!

Lanning is an A- at worst right now.

Not sure how Harsin wasn't an F, especially when you factor in recruiting. Tucker is an F, period.

Jimbo was a D hire all things considered. I'd put Sark at B- right now, but the rest of this season will weigh heavily.

Lane is pretty much perfect for Ole Miss so I'd give him a B+ at least.

Where's Coach Prime?

Not necessarily a splash hire but Jedd Fisch at Arizona has completed an impressive turnaround in year three of his tenure.

Coach Prime gets an Incomplete.

VikingNik said:

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Not necessarily a splash hire but Jedd Fisch at Arizona has completed an impressive turnaround in year three of his tenure.

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not many will notice this post but you are correct. don't know who this dude is but i have seen arizona play a few games this season and they are significantly better this season than they have been. they do play fast and aggressive. arizona is a dangerous team in a very strong pac 12 conference. they were horrible under sumlin.

Considering ku had hired Weiss and led miles most recently. Liepold is def not a splash hire, but has been great there.

Weird post all around. Glad you have opinions though.

John Fisher should not have a passing grade.

Ok, I get it. This is a site primarily for Aggie fans.

Ours is no longer a "recent" hire.

Sark has a Top 10 team in November. Excellent QB's, and is about to start picking off our recruits. How's he a "C"???

Sumlin had a CFP top 4 team in 2016 and was basically fired the next season.

So far Sark has been a disappointment and they likely miss the playoff this year anyways

Idea is to try to gauge success rate of regime changes based on results of peers across Division 1.

Right now based on the results above it's probably 70% chance the program will become worse if we change

Any other key hires I am missing?

TCU
Tech

Fleck? Maybe not a splash hire, but a lot of people here were high on him at the time.

JP_Losman said:

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Any other key hires I am missing?

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It looks good other than your grades are way off and laughable

100% Pure Aggie said:

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JP_Losman said:

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Look-back on recent splash hires and overall grades as of Nov 7 2023:
Splash hires are considered $$ upgrades and usually come off a firing of previous coach.

Ole Miss- Lane Kiffin Grade B-
Miss State- Mike Leach Grade B+ (rest in peace)
Nebraska- Scott Frost Grade F
Florida- Billy Napier Grade C-
FSU- Mike Norvell Grade A
UCLA- Chip Kelly Grade C-
A&M- Jimbo Fisher Grade C-
Oregon- Dan Lanning Grade B+
Michigan State- Mel Tucker Grade C+
Miami- Mario Christobal Grade C
Louisville- Jeff Brohm Grade A+
Auburn- Bryan Harsin Grade C-
LSU- Brian Kelly Grade B-
Kansas- Leipold Grade A+
OU- Brent Venables Grade C+
Texas- Steve Sark Grade C+

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Now thats funny!

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What's funny is him calling 6 years ago a recent hire'.

If you include Jimbo in that list, you should also give FSU a big fat F for Willie Taggart.

I think making up grades subjectively is the central failing of American education…

Fleck has averaged approximately 7-5 over his time at Minnesota (7.35 to be exact). Definitely A&M material, would fit in great at our 7-5 and 8-4 in a good year program.

Sumlin went 8-5 in 2016 with a loss to K-State in the Texas Bowl. What are you talking about?

GigEmReggie said:

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Lane is pretty much perfect for Ole Miss so I'd give him a B+ at least.

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Kiffin is headed for a second 10-win season. While it is very unlikely they beat UGa, it isn't impossible. He's at least an A- right now even with last season's collapse, really his only problematic stretch in Oxford. Realizing how close he would be to 10+ wins three straight years at Ole Miss is sickening.

Oh, and like it or not, Sark is far higher than a C anything. Yeah, he has a lot of water carriers, but that doesn't mean he hasn't produced.

Showstopper said:

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Fleck has averaged approximately 7-5 over his time at Minnesota (7.35 to be exact). Definitely A&M material, would fit in great at our 7-5 and 8-4 in a good year program.

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I didn't suggest we should hire him. I just suggested he had been left off of the op's list when he asked.

didnt Duke hire someone a couple years ago?

Showstopper said:

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Fleck has averaged approximately 7-5 over his time at Minnesota (7.35 to be exact). Definitely A&M material, would fit in great at our 7-5 and 8-4 in a good year program.

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You are throwing the Covid year where he didn't have a full schedule to play into your average.

He's not killed it at Minnesota, but he's done better than 7-5 there and also Minnesota historically sucks.