Sun Belt Coaching Carousel - 2020 Edition

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Bakertxst04

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I know we already mentioned that ULM and USA have moved on from their head coaches, now it looks like Blake Anderson is looking for a new start somewhere else.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1337080722876751872

It's hard to find any fault with wanting a change of scenery. After his wife passed away last year, I imagine that living in Jonesboro brings back a lot of tough memories for him. I hope he does well at Utah State.
 
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_x_

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I bet A-State fans aren't too upset. Anderson seemed to have plateaued in Jonesboro. They've been mostly a perpetually good Sun Belt team that just could never get over the hump to national relevance. Having the same season on repeat year after year gets tiring for a fanbase after awhile.

Will be interesting to see who they hire. While a good hire could get them over the hump, a bad one could set them back from where Anderson had them.

The A-State and USA openings will intrigue a lot of coaches and garner plenty of interest. I seriously don't know who would want that ULM job...
 
LTK5H

LTK5H

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Bakertxst04 said:
I'm really interested in what Butch Jones will do with ASU.
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Same. Doesn't have a great reputation as a people person, or overall human. There's also a train of thought that he simply rode Brian Kelly's coattails*, and when it was on him and him alone at a big time program, he wasn't up the task.

*OC for Kelly in 2004 @ CMU; when Kelly went to Cincinnati, Jones was hired at CMU; when Kelly went to Notre Dame, Jones was hired at Cincinnati.
Kelly took CMU to 10 wins before getting hired away, Jones won 8-8-11 before being hired at Cincinnati.
Kelly won 10-11-12 games at Cincinnati before being hired at ND, Jones won 10 and 10 in his 2nd and 3rd yrs before being hired at Tenn.

At Tenn, he won 9 games and beat rivals Florida and Georgia, but would lose to Vandy, South Carolina, and .500 SEC teams that they needed to beat to be a top flight program. Definitely won't have the expectations they had at Tenn, so maybe he chills out a bit and just coaches.
 
LTK5H

LTK5H

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Well, I like the way the ARST staff is filling out already. Major Applewhite is the OC...and he's kinda sucky.
 
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Bakertxst04

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LTK5H said:
Well, I like the way the ARST staff is filling out already. Major Applewhite is the OC...and he's kinda sucky.
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The Maj just needs more time to grow as a coach imo. Honestly, getting UH as his first head coaching gig was a pretty tall order. I think he'll do well as a coordinator though.

The best news for us is that if this group sniffs any success they will move on to greener pastures in a heartbeat.
 
Bobcat1

Bobcat1

Active member
Bad news for our defense, Applewhite is a legit OC. He helped Saban start his dominance at Alabama his first year there:

In his first season at Alabama, Applewhite improved the Crimson Tide offense, which had averaged 22.3 points and 340.9 total yards per game under Dave Rader in 2006, to an average of 26.8 points and 372.6 total yards per game in 2007. Following a 41-17 blowout win over SEC rival Tennessee on October 20, Applewhite was named "Offensive Coordinator of the Week
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."

247sports.com

Report: Applewhite hired as Arkansas State offensive coordinator

...
247sports.com 247sports.com
 
LTK5H

LTK5H

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lol of course you think he’s good. He had nothing to do w/ the offense at Bama, or Rice for that matter. Was terrible at Texas. Very happy to see him in the conference.
 
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TXSTHockeyGuy44

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LTK5H said:
lol of course you think he’s good. He had nothing to do w/ the offense at Bama, or Rice for that matter. Was terrible at Texas. Very happy to see him in the conference.
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Wasn’t he the one that took a 2-win Rice team, killed the wishbone/run heavy offense, put them in the spread and helped coach them to a winning record in his first season as their OC?
 
LTK5H

LTK5H

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Actually, Rice only won 1 game the year before. And yes, Appplewhite was the OC there and dragged Rice into the 21st century in terms of offensive style. However, the Owls gained only 8 more yards per game and scored .6 TD more per game in 2006 than 2005. The reality is that Rice was stuck in an antiquated system and got the new coach/new system bump against a weak schedule. Only 2 of those 7 wins came against teams with a winning record.

I was a bit flippant about him having nothing to do w/ the offense @ Rice, when what I really meant was that he didn't particularly impact Rice's overall winning in 2006, which is also probably a little harsh because I am anti-Applewhite overall (as a coach - loved him in college). @ Bama, Applewhite was simply a name in the position and it was Joe Pendry running the offense. That's why Applewhite left a rising program to take a lesser position at Texas - he had no say in the offense. It's telling that the guy who knew him best and brought him back to Texas, never gave him full control of the offense in Austin.
 
Bobcat1

Bobcat1

Active member
TXSTHockeyGuy44 said:
Wasn’t he the one that took a 2-win Rice team, killed the wishbone/run heavy offense, put them in the spread and helped coach them to a winning record in his first season as their OC?
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Yeah, and their first Bowl game in decades. That’s why Saban brought him to Bama. He won at Rice, won at Bama, and won at UH as offensive coordinator.

He’s going to win at Arkansas State.
 
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SWTRefugee

SWTRefugee

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LTK5H said:
Potentially great hire at ULM. I loved his offenses at West Virginia.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1349118083294580736
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Package deal:
Louisiana-Monroe also announced that Rodriguez's son Rhett Rodriguez, a former quarterback at Arizona, will transfer to the school and have two seasons of eligibility remaining. The younger Rodriguez, a graduate transfer, threw for 578 yards and three touchdowns in four seasons with the Wildcats.
www.cbssports.com

Rich Rodriguez hired as Louisiana-Monroe OC, son Rhett Rodriguez joins as quarterback transfer

After being absent during the 2020 season, Rodriguez will be back in college football come the 2021 campaign
www.cbssports.com www.cbssports.com
 
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