College Football: 5 Young-Gun Coaches Who Will Surprise Us in 2012
The coaching profession has changed dramatically over the last decade, with the faces on the sidelines getting noticeably younger.
Gone are the days when coaches like Joe Paterno and Bobby Bowden could build programs and enjoy the fruits of their labor for over 30 years.
With college football being a business that’s only growing faster, coaches are being given more money and less patience to win big immediately.
A quick look around the FBS ranks shows that there are several coaches—at the age of 42 or under—across the country who have accomplished a lot at an age usually reserved for high-profile assistants.
Some of the bigger names reside in BCS conferences, but FIU’s Mario Cristobal may be the next name to surface when a bigger job opens up at season’s end.
Cristobal went 1-11 in his first season, but he’s turned it around four years later by leading the Golden Panthers to consecutive bowl appearances and an 8-5 mark in 2011.
Last season, Vanderbilt’s James Franklin and Florida’s Will Muschamp entered the SEC East as rookie head coaches for programs on the opposite ends of the SEC’s historical spectrum.
Franklin has resurrected a moribund Commodores program, while Muschamp will try and restore a powerhouse—and both will try to climb towards the top of the SEC East, with each returning 18 starters in 2012.
Out west, Steve Sarkisian ended an eight-year bowl drought in his second season at Washington.
Two years later, he will enter his fourth season in Seattle with a chance to unseat Pac-12 North powers Oregon and Stanford.
West Virginia will enter the Big 12 with a chance to compete for a league title immediately, mostly due to second-year head man Dana Holgorsen, but also due to his familiarity with the conference from his days as an assistant at Oklahoma State and Texas Tech.
Despite their youthful exuberance, all of these coaches have managed to thrive in an industry notorious for valuing experience and a lengthened progression up the coaching ladder.
link: http://bleacherrepor...gn=sec-football
The coaching profession has changed dramatically over the last decade, with the faces on the sidelines getting noticeably younger.
Gone are the days when coaches like Joe Paterno and Bobby Bowden could build programs and enjoy the fruits of their labor for over 30 years.
With college football being a business that’s only growing faster, coaches are being given more money and less patience to win big immediately.
A quick look around the FBS ranks shows that there are several coaches—at the age of 42 or under—across the country who have accomplished a lot at an age usually reserved for high-profile assistants.
Some of the bigger names reside in BCS conferences, but FIU’s Mario Cristobal may be the next name to surface when a bigger job opens up at season’s end.
Cristobal went 1-11 in his first season, but he’s turned it around four years later by leading the Golden Panthers to consecutive bowl appearances and an 8-5 mark in 2011.
Last season, Vanderbilt’s James Franklin and Florida’s Will Muschamp entered the SEC East as rookie head coaches for programs on the opposite ends of the SEC’s historical spectrum.
Franklin has resurrected a moribund Commodores program, while Muschamp will try and restore a powerhouse—and both will try to climb towards the top of the SEC East, with each returning 18 starters in 2012.
Out west, Steve Sarkisian ended an eight-year bowl drought in his second season at Washington.
Two years later, he will enter his fourth season in Seattle with a chance to unseat Pac-12 North powers Oregon and Stanford.
West Virginia will enter the Big 12 with a chance to compete for a league title immediately, mostly due to second-year head man Dana Holgorsen, but also due to his familiarity with the conference from his days as an assistant at Oklahoma State and Texas Tech.
Despite their youthful exuberance, all of these coaches have managed to thrive in an industry notorious for valuing experience and a lengthened progression up the coaching ladder.
link: http://bleacherrepor...gn=sec-football
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