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December 7, 2021
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December 7, 2021
On September 13, 2021, the USC Trojans pushed the button of the Coaching Carousel. Three months later, college football has given fans the ride of their lives. And that ride is far from over. Blue Bloods and wannabes have both been involved. Big-name coaches shocked observers. And relative newcomers got massive raises by schools not wanting to hop aboard for a terrifying ride. Consider Mel Tucker at Michigan State. Just two years after his arrival, he got a 10-year $95 million deal to stay in East Lansing. It was a portent of things to come. The impact on the College Football Odds will be felt for many years ahead.
Betting on College Football 2021 Coaching Carousel
Now let’s take a look at the biggest hires of the 2021 coaching carousel. A carousel ride that has been like no other in history!
Florida Gators – Billy Napier
Last spring, contentment reigned supreme in Gainesville, Florida. Head coach Dan Mullen was hailed for a stellar 2020 campaign that included a near-upset of eventual national champion Alabama. He signed for a raise and extension. But the NCAA Football Odds blew up with shocking suddenness in 2021. Following a loss to Georgia, Mullen proved tone-deaf by not voicing enthusiasm for recruiting. A defeat at Missouri sealed his fate.
Billy Napier made his name as a successfully transformative head coach at Louisiana. LSU refused to consider Napier because of intrastate snobbery. Thus, Florida swooped in to pluck a coach known to be a recruiting machine and program builder.
USC Trojans – Lincoln Riley
Lincoln Riley proved to be the perfect fit at Oklahoma after his mentor Bob Stoops retired. Riley produced conference championships, College Football Playoff berths, and Heisman Trophy quarterbacks. But he saw the future and decided it wasn’t going to work. Oklahoma’s upcoming move to the SEC will make things much more difficult. By comparison, USC is a traditional power in a weak Pac 12 Conference. With the right coach, the Men of Troy should be strong favorites with the NCAAF Odds to return to Glory.
Southern California is known for its fertile recruiting territory. But in recent years, its best players left for other states such as Oklahoma. Lincoln Riley enters USC with a head start and a great local reputation.
LSU Tigers – Brian Kelly
LSU coach Ed Orgeron is out just two years after leading the Tigers to a perfect 2019 national championship season. Orgeron was too unpolished for the LSU brass. He was also not organized. By contrast, Brian Kelly routinely beat the NCAAF Betting Odds as coach of Notre Dame. He became the winningest coach in program history. But Kelly was tired of the red tape that comes with the job. He sees an LSU program that has no restrictions and unlimited potential.
Notre Dame Fighting Irish – Marcus Freeman
Marcus Freeman was hired by Brian Kelly as a potential head coach of the future. What nobody expected was that the future was now. Freeman faces some daunting history with the NCAA Vegas Odds. Rookie head coaches tend to get chewed up and spit out by Notre Dame. They usually depart with records around .500. Notre Dame is a brutally tough job for a good veteran coach. For a rookie sold as a “Player’s Coach,” the job could provide an insurmountable challenge.
Oklahoma Sooners – Brent Venables
Once upon a time, Brent Venables was the Oklahoma defensive coordinator. But then head coach Bob Stoops wanted to hire his brother for the DC role. Thus, Venables took refuge at Clemson, where he became the most celebrated defensive coordinator in the country. Oklahoma fans love the hire and the two national championships Venables won at Clemson.
Miami Hurricanes – Mario Cristobal
Miami coach Manny Diaz spent the past few weeks twisting in the wind. He was finally fired on December 6 after a weekend of tweets about Miami negotiating with his successor. Mario Cristobal proved to be one of the elite recruiters in the sport at Oregon, where he won two Pac 12 titles and a Rose Bowl. Cristobal is a native of Miami and has strong ties with the high schools there. But questions remain about his ability as an in-game coach.
Miami agreed to spend lavishly on facilities, assistant coaches, recruiting, and a potential on-campus stadium to lure Cristobal.
Every day through June, the Top College Football odds and picks can be accessed and made at SugarHouse.
