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New head coaches can bring excitement, as well as uncertainty, when brought aboard to fix the woes of their respective programs. The 2015 season was no different, as several new head coaches took the reins of some notable power conference programs. They did so with a mixed-bag of success ranging from division titles to winless campaigns.
Among them was Florida’s Jim McElwain, who revitalized the Gators with an upstart season that concluded with a matchup against the nation’s other top hire for the season in Jim Harbaugh at Michigan in the Citrus Bowl.
Here are how the new coaches of power conference schools graded out after their debut seasons.
SEC
Jim McElwain, Florida (A-minus): Jim McElwain used his debut season in Gainesville to return Florida (10-4) to the SEC Championship Game for the first time since 2009. The former Colorado State head coach guided the Gators to their first 10-win season since 2012 and has Florida in a position to contend for the division once again in 2016. It wasn’t always smooth in 2015 and issues — particularly at quarterback — abound. But there’s plenty of reason for optimism heading into McElwain’s second season in The Swamp.
BIG TEN
Jim Harbaugh, Michigan (A): Jim Harbaugh finally brought the khakis to Ann Arbor, which had been widely speculated for quite some time. The result was palpable as Michigan (10-3) earned its first double-digit season since Brady Hoke’s first year in 2011. Moreover, the Wolverines won just its second bowl game (Citrus Bowl over Florida) since Lloyd Carr left the sidelines in 2007. Harbaugh is poised to capitalize on that success by adding the nation’s No. 3 recruiting class next month.
Mike Riley, Nebraska (C-minus): Mike Riley and Nebraska fell flat in the coach’s first year in Lincoln after leaving Oregon State, where he was the program’s winningest coach of all-time. Sure the Huskers made a bowl game, but did so with an anomalous 5-7 record, due to a lack of qualified teams. The silver lining for the former Pac-12 coach was knocking off old rival UCLA in this year’s Foster Farm’s Bowl.
Paul Chryst, Wisconsin (B-plus): Paul Chryst stepped up from the ACC (Pittsburgh) to the Big Ten and made an immediate impact guiding Wisconsin to a 10-3 record and Holiday Bowl win over Southern California. The turnover is remarkable, considering that Chryst was 19-19 with the Panthers and never won more than seven contests. He finished the 2015 season with the first ranked team of his four-year career and appears to have Wisconsin football on its continued path toward success.
BIG 12
David Beaty, Kansas (D-minus): David Beaty’s third stint with Kansas went about as well as you’d imagine for the first-time head coach of one of the nation’s most futile teams. The Jayhawks joined Central Florida as the only two teams in the country that failed to win a game this season. As bad as Kansas has been historically, it was just the second time in program history, and the first since 1954, that the team went winless on a year. It stands to reason that the only direction for KU is up, but it’s going to take time, hard work and patience for the 45-year-old Beaty to resurrect the walking wounded.
PAC-12
Gary Andersen, Oregon State (F): Beaty didn’t generate an F because it was his first year as a head coach. So what’s Gary Andersen’s excuse? Anderson confounded some by eschewing Wisconsin — where he was 19-7 in two seasons — to replace Mike Riley at Oregon State. The moved backfired as the Beavers tanked this season with a 2-10 record that included no Pac-12 wins.
ACC
Pat Narduzzi, Pittsburgh (B): – Pat Narduzzi’s debut as a head coach has to have fans in Pittsburgh (8-5) excited for the future. The coach earned the Panthers their most wins since 2010 after taking over for Paul Chryst, who split for Wisconsin. The defensive coordinator at Michigan State for seven years prior to taking the Pitt job, Narduzzi’s next goal should be getting the Panthers their second 10-win season since winning 11 games three-consecutive years from 1979-1981.
Chris Wuensch is a contributing writer for Saturday Down South. He covers South Carolina and Tennessee.
