To hire a Power Five head coach or not to hire a Power five head coach, that is the question. I am pretty sure that is what William Shakespeare said so many years ago.
Shea Dixon of Geaux247 writes that for the current top 15 programs, hiring a head coach from a Power Five school is not the normal way to go. We have all figured that with Scott Woodward’s history that the next head coach would be coaching somewhere else this season.
Names of Jimbo Fisher (Texas A&M), Mel Tucker (Michigan State), James Franklin (Penn State), Lincoln Riley (Oklahoma), and Dave Aranda (Baylor) have all been linked at one point or another since September. It was kicked into hyperdrive when the announcement came down of the separation agreement between LSU and current head coach Ed Orgeron.
Here is how Dixon broke it down:
NFL head coaches: 2/15 … Saban, Harbaugh
Promoted from current staff to head coach: 4/15 … Cristobal, Day, Gundy, Riley
Coordinator at another school: 4/15 … Kirby, Fickell, Aranda, Sitake
Head coach at Power 5 program: 2/15 … Tucker, Chryst
Head coach at Group of 5 program: 3/15 … Kelly, Clawson, Kiffin
Two of 15 were Power Five head coaches. Mel Tucker, who we have discussed at great lengths, and Paul Chryst of Wisconsin. Chryst was the head coach of Pittsburgh before returning to Madison where he was on the staff as the offensive coordinator in 2005-11. In 2005, Chryst was the co-offensive coordinator and tight ends coach before moving to quarterbacks and the primary play-caller in 2006.
We have seen more coaches from the Group of Five than the Power Five. Lane Kiffin, Brian Kelly, and Dave Clawson. Interestingly enough, Clawson had just one year of experience at the P5 level. Kelly had absolutely no experience at the P5 level and we know all about the history of Kiffin.
Coordinators from other schools and from within have been a common move but looking at the LSU staff there is no clearcut answer. Much the reason Woodward asked Orgeron to finish out the 2021 season as the head coach. Hiring a coordinator has only happened under Woodward once when he went with a hotshot offensive mind in Steve Sarkisian.