Tag: Ken Wilson

2023-2024 College Football Coaching Carousel

Texas A&M hires Duke’s Mike Elko as the coaching carousel continues to spin.

The end of the college football season is here and the coaching carousel is once again getting fired up. This season saw two early head coaching changes within the Big Ten to get an early jump on things, but more coaching changes are popping up as we close in on the end of another regular season around the nation.

We’ll keep track of all of the head coaching changes in our updated coaching carousel tracker to see what head coaches are out and who is replacing them. This will be updated daily as needed with the latest head coaching changes as jobs open up and are filled. As is so often the case in college football, one coaching vacancy being filled will lead to another opening popping up as a result.

As of Thursday, Dec. 8 there are 2 head coaching vacancies in college football, including 1 power conference job to fill. A total of 19 head coaching changes have been made this year.

Below is the updated chart for this year’s edition of the head coaching carousel in college football. After that is a bit more detail on each job opening, listed in alphabetical order.

Former Oregon RB Sean Dollars transfer to Nevada Wolfpack

Sean Dollars is headed to Nevada, where he will join both Ken Wilson and Jim Mastro, a pair of former Oregon coaches.

The Oregon Ducks found out earlier this offseason that veteran running back Sean Dollars was entering the transfer portal and looking to leave Eugene.

Now we know where Dollars is landing.

On Sunday afternoon, Dollars announced that he would be transferring to the Nevada Wolfpack, where he will join former Oregon LB coach Ken Wilson, who took over as the head coach prior to the 2022 season. Dollars will also be joining former Oregon RB coach Jim Mastro in Nevada, who is now the Senior Director of Administration and Operations.

After the 2021 season, Dollars entered the transfer portal following Mario Cristobal’s departure but eventually came back to Eugene. Dollars’ workload in 2022 under the new coaching staff was not as big as some expected, so it didn’t come as a major surprise to see him enter the portal once again.

Sean Dollars’ Transfer Portal Profile

LB Jackson LaDuke follows former Oregon coach to Nevada

Former Oregon LB Jackson LaDuke is heading to Nevada to joining Ken Wilson, the former Ducks’ LB coach who recruited LaDuke to Eugene.

Former Oregon Ducks linebacker Jackson LaDuke has found a new home with a familiar face.

It was announced on Friday night that LaDuke, a player who played in 18 games through 3 season with the Ducks, would be transferring to the Nevada Wolfpack, joining former Oregon linebackers coach Ken Wilson.

Wilson, who was named the head coach at Nevada last year, recruited LaDuke to the Ducks, so it makes sense that he would find a home there and hope to see an increase in playing time.

LaDuke entered the transfer portal on December 4, so it didn’t take long for him to find a new home.

Jackson LaDuke’s Transfer Portal Profile

Ducks’ defensive analyst Kwame Agyeman to become co-defensive coordinator at Nevada

Kwame Agyeman was the longest-tenured coach at Oregon with 7 years under his belt. No longer. He is taking the co-DC job under Ken Wilson at Nevada.

Another former Oregon Ducks coach is following Ken Wilson to Nevada, with Bruce Feldman reporting that defensive analyst Kwame Agyeman is set to become the new co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach for the Wolfpack.

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Agyeman is a former linebacker at Oregon, where he played for four years in the 2000s. Before his departure for Nevada, Agyeman was the longest-tenured coach at Oregon, with seven years under his belt.

Earlier on Wednesday, it was reported that Oregon’s former offensive analyst, Nate Costa, would also be departing for Nevada, where he would take over as the quarterbacks’ coach. Wilson, who was recently the LB coach for the Ducks, is bringing in up-and-coming guys with who he is familiar to fill out his staff with the Wolfpack.

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Where do new and former Oregon Ducks coaches rank nationally after wild coaching carousel?

USA TODAY ranked all 28 new head coaches in the FBS after their hires. Where did Mario Cristobal, Dan Lanning, and other former Oregon coaches land?

In an unprecedented season of college football, more than a fifth of all FBS schools saw a change at the head coaching position, and a number of storied programs will enter the 2022 year with a new man at the top of the organizational chart.

For the Oregon Ducks, this has been massively impactful, as former head coach Mario Cristobal left for his alma mater in Miami, which opened the door for Georgia Bulldogs defensive coordinator Dan Lanning to come in and accept his first career head coaching position. On top of that, Oregon also saw the likes of Joe Moorhead and Ken Wilson leave for HC jobs across the nation.

So what are we to make of each of these hirings, and where do they stand nationally? USA TODAY recently ranked all 28 of the head coaching hires, where they parsed out how excited each fanbase should be. Here are where the former or new Men of Oregon currently stand:

No. 1 — Mario Cristobal (Miami Hurricanes)

Troy Wayrynen-USA TODAY Sports

It shouldn’t come as a major surprise that Cristobal is ranked No. 1 on this list. The Hurricanes got an absolute home run in the hiring of Cristobal, bringing back their native son who has found massive success at Oregon. Now he will look to turn around Miami and bring them back to the levels of success that Cristobal saw when he won two championships with The U as a player. Here’s what USA TODAY had to say:

It’s hard to imagine a more perfect fit. The former Oregon coach is from Miami, played for the Hurricanes and was a key assistant under Larry Coker before taking the job at Florida International. He was a winner at FIU and a winner with the Ducks, and is expected to do the same at Miami after refreshing a roster that should always have as much as if not more talent than every team in the ACC. He’s an absolute home run for the Hurricanes.

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Oregon’s Nate Costa set to become new QB coach with Nevada Wolfpack

Former Oregon QB Nate Costa is finding a new home with Ken Wilson in Nevada, where he is expected to be the new quarterbacks’ coach.

Another former Oregon Ducks coach is on the move, with former offensive analyst Nate Costa set to become the new quarterbacks’ coach with the Nevada Wolfpack, according to a report from Bruce Feldman.

Costa was a familiar name in Oregon and served as a quarterback himself for the Ducks back in the day, playing from 2006-2010. Earlier this year, when offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead was sidelined due to some health issues, Costa took on a bigger role in the QB room and was often seen on the field pre-game with that group in warmups.

At Nevada, Costa will now be reuniting with former Oregon Ducks linebackers coach Ken Wilson, who was recently named the head coach of the Wolfpack.

For the Ducks, new offensive coordinator Kenny Dillingham will serve as the quarterbacks’ coach.

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Oregon’s co-DC Ken Wilson to be come head coach for Nevada Wolfpack

After spending 19 years on the Nevada staff, Oregon LB coach Ken Wilson is expected to become the new head coach for the Wolfpack.

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One of the more coveted coaches on the Oregon Ducks staff is reportedly moving on after the departure of Mario Cristobal, with co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach Ken Wilson expected to take the head coaching job at the University of Nevada, according to Bruce Feldman.

Wilson spent 19 years on the Nevada staff, which included five seasons as associate head coach and four as defensive coordinator, before his six seasons (2013-18) at Washington State, according to the Oregon Ducks website.

The coaching turnover continues for Oregon, with a majority of the position coaches now either leaving the Ducks, or being in consideration to leave after the coming bowl game against Oklahoma on December 29th.

With the search for a new head coach ongoing, it is clear that whoever is hired will have to fill out a majority of his staff after getting the job.

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