Tons of posts-tweets-TV segments have been devoted to the circus ride that’s completely out-of-control (aka the coaching carousel) in college football this season. We’ve stopped counting the number of different hirings-and-firings
that have taken place, but better yet moved on to simply assessing the new hires and what they mean to our own interests in the state of Florida. We’ve even taken into consideration that some of the schools we think might not live down here during the recruiting season–might actually start looking for property along the peninsula if the hires pan out as we think they will. Here now are the six hires we feel have the biggest impact thus far once we factor in our own selfish needs in the F-L-A.

1. UCF – Scott Frost: The Knights and their new Athletic Director Danny White needed to hit a home run with the successor to George O’Leary–and they hit a home run that would make Yoenis Cespedes blush. Frost has all the credentials to become a juggernaut in the coaching circles in the Sunshine State. We emphasize the word “credentials” because obviously the real standard won’t be judged for a while. What Frost has done already has made one thing poignantly clear–that he’s going to look no further than his own backyard for talent which means hide everything that isn’t bolted to the ground if you don’t want him enticing recruits to come to a program that doesn’t need much time to rebuild. Big fish are attracted to big bait, and with the Knights landing three recruits from Dr. Phillips, Mainland and Sanford-Seminole in their first weekend–three recruits that could’ve gone to MUCH “bigger” programs, it’s about to get real exciting on the northeast side of Orlando–real quick.

2. USF – Willie Taggart: Sometimes the best hires–are the ones you DON’T have to make. All you gotta do–is pay the man. We’ve been tough on Coach Taggart and the stumbles of that Bulls Program in recent years, but things are headed back up–and apparently in a hurry. All Coach T needed to do was replace some gasket heads and the tires on the bus and things would be rolling according to his plan. Make no mistake about it–the Bulls will have some competition with the hiring of Frost as UCF, but competition OFF the field in this case will (or at least SHOULD) make them hungrier for more. The small taste of success this season SHOULD give USF some momentum heading into the offseason aka the ‘Cruitin’ Season for Coach Taggart and his staff. The Bulls are already gaining some prospects that wouldn’t have even considered Tampa as their collegiate home even two seasons ago.

3. Miami – Mark Richt: This one’s ranked third–for a reason–and honestly not that far behind #1, let alone #2. We shall explain. The talent gap at Miami is disturbingly far from what it once was–although some of their “fans” would like to think that Coach Richt has the major elixir to make the ‘Canes back into a beast literally overnight–it’s not going to work that easy. The ‘Canes WILL be back–just not next season. They’ll still have some major issues at important positions to fill, and those should get filled in the 2017 class once Miami’s staff gets sorted out–and about that staff–“rumors” are flying that Richt was considering bringing in longtime friend Willie Martinez to run the defense. Approach with caution if that happens ‘Canes fans–especially with the talent gap on defense that’s on the roster at that moment. The REALLY REALLY SUPER DUPER good news is that the light at the end of the tunnel in Coral Gables just went from galaxies to mere miles away with this hire. This state’s going to be fun to work in with all these coaches now in Florida–isn’t it?

4. Maryland – DJ Durkin: Arguably one of the giants of the “Sleeping Giants” category when referring to teams that should be competing nearly EVERY season when you stop to peel back the layers of the onion. College Park, Maryland is one of those locations. The Terrapins may have hit a home run with Durkin and here’s why. UM’s Campus sits smack dab along a corridor from New Jersey down to the Tidewater and Carolinas. They also have a VASTLY underrated and under appreciated pool of talent in the DMV area alone. Enter Durkin’s knowledge of our own state while at Florida and while at Michigan as a coach that was recruiting down here this one’s a SUPREMELY interesting hire. If Durkin can put the pieces in place on his staff that all share the same mentality as himself–the Terrapins are going to make serious noise in the Big Ten.

5. Virginia Tech – Justin Fuente: This one has a local tie to it actually. Fuente helped develop Andy Dalton (fwiw) at TCU and came into Deltona, Florida and HAD TO HAVE Paxton Lynch from Trinity Christian when hardly anyone even knew about him. That’s got to account for something, right? Yeah–it does–especially when you go to place like Memphis and win–or TCU (when he was there) for that matter. The Horned Frogs weren’t the powerhouse we’ve come to expect in recent years when Fuente was there. Take that kind of approach and enter Hillsborough’s Dwayne Lawson and his body type–his skill-set–and the ability to gain access to the Tidewater region of Virginia that steadily produces HSFB talent and the Hokies are on to something with this hiring. Make no mistake about it either–the competition that lies up the road in Charlottesville makes it even juicier–more on that in a minute. Fuente will not back down from walking into the same homes as Durkin at Maryland will–or anywhere along the Atlantic Seaboard for that matter and VaTech is an excellent sell to many kids–(and parents, too) in terms of education as well.

6. Virginia – Bronco Mendenhall: We just mentioned this one in the final thoughts on the hiring in Blacksburg for the same reasons we feel that the impending Frost-Taggart battles will make each others’ programs better in the long run. Mendenhall and Fuente are get-after-it coaches and know exactly what they want to do once trusted with being in charge of the process. The Cavaliers sit in the same talent-rich region that Maryland, VaTech, and pretty much all of the ACC schools recruit in–if Mendenhall can get kids to buy-in to the structure of BYU and win there–what can he do with Virginia? The answer: probably a lot–a lot more. Charlottesville offers more than just football, but the football tradition isn’t exactly reaching American Express Black Card status anytime soon–something that Mendenhall will take personally and will find the pieces to put in a contender in the ACC in the not-so-distant future.