The firing of Penn State head coach James Franklin is the biggest non-game result story in college football this week. As is the tendency, the next logical step is to consider who might be a good fit to fill that new coaching vacancy. Instinctively, the compulsion is to look for quality coaching candidates who have previous ties to that program. That's why Matt Rhule’s name was one of the first to be mentioned with the Penn State vacancy. Right now, in college football circles, discussion are being had over who should take over after Franklin’s dismissal. Many of those conversations include an intention to find a candidate with previous ties to Happy Valley.
The short answer to why is simply human nature. There is a built-in sense, that if a new coach has a connection to the program that he will somehow be a better coach because of it. As if he will somehow understand X’s and O’s better, motivate young men better, and have better results on Saturdays because the landscape of that program will not be foreign to him. However, there are several examples that prove previous ties to the program is in no way a prerequisite, and at this point not even a solid indicator of any sort of success.
There are several names that immediately come to mind that are some of the best college coaches in college football today and some that didn’t need to be tied to the program to dramatically change the program. This idea lacks any sort of football logic and instead aims to pull on the heartstrings of fans and alumni to better sell the hire. However, looking at this list of names, it seems apparent that ties to the program doesn’t buy you much. It's certainly no guarantee of long sustained success. As you’ll see, most of the list could be confused for a “best college football coaches of the last 30+ years” list.
It's not a short list. Half of which are still coaching, the other half are in the hall of fame, or an argument could be made for their hall of fame candidacy. Nick Saban, Urban Meyer, Pete Carroll, Barry Switzer, Kirby Smart, Steve Sarkisian, Dan Lanning, and Coach Prime Deion Sanders.
Nick Saban was arguably the greatest head coach in college football history and had no formal ties to LSU or Alabama before taking either of those jobs. LSU won a national title and Saban’s run with Alabama is likely to never be equaled (six national championships and nine SEC conference titles). Yet no ties to either program.
Urban Meyer had ties to Ohio but not Ohio State. He also had no formal ties to Florida before coaching there either. While at Florida, Meyer had a 5-1 bowl record including two BCS Championships as well as wins in the Sugar Bowl and Fiesta Bowl during the BCS era. While at Ohio State he was 4-2 in bowl games, including the 2014 National Championship which was the first championship in the Playoff system era. No formal ties to either program prior to coaching there.
Pete Carroll had no ties to USC. After a short and unimpressive stint in the NFL (Jets and Patriots), Carroll would eventually decide to take the head coaching job at USC. During his time, he would amass a 97-19 record at USC. In his time at USC they won two National Championships and seven Pac-10 titles. Pete Carroll started at USC as a football name, but not because he had a long history with USC.
Barry Switzer. It was a different era altogether, but the scenario is the same. While Oklahoma had a rich history long before Barry Switzer, he is without question one of the best coaches in that program’s history. Switzer coached Oklahoma for 16 years and had a record of 157-39-4 with three national championships and 12 Big Eight conference titles. While having no previous ties to that program.
The remaining names are all current coaches. They all have significant resumes that include a significant amount of quality Power 4 wins, and one has a National Championship to hang his hat on. Kirby Smart (Georgia), Steve Sarkisian (Texas), Dan Lanning (Oregon) and Deion Sanders (Colorado). There is the consistent through line of having no previous ties before taking those jobs.
Kirby Smart, Steve Sarkisian, and Dan Lanning have been major players in the National Title conversation for the last few years including a National Championship win for Kirby Smart at Georgia. Deion Sanders has yet to really establish Colorado as a Power 4, College Football Playoff threat, but he is responsible for a massive cultural turnaround and optimism for a program that by and large had been all but forgotten.
Fans, boosters, and alumni will always have a compulsion to ‘want’ someone with ties to their program because it feels natural from a human nature standpoint. However, there is no real data to suggest that hiring someone with previous program ties will necessarily lead to increased success because of that fact. At least not at college football’s highest levels. Penn State and any other program that has a coaching void to fill will do their due diligence as part of a larger coaching search. Throughout that process, names will be suggested and possibly interviewed in some part because of their previous ties to that specific program. It’s a nice story. It’s a feel-good thing for fans. It just shouldn’t be a major reason why that candidate is being considered.
More college football news:
- Deion Sanders buyout, contract details as Colorado Buffaloes coach
- Bill Belichick and UNC documentary reportedly being shopped after Hulu pulls plug
- Eight college football stadiums to host Savannah Bananas in 2026
- Bill Belichick buyout, contract details as North Carolina Tar Heels coach
- Deion Sanders sends four-word message to his son over trust fund