So now we come to the end of our FBS coaching carousel for the 2014 offseason. We think.
UAB has a new head coach, hiring away Jacksonville State head coach Bill Clark earlier this week. Clark was the head coach at JSU for just one season, but it was a fruitful one. The Gamecocks reached the FCS quarterfinals before losing to Eastern Washington.
What Clark lacks in name recognition nationally he seems to make up with name recognition locally. Clark is an Alabama guy, coming up through the high school ranks, leading Prattville to a 107-11 record and two state titles before moving to South Alabama to become the defensive coordinator, where he stayed for five seasons before taking the JSU job.
UAB’s hope is that Clark’s statewide recruiting ties will help them sign the guys that can’t go to Alabama and Auburn. If he can, then he has a shot to improve UAB, something Garrick McGee couldn’t do in two seasons.
So twenty jobs traded hands, if you count Georgia Southern, which is transitioning from FCS to FBS. That assumes nothing changes between now and the start of the 2014 season.
Soon we’ll rank the hires for this year and look back at the best and worst hires of 2013, too.
2014 FBS COACHING CAROUSEL
SCHOOL | OUT | IN |
Alabama-Birmingham (UAB) | Garrick McGee | Bill Clark |
Arkansas State | Bryan Harsin | Bruce Anderson |
Army | Rich Ellerson | Jeff Monken |
Boise State | Chris Petersen | Bryan Harsin |
Bowling Green | Dave Clawson | Dino Babers |
Connecticut | Paul Pasqualoni | Bob Diaco |
Eastern Michigan | Ron English | Chris Creighton |
Florida Atlantic | Carl Pelini | Charlie Partridge |
Georgia Southern | Jeff Monken | Willie Fritz |
Louisville | Charlie Strong | Bobby Petrino |
Massachusetts | Charley Molnar | Mark Whipple |
Miami (OH) | Don Treadwell | Chuck Martin |
Penn State | Bill O’Brien | James Franklin |
Texas | Mack Brown | Charlie Strong |
USC | Lane Kiffin | Steve Sarkisian |
Vanderbilt | James Franklin | Derek Mason |
Wake Forest | Jim Grobe | Dave Clawson |
Washington | Steve Sarkisian | Chris Petersen |
Western Kentucky | Bobby Petrino | Jeff Brohm |
Wyoming | Dave Christensen | Craig Bohl |