Grading the New Coordinator Hires

By Matt Smith
SouthernPigskin.com

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In addition to three new head coaches across the SEC and ACC, nine other teams made coordinator changes.

Paul Haynes, Arkansas (DC)

Haynes comes to Fayetteville by way of Ohio State, having served as defensive backs coach under Jim Tressel and Luke Fickell. The Buckeyes allowed less than 200 yards per game through the air in each of the past six seasons, while the Razorbacks’ average has topped 200 in three of the past five seasons. He is not known for his recruiting prowess, but was instrumental in luring one of last year’s top freshman linebacker and Florida native Ryan Shazier to Columbus. The biggest downside is he’s never been a coordinator.

Grade: B

Mike Locksley, Maryland (OC)

Locksley may have had the worst head coaching tenure in recent memory. His win total (2) matched the number of scandals he was involved in during his two-plus seasons at New Mexico. Despite his failures as a head coach, Locksley was a phenomenal recruiter while at Florida and Illinois, having helped bring in many of the players on the 2006 Gators national title team and the 2007 Illini Rose Bowl team. He was previously the Terrapins’ recruiting coordinator for five years at the turn of the century. This was a hire based as much on helping recruiting in the growing hotbed of metro Washington, D.C as it was to improve the offense.

Grade: B+

Scot Loeffler, Auburn (OC)

The Tigers will see a major systematic change on offense, as Loeffler brings a more pro-style background to the Plains after Gus Malzahn packed up his spread offense and took it to Arkansas State. Loeffler was hired by Florida in 2009 to help tutor Tim Tebow, and spent last season, his first as a coordinator, running the ground-heavy Temple offense. Many of the current Auburn players were recruited for Malzahn’s offense, so there may be some growing pains depending on how significant the tweaking will be. As always in the SEC, there won’t be much patience. Ask Malzahn’s predecessor, Tony Franklin, who lasted only half a season at Auburn.

Grade: C+

Doug Martin, Boston College (OC)

The well-traveled Martin comes to Chestnut Hill after a year running New Mexico State’s offense. The Aggies improved from 15.7 points per game in 2010 to 24.7 in Martin’s only season. He was previously the head coach at Kent State from 2004 to 2010, failing to register a winning season. Martin fits what the Eagles want to do, and he’ll hopefully not have to overcome the numerous injuries that plagued the team in 2011. It’s not a flashy hire, but there has never been anything flashy about the way the Boston College football program operates.

Grade: B-

Doug Nussmeier, Alabama (OC)

Nick Saban is very picky with whom he chooses to run the Crimson Tide offense, and he hit a home run bringing in Jim McElwain from Fresno State in 2008. With McElwain gone to Colorado State, Nussmeier, who replaced McElwain in Fresno, was Saban’s next choice. His pro-style offense at Washington topped 30 points in nine of 13 games in 2011. In his first year in Seattle, the Huskies nearly doubled their points per game average from the previous season. He also has NFL experience, having coached Marc Bulger while quarterbacks coach with the Rams.

Grade: B+

Brent Pease, Florida (OC)

The pilfering of Boise State coordinators continued this offseason, as Florida swiped Pease away from the Broncos one year after Texas hired Bryan Harsin. Pease is a better fit with the Gators’ current roster than Charlie Weis was, but it’s still uncertain whether the Boise system can be effective in a BCS conference. Without an elite quarterback, Texas struggled mightily in Harsin’s first year. Florida will be in the same boat next season, as either Jeff Driskel or Jacoby Brissett will be the starter. This should be a good fit long-term, but it won’t be an overnight fix.

Grade: B+

Paul Petrino, Arkansas (OC)

The younger Petrino brother returns to Arkansas after a two-year stint with Illinois, where he temporarily escaped older brother Bobby’s shadow. While Nathan Scheelhaase developed into a quality quarterback in Petrino’s two seasons, the offense was often too inconsistent to sustain success in the Big Ten. Despite a mediocre tenure in Champaign, Paul will provide chemistry to the offensive staff. The offense is and will always be Bobby’s, so the familiarity with knowing what his older brother is looking for will be Paul’s biggest asset.

Grade: B

Sal Sunseri, Tennessee (DC)

Justin Wilcox returned to his Northwest roots at Washington, leaving Derek Dooley to make a hire that may determine his fate on Rocky Top. He ultimately turned to the Vols’ biggest rival, Alabama, to hire Sunseri, the linebackers’ coach for the Tide’s national championship team. Sunseri is a seasoned veteran who has also coached at LSU, Michigan State, and his alma mater, Pittsburgh. He also coached the defensive line with the Carolina Panthers, developing Julius Peppers into one of the best defenders in the NFL. He’ll run multiple formations with the Vols, showing both 3-4 and 4-3 alignments.

Grade: A-

Brian VanGorder, Auburn (DC)

The fall of the Georgia program from the nation’s elite can be traced to the loss of VanGorder after the 2004 season. He was the winner of the Broyles Award in 2003, given to the top assistant in the country. His Georgia defenses allowed 30 points only once in his four seasons with Athens. He was most recently the defensive coordinator with the Atlanta Falcons, helping the team to three straight winning seasons after missing the playoffs in each of the three prior years. His experience in the SEC makes this a home run hire for Gene Chizik. Just ask former Bulldog David Pollack, although you may have to cut him off after an hour and a half.

Grade: A

Brent Venables, Clemson (DC)

Once Mike Stoops was fired at Arizona, his return to Oklahoma and the departure of Venables seemed imminent. The move to Death Valley allows for Venables to escape the shadow of Bob Stoops, a defensive guru in his own right, and improve his chances at a head coaching job. He walks into a great situation at Clemson. The defense has plenty of talent, but could not overcome the loss of three players chosen in the first two rounds of the 2011 NFL Draft this season, culminating in a disastrous 70-33 loss to West Virginia in the Orange Bowl. There’s not a lot to complain about with this hire, but the Sooners’ 41-38 loss to a bad Texas Tech team last October has to raise a few red flags.

Grade: A-

Lorenzo Ward, South Carolina (DC)

Steve Spurrier didn’t have to look far to find his new defensive coordinator, promoting Ward, the cornerbacks coach for the past three seasons, after Ellis Johnson accepted the head coaching position at Southern Miss. Don’t expect many changes, as Ward and Johnson have a history together going back to 1991 when Ward was a graduate assistant for Johnson at Alabama. The Gamecocks defense ranked third nationally in 2011, so there was little reason to make any significant changes after Johnson’s departure. Ward is also a well-respected recruiter, so simply promoting him was the obvious choice here. It also allowed Spurrier to spend time on the golf course rather than interviewing candidates.

Grade: B+
 

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