Running an elite college football program is big business. Check out the vast number of names in a typical athletic department staff directory.
Even head coaches as elite as Nick Saban rely on assistants such as Kirby Smart, Jimbo Fisher, Lane Kiffin and Steve Sarkisian to keep them atop the college football world.
Consider the Clemson coaching tree. Inevitable that Clemson assistants would be plucked to run other programs. How have they fared? Abysmal is not in any way hyperbolic.
Chad Morris proved to be in of the worst hires in SEC history after his Arkansas debacle. First-year Oklahoma coach, Brent Venables, is mired with a 5-5 record for the proud program.. Sooner fans are wondering if the Sooners will make it to bowl eligibility. Not that becoming bowl eligible will start to make up for a historic 49-0 beatdown in the Red River Rivalry.
Tony Elliott is currently dealing with tragedy at Virginia with the senseless shooting of three of his players. So, we do not want to be cruel and pile on. However, Elliott’s departure from Clemson as offensive coordinator has seemed to have two results. Clemson QB, DJ Uiagalelei, has improved from terrible to slightly better than average in Elliott’s absence. But the shocking change has been the unthinkable demise of Virginia QB, Brennan Armstrong. Armstrong was one of the very best QBs in 2021. His regression in 2022 has been stunning.
Last and far from least. Earlier this month, South Florida fired Jeff Scott after a humiliating blowout at the hands of Temple. USF was willing to pay a buyout that may approach $10 million. Big money for a program with small attendance. Scott’s awful 4-26 mark forced USF’s hand.
Given these records, the Odyssey totally bows down to Dabo.