Coaching carousel carnage and Texas' first SEC schedule

Coaching can be a very, very unforgiving profession. Outside of maybe the heights of corporate America, there probably isn’t another line of work where the bottom line matters more. 

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The retort to that is often, ‘well, they’re compensated handsomely’. They sure are, and that’s how coaches often find themselves in such difficult positions to succeed. In many cases, the money was just too good to pass up. 

There’s been a lot of discussion about how Texas’ first season in the SEC might go, but a newer, and lesser discussed aspect of 2024 is all the new coaching staffs Steve Sarkisian and Texas will confront.

Thus far, Sark’s tenure in Austin has been bolstered by staff continuity. Continuity should be a big advantage for Texas next season as a number of schools will be breaking in entirely new coaching staffs.

See for yourself. 

[After non-conference games the schedule is not in order. Asterisk denotes coach may not remain with school]

Colorado State (4-6)

Head coach: Jay Norvell

Finishes with: Nevada, at Hawaii 

Norvell is 7-17 in his second year in Fort Collins after a commendable rebuild at Nevada. The former Texas wide receivers coach does have some tough losses on his record this season. He lost to an improved Colorado squad in week two in two overtimes. He also lost to upstart UNLV by two and Wyoming by nine. 

I don’t know enough about CSU politics to know if Norvell’s seat is hot, but I suspect not given this being only his second year.

at Michigan (10-0)

Head coach: Jim Harbaugh* 

Finish with: at Maryland, Ohio State

Testament to Jim Harbaugh’s program, the Wolverine’s beat Penn State convincingly almost while on auto-pilot. It wasn’t nearly the tearjerker interim head coach Sherrone Moore made it out to be.

Of course Moore is interim because Harbaugh is suspended through the end of the regular season. 

Given his previous flirtations with a return to the NFL, the recent sign stealing scandal, and his general goofiness, I find it hard to believe Harbaugh will be the head coach when Texas travels to Ann Arbor next September. 

UTSA (7-3)

Head coach: Jeff Traylor*

Finishes with: South Florida, at Tulane

Traylor will likely lose four or more games this season for the first since his inaugural 7-5 year. That likely won’t hurt his chances of finding a quality horse on the coaching carousel. Traylor is already rumored to be in the running at Arkansas and A&M. 

Louisiana-Monroe (2-8)

Head coach: Terry Bowden* 

Finishes with: at Ole Miss, at Louisiana

The Warhawks travel to Oxford already on an 8-game losing streak. There’s a strong chance Bowden finishes on a 10-game losing streak after finishing up with Louisiana, who I assume is some sort of a rival. 

If so, he’d be 10-26 after three years. 

vs Oklahoma (8-2)

Head coach: Brent Venables 

Finishes with: at BYU, vs TCU

Oklahoma has shown improvement year-over-year including a season-defining, tattoo-motivating, shirt-selling win over Texas. 

Now, can the Sooners emerge from a contested pack to qualify for the Big 12 Championship game?

at Arkansas (3-7)

Head coach: Sam Pittman*

Finishes with: Florida International, Missouri

It’s tough to survive it coming to light that your team was watching The Polar Express at halftime when you’re 3-7 in year-three and your team is getting blasted 27-3 at halftime. Auburn would go on to outscore Arkansas 21-0 in the third quarter, ending the time honored debate over whether or not The Polar Express makes for a good halftime hype video. 

After showing promise in 2021, Pittman is 10-13 the last two seasons.

That’s a tough pill to swallow with Texas and Oklahoma not only joining the SEC but also potentially the same division as Arkansas. 

Florida (5-5)

Head coach: Billy Napier*

Finishes with: at Missouri, Florida State

I don’t think Napier will be fired after just his second year but the loss to Arkansas two weeks ago was brutal. That game was supposed to be the reprieve between playing Georgia, LSU, Missouri, and Florida State. Napier needs a big upset to keep from finishing the season on a five game losing streak and missing a bowl.

Let’s pause for a moment and appreciate Mizzou’s Eliah Drinkwitz. We often make fun of him for looking line an accountant, but this year he’s The Accountant. 

Georgia (10-0)

Head coach: Kirby Smart

Finishes with: at Tennessee, at Georgia Tech

His job is safe even if his players turn this offseason into the Fast & Furious again.

Kentucky (6-4)

Head coach: Mark Stoops

Finishes with: at South Carolina, at Louisville

Stoops has built a competitive football program. Even if he loses to a quality Louisville team the locals will be happy it was only in football. 

His name does come up from time to time for “bigger” jobs but I don’t see him moving. Water seems to have found its level in Lexington.

Mississippi State (4-6)

Head coach: ???

Finishes with: Southern Mississippi, Ole Miss

Recently terminated Bulldogs head coach Zach Arnett attempted to switch from Mike Leach’s Air Raid to a power running attack in one offseason. That had as good of a chance to succeed as beginning your vegan journey on Thanksgiving Day.

The early rumored list for Miss. St won’t exactly inspire fear in the rest of the conference.

They should look for a proven winner (Willie Fritz?) and give him time.

Texas A&M (6-4)

Head coach: ???

Finish with: ACU, @LSU

After hiring Jimbo Fisher for $75 million and then firing him six years later for $76 million nobody should ever question A&M’s resolve to winning. What people should always do, no matter who is coaching them or how talented their roster is, is question their ability to win.

I’m not buying Dan Lanning as a viable candidate.

I could see Jeff Traylor as someone who is hired to create buy-in, improve culture, and re-stock the roster with in-state talent. 

Whoever the Aggies sign, just remember one thing: that coach was their No. 1 target all along. 

Vanderbilt (2-9)

Head coach: Clark Lea*

Finish with: at Tennessee

Fortunately for the Commodores they started their season a week early so it’s almost over. 

Lea seemed to have his team on an uptick last November after consecutive wins over Kentucky and Florida. Those wins didn’t carry-over into this season. 

The former Notre Dame defensive coordinator is staring at a 10-26 record after three years. Vandy is a tough place to win but he knew that going in.

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The teams on Texas’ 2024 schedule are going to look quite different come September.