NCAA Football Betting: 4 Most Important Coaching Hires For 2011

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

by Sportsbetting.ag

These are clearly the four most important coaching hires from the past college football bowl season and offseason. There shouldn’t be much debate about these particular selections, allowing for a little wiggle room with the fourth item.

1) Will Muschamp hired as head coach at Florida Gators.

There wasn’t a higher-profile head-coaching vacancy than the one that opened up at the University of Florida last December when Urban Meyer, the owner of two national championships, agreed to step down after seasons marred by health concerns and the runaway stress that consume all too many members of the coaching fraternity. Muschamp’s move was significant for reasons beyond Florida. Muschamp, a former defensive coordinator at both Auburn and Louisiana State, was serving not only as the defensive coordinator for the University of Texas, but also as the coach-in-waiting behind current Longhorn leader Mack Brown.

Muschamp was biding his time while expecting to be promoted to the top spot at Texas, but as another year went by with Brown firmly in charge of the UT program, Muschamp bolted for the Sunshine State. Muschamp should maintain the high quality of recruiting Florida established under Meyer, but questions remain about the Florida Gators’ ability to field an effective offense. Muschamp is still relatively young; he could either become the next great coach at Florida, but only time will tell on that score. College football betting cappers are curious to see how this move pans out.

2) Brady Hoke hired as head coach at Michigan Wolverines.

The Rich Rodriguez era was a complete bust at Michigan. The Michigan Wolverines made only one bowl game in Rodriguez’s three seasons on the job. Moreover, they got thrashed in that bowl game (the Gator Bowl) by Mississippi State. Michigan’s defense was an embarrassment under “Rich Rod.” The Wolverines regularly got torched by opposing offenses, creating a sense of weakness that pervaded the Ann Arbor campus. Archrival Ohio State whacked Michigan with regularity during the Rodriguez era, denying Rodriguez the political leverage he needed to stay on the job. Michigan fired Rodriguez immediately after the season ended and then College football betting handicappers saw them choose San Diego State coach Brady Hoke as its newest head coach.

Hoke has proven himself as a quick fixer of programs. He molded Ball State and San Diego State into winning teams in relatively short periods of time. He’ll get a mulligan in year one as Michigan’s coach, but with Ohio State falling on hard times due to various NCAA violations, Hoke has a chance to do a lot of damage in the Big Ten in 2012 and beyond. If this is indeed the right man for the job, Michigan football can quickly regain the lofty place it inhabited under former coach Lloyd Carr.

3) Al Golden hired as head coach at Miami Florida Hurricanes.

The Miami Florida Hurricanes graduated and hit the books under former coach Randy Shannon. The Hurricanes distanced themselves from their ugly 1990s image and generally comported themselves off the field. However, those kinds of virtues aren’t given much weight in college football. The Hurricanes didn’t win very much under Shannon, failing to make a single BCS bowl game under their former defensive coordinator. As a result, Golden – the coach at Temple – was brought in to bring back Miami’s halcyon days as a program. Golden preaches power football – he revived Temple’s flagging program by getting the Owls to play a punishing, between-the-tackles style on offense. Now, Miami fans are anxious to see what their new coach can and will do. If Golden hits the mark, the nature of the Atlantic Coast Conference will be transformed.

4) Tie – Bryan Harsin hired as offensive coordinator at Texas, Charlie Weis hired as offensive coordinator at Florida.

NCAA football betting sharps will recognize that these are not head coaches, but their new jobs will do much to shape the college football world in 2011. Harsin is the former offensive coordinator at Boise State. His creativity helped BSU coach Chris Petersen to turn the Broncos into an annual national-title contender. Weis is the former coach at Notre Dame who spent the 2010 season as the offensive coordinator for the NFL’s Kansas City Chiefs. If these men can inject life into their teams’ respective offenses, the coaching changes at Texas and Florida will be likely viewed as ultimately successful.

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