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Only five days before the final week of the regular season, North Carolina became the first power conference school to enter the market. Legendary coach Mack Brown will not be retained in 2025, clearing the way for UNC to be by far the top option on the market for prospective candidates.
However, 14 jobs overall have opened heading into the offseason, with 13 of them coming at the Group of Five level. Six of them came in the AAC, with three of those jobs coming open less than two years after hires were made, an unusual trend for the non-power level.
As of Nov. 26, two of the 14 jobs have been filled. East Carolina opted to go internal and retained interim coach and defensive coordinator Blake Harrell after he led a four-game winning streak. Rice looked to the FCS ranks and hired successful Davidson coach Scott Abell, who led the Wildcats to three FCS Playoffs trips in the last five years, the first three postseason appearances in program history.
While the profile of jobs like Alabama or Michigan speak for themselves, digging into the Group of Five is a different challenge. For some, looming conference realignment hangs over their head. For others, it’s a flat-out monetary issue. Kennesaw State, for example, has barely even started the process of transitioning up to FBS. The next coach will have to live with that.
Hiring at the Group of Five level has never been more complicated. In the last year alone, multiple sitting coaches have left positions in the Sun Belt or MAC to become position coaches at Power Four schools. For those hoping to someday become coaches in the SEC, a power conference coordinator job might be the easier path than winning big on a smaller stage. And with the expansion of power conference assistant jobs and…
Source link : https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/college-football-coaching-carousel-2024-ranking-every-fbs-vacancy-after-north-carolina-fires-mack-brown/
Author : Shehan Jeyarajah
Publish date : 2024-11-27 00:21:00
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