College Football: Five best Coordinators Ready to be a Head Coach

In my last article, I wrote about prospective coaches that are in line for a promotion from the Group of Five Head Coach to the Power Five Head coaching position. Today I’ll look into five coordinators that are ready for a Head Coaching position. These two articles go hand in hand as the names listed below could fill those vacant positions in the Group of Five.

Ivin Jasper-Offensive Coordinator Navy

Jasper has been the offensive coordinator at Navy since 2008 with previous stops at Georgia Southern and the Naval Academy prep school. While at Navy, Jasper learned the Triple Option from guru’s Paul Johnson and Ken Niumatalolo. To say Jasper knows the Triple Option is an understatement. Under Jasper’s watch, the Mid-Shipmen have been in the top five in rushing eight times in ten years (the other two years Navy fell to sixth). At this point, Jasper may be comfortable at Navy, but if a team that has a history of the Triple Option (Hello Georgia Southern!) has an opening next season, Jasper would be the perfect candidate.

Brent Venables-Defensive Coordinator Clemson

Venables got a bad rep as the Oklahoma defensive coordinator when USC hung 55 points on the Sooners in the 2004 title game, then Boise State dropped forty-three against them in the 2006 Fiesta Bowl then again when West Virginia scored forty-eight in next years Fiesta bowl. This all changed when Venables came to Clemson in 2012; The Tigers have finished in the top ten in total defense since Venables came to town in 2012. With a 1.7 million dollar salary at Clemson he may end up staying but opportunities to become a head coach will certainly be available next season.

Dave Aranda-Defensive Coordinator LSU

Since 2012 a Dave Aranda coordinated defense has been in the top fifteen in total defense. This has been over the span of three stops including Utah State, Wisconsin and LSU. There is a reason he is the highest paid defensive coordinator in college football (2.5 Million annually with a 10 million dollar guaranteed contract!)….he can flat out coach a defense. What is more impressive is that he is the only assistant to stay when Gary Anderson left Wisconsin for Oregon State and when Les Miles was fired at LSU. Another strong finish by the Tiger defense should elevate Aranda into the Head Coaching conversation.

Mel Tucker-Defensive Coordinator-Georgia

Although Tucker has only spent two years as a defensive coordinator at Georgia he has had quite the impact on the program. Georgia improved nine spots to sixth overall in yards allowed per game from 2016. Many will question the defense after Baker Mayfield and Sooners lit them up in the Rose Bowl and Tua Tagovailoa led an Alabama offense to twenty-six points in the second half and overtime in the National Title game. Those, however, are a bit skewered as Mayfield had one of the best seasons of any quarterback in the history of college football and the Sooners only scored seventeen points in the second half. Tucker also had to devise a game plan on the fly against Tagovailoa in the National Championship game. With another strong performance by Georgia in 2018, Tucker could be looking for a promotion in 2019.

Mike Yurcich-Offensive Coordinator Oklahoma State

The wildcard of the bunch is Mike Yurcich of Oklahoma State. Since 2013 (Yurich’s first year as coordinator) the Cowboys have fielded one of the best passing attacks in the nation. From 2015-2017 Yurcich engineered top ten finishes in passing yards in the nation. Losing Mason Rudolph will hurt the passing game a bit, but still, expect the Cowboys to light up the scoreboard again in 2018.

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