2009 ACC Football Head Coaching Changes

            Boston College Eagles - The Eagles say goodbye to former coach Jeff Jagodzinski and welcome new coach Frank Spaziani. Jagodzinski was fired in January after a 20-8 overall record with the Eagles. He also led Boston College to the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game during both the 2006 and 2007 seasons. Spaziani has been the defensive coordinator for the Eagles the past ten seasons. This will be Spaziani’s first head coaching stint. He is a 1969 graduate of Penn State, where he was a star defensive end of the Nittany Lions.

            Clemson Tigers - The 2008 season was very rocky for the Clemson Tigers. During the middle of the season Tommy Bowden and the University elected to part ways after 9.5 seasons. Bowden was 72-45 at Clemson, but started the 2008 season 3-3, including 1-2 in the ACC. Bowden brought Clemson to a bowl game in eight of his nine full seasons, with the one exception - a punishment from the NCAA from an on the field brawl back in 2004. The Tigers turned to Dabo Swinney as the interim coach to finish the 2008 season, and then named him the head coach on December 1st. Swinney finished the season 4-2 with the Tigers and led them to a Gator Bowl berth. Swinney is the University’s 25th head coach in history. He is a 1993  graduate of Alabama.

2009 Big 10 Football Head Coaching Changes

            Purdue Boilermakers - Former head coach Joe Tiller announced 2008 was going to be his final season, so the Boilermakers had ample time to find his replacement. Tiller spent 12 seasons as the leader of the Boilermakers, compiling a 87-62 record. Before coming to Purdue, Tiller was the head coach at Wyoming where he went 39-20-1.  Tiller is a graduate of Montana State University. Danny Hope is in for the 2009 season. Hope was hired in January 2008 as the associate head coach. From 2002-2007 Hope spent his time as the head coach at Eastern Kentucky. During those years his teams went 35-22. Hope is a 1981 graduate of Eastern Kentucky.

2009 Big 12 Football Head Coaching Changes
           
            Iowa State Cyclones - Gene Chizik left Iowa State for the head post at Auburn University. In his two seasons as the leader of the Cyclones coach Chizik won just 5 of 22 games. Chizik is a 1985 graduate of the University Florida where he played linebacker for the Gators. Chizik spent time at Auburn from 2002-2004 as the defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach. The Cyclones hired Paul Rhoads, a highly successful defensive coordinator at both Pittsburgh and Auburn. Rhoades signed a five year contract  worth $5.75 million. During his time with the Panthers, he led the defensive to a Big East title. Rhoades is known best for his excellent recruiting skills. He will need to put them to work quickly as the Cyclones have fallen to the bottom of the Big 12 pack for the past several seasons.

            Kansas State Wildcats - Ron Prince was fired in November 2008 less than three seasons into his tenure as the head man of the Wildcats. Prince went 16-18, losing his only bowl game, during his first season to Rutgers. The firing came after a 51-21 loss to state rival Kansas. The  Wildcats took just two weeks to fill their head coaching vacancy hiring former head coach Bill Snyder. Snyder returned in 2005 after failing to reach a bowl game in two straight seasons. Snyder has won 136 games in his head coaching career, and 11 straight bowl game appearances from 1993-2003. Snyder began his football coaching career in 1964 as a high school assistant in California.

2009 Big East Football Head Coaching Changes

            Syracuse Orangemen - After winning just 10 games in four seasons at Syracuse, Greg Robinson was fired at the end of the 2008 season. Robinson was hired in 2005 replacing former coach Paul Pasqualoni. Pasqualoni spent 14 seasons at Syracuse, winning 107 games. Robinson’s best season with the Orange came in 2006 when they finished 4-8 and 1-6 in the Big East. Syracuse elected to hire former New Orleans Saints offensive coordinator Doug Marrone. Marrone is a 1991 Syracuse graduate and former NFL player. He was named the 28th head coach of the Orange.  Marrone began his coaching career in 1992 at Cortland State in New York.

2009 Pac Ten Football Head Coaching Changes

            Oregon Ducks - Mike Bellotti elected after 19 years of coaching the Ducks football team, he would take a new venture - as the school’s athletic director. The University recently made this announcement, as Bellotti’s A.D. post will start July 1st, 2009. Bellotti won 116 games at Oregon, which ranks as third all time in Pac Ten wins. In to fill Bellotti’s big shoes will be Chip Kelly. Kelly will begin his first stint as a collegiate head coach.

            Washington Huskies - After four disappointing seasons, the University of Washington elected to fire Tyrone Willingham. Willingham won just 11 games at Washington, and went 0-12 in his final season in 2008. Willingham took the post at Washington, after Notre Dame fired him after three seasons, as he won 21 games. Former USC offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian was hired on December 6th as the 23rd head football coach in the 119 year history. The 1997 graduate of Brigham Young University spent the past two seasons as the offensive coordinator and assistant head coach for the Trojans. Before that, Sarkisian was the quarterbacks coach at USC. While a member of the Trojans coaching staff, Sarkisian saw USC win 74 of 89 games.

2009 SEC Football Head Coaching Changes

            Auburn Tigers - In one of the more surprising coaching moves during the 2008 season, Tommy Tuberville resigned on December 3rd, 2008. It has been reported that school administrators forced him out after 10 seasons. In those 10 seasons at the leader of the Tigers, they won 85 games. 2008 was a rough season for Tuberville and the Tigers, they finished 5-7 and failed to advance to a bowl game. Tuberville’s best season came in 2004 when Auburn finished the season unbeaten, finishing # 2 behind USC. Gene Chizik, who formerly was the defensive coordinator at Auburn, before taking the head coaching post at Iowa State was named as the new head coach. Chizik was named the school’s 26th head coach in history.

            Mississippi State Bulldog - Mississippi State head coach Sylvester Croom resigned as the head coach on November 29th, 2008. Croom spent five seasons as the Bulldogs head coach winning 21 of 59 games. In his tenure, Croom won just 10 SEC games. The Bulldogs stayed within the conference and hired Dan Mullen, who spent the past four seasons as the offensive coordinator at Florida. Mullen is the 32nd head coach in Mississippi State history. He is known as one of the top young minds in collegiate football. During his time at Florida, the Gators ranked first in the SEC in scoring offense and total offense in 2008. In 2007, Florida led the league with 42.5 points per game.

            Tennessee Volunteers - One of the most popular coaching vacancies came from the rocky top. Phil Fulmer, the longtime Volunteers coach was fired on November 3rd, 2008. Spending 28 seasons in Tennessee, Fulmer won 150 games in 17 seasons as head coach, spending 11 more as an assistant. Fulmer won a national title, two SEC titles, and seven SEC divisional crowns in his tenure. His teams played in 15 bowl games. On December 1st, 2008 the University announced the hiring of Lane Kiffin. Kiffin was fired as the head coach of the Oakland Raiders after a tough stay there. Kiffin was an assistant coach on the University of Southern California staff, before jumping to the NFL. This will be Kiffin’s first head coaching position at the collegiate level. 

2009 Independent Football Head Coaching Changes

            Army Black Knights - The Black Knights elected to let go of Stan Brock after two seasons at the helm. In two years, Brock won just six games. Brock’s firing was six days after the 34-0 loss to Navy to end the 2008 season. Army spent some time looking for a replacement, and on December 26th, 2008 hired Rich Ellerson to become the program’s 36th head coach. Ellerson spent the past eight seasons leading Cal Poly, where he led the team to at least seven wins in the past six seasons. Before Cal Poly, Ellerson spent time as a head coach at Southern Utah, and defensive coordinator at Arizona. Ellerson, who turned 55 on New Years Day 2009 is known for his defensive presence.

2009 MAC Football Head Coaching Changes

            Ball State Cardinals - Brady Hoke, after leading Ball State to a program high 12 wins in 2008, left the program to take the job at San Diego State University. Hoke, who was a finalist for the coach of the year elected to take the job before the GMAC bowl, in which he did not coach in.  Hoke has been known for successful offensive plays and excellent students in the classroom. Stan Parrish was named the head coach on December 18th, 2008. Parrish spent the past four seasons as the assistant to Hoke at Ball State. Parrish will start his 39th season coaching football. Before coming to Ball State, he was the quarterbacks coach for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Parrish has also spent time at the University of Michigan. Parrish has been a head coach at three stops, including Wabash College, Marshall, and Kansas State compiling a 57-41-3 record.

            Bowling Green Falcons - Gregg Brandon was fired after six seasons with the Falcons. During those years, Brandon won 44 games, losing 30. Bowling Green finished the 2008 season with a 6-6 record. Brandon was the 16th head coach in school history,  spent time as an assistant head coach and offensive coordinator at Bowling Green before being named the new head coach. Dave Clawson was named the 17th coach in school history in December of 2008. Clawson spent the 2008 season as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Tennessee. Clawson has coached for 20 years, including 9 years as a head coach. Clawson was the head coach at Richmond from 2004-2007 and before that at Fordham from 1999-2003. During those years, he compiled a 58-49 record.

            Eastern Michigan Eagles - After five seasons at Eastern Michigan, Jeff Genyk was fired as the head coach. In those five years, Genyk compiled a 15-42 record. Genyk’s best season came in 2007 when the Golden Eagles finished 4-8. Eastern Michigan made a splash in hiring a new head coach when they named Ron English as their new head coach. English’ name was linked to several jobs that past couple of seasons. English was the defensive coordinator for Louisville in 2008. Before heading to Louisville, English spent time at the University of Michigan as the defensive backs coach, and then later the defensive coordinator. English is one of just five African American head coaches in the NCAA Football Subdivision.

            Miami (Ohio) Redhawks - Shane Montgomery resigned as the Redhawks head coach after finishing 2008 2-10. Miami was considered in the preseason as a challenger to win the MAC title. In four seasons at Miami Montgomery went 17-31. Montgomery’s best season came in 2005 when he led the Redhawks to a 7-4 record and a share of the conference title. Michael Haywood was named the new head coach in December 2008. Haywood comes to Miami from Notre Dame where he was  the offensive coordinator for Charlie Weis. This will be Haywood’s first heading coaching job, he has been in collegiate coaching since 1988 when he was a graduate assistant at Minnesota. Between Minnesota and Notre Dame, Haywood spent seasons at Army, Ohio, Ball State, LSU and Texas.

            Toledo Rockets - Tom Amstutz elected to resign from the head coaching position on November 3rd, 2008. Amstutz spent eight seasons as the head coach of the Rockets. Amstutz compiled a 57-38 record, winning two MAC titles. During his career, Amstutz led the Rockets to five wins over Top 25 teams. On December 4th, Toledo announced Tim Beckham as their new head coach. Beckham came to Toledo from Oklahoma State, where he was the defensive coordinator. Beckham is the 25th head coach in the 88 year history of Toledo football. Beckham started his coaching career in 1988 as a graduate assistant at Auburn. Beckham was part of the coaching staff for Ohio State during the 2005 and 2006 seasons, in which the Buckeyes reached the Fiesta Bowl, followed by the BCS Championship game.

2009 Mountain West Football Head Coaching Changes

            New Mexico Lobos - Out of New Mexico is Rocky Long. Long elected to resign on November 17th, 2008. During his tenure at New Mexico, Long won 65 games, ranking him first in school history. The Lobos also won a bowl game under Long in 2007. New Mexico finished 4-8 in 2008. The University took some time before hiring a new coach, and on December 8th, 2008 announced the hiring of Mike Locksley. Locksley was the offensive coordinator at Illinois the past four seasons. Locksley, who is 39 years old turned the Illini offense into one of the best in the nation, leading the Big Ten in rushing in 2006 and 2007, and passing in 2008. This will be Locksley’s first head coaching stint.

            San Diego State Aztecs - Chuck Long spent three seasons as the head coach of the San Diego State football team. In those three seasons, the team won just nine games. On November 23, 2008 the Aztecs fired Long. San Diego State then went out and got Brady Hoke from Ball State, right before the Cardinals final game, the GMAC Bowl game. Hoke spent six seasons at Ball State, leading the program to their best season ever in 2008. Hoke’s team reached # 12 in the Associated Press poll during 2008. At Ball State, Hoke’s teams won their 12 games by an average of 21 points per game. Hoke is the 17th coach in San Diego State football history.

            Wyoming Cowboys - The Cowboys fired Joe Glenn on November 23rd, 2008 after six seasons as the head coach. During those six seasons, Glenn’s teams went 30-41. On December 1st, 2008 Wyoming hired Dave Christensen, the former offensive coordinator at the University of Missouri. At Missouri, in 2007, he was named the offensive coordinator of the year, and was runner up for the top assistant coach award. In 2008 his offense at Missouri scored 45 points per game, ranking fourth in the nation in scoring offense. Christensen is the 31st head coach in Wyoming history.

2009 WAC Football Head Coaching Changes

            New Mexico State Aggies - Hal Mumme was fired as the head coach at New Mexico State on December 1st, 2008. For a week stretch, both D-1 schools in New Mexico were looking for a head coach. Mumme finished 11-38 in four seasons as the head coach, and a dismal 4-28 against WAC opponents. On December 30th the University announced DeWayne Walker as their 33rd coach in school history. Walker has spent 21 seasons coaching football and both the collegiate and professional level. Most recently, Walker was the defensive coordinator at UCLA. Walker’s defenses at UCLA ranked 33rd, 29th and 48th in the nation.

           
            Utah State Aggies - Brent Guy spent four seasons as the Aggies head coach, winning just 9 games. At the end of the 2008 season the Athletic Director at Utah State asked Guy to step down as the head coach, in which Guy did. Utah State then hired Gary Andersen as their 26th head coach in the 115 years of Aggie football. Andersen comes to Utah State after spending the last five seasons as an assistant head coach, defensive coordinator and defensive line coach at Utah. Andersen spent one season as the head coach at Southern Utah, before returning back to University of Utah.