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I found a really interesting list of college football coaches from the class of 2001 and what has happened to them since that time. It is a really interesting list. It definitely shows how volatile the college football coaching lifestyle is.

1. North Carolina, John Bunting

3 Year Pre-Hire Cumulative Record: 16-18 (.470)

Cumulative Record (5 seasons): 24-36 (.400)

Current status: Bunting is in his sixth season as head coach of UNC with a 1-3 record.

2. Alabama, Dennis Franchione

3 Year Pre-Hire Cumulative Record: 20-16 (.555)

Cumulative Record (2 seasons): 17-8 (.680)

Current status: Francione left after the 2002 season to take the head job at Texas A&M where he has had mixed success. Mike Shula replaced him at Alabama and is the Tide’s current coach.

3. Arizona, John Mackovic

3 Year Pre-Hire Cumulative Record: 23-13 (.63

Cumulative Record, (2+ seasons): 10-18 (.357)

Current status: Mackovic was fired five games into his third season at Arizona after a tumultuous tenure, including a player mutiny. Mike Stoops, former hot coaching prospect, is their current coach and has struggled to turn the program around.

4. Arizona State, Dirk Koetter

3 Year Pre-Hire Cumulative Record: 17-18 (.485)

Cumulative Record (5 seasons): 33-28 (.540)

Current status: Still the head man at ASU; granted a contract extension through 2009.

5. Boise State, Dan Hawkins

3-Year Pre-Hire Cumulative Record: 26-10 (.722)

Cumulative Record (5 seasons): 53-11 (.82

Current status: Now in his first season as head coach at Colorado.

6. Bowling Green, Urban Meyer

3-Year Pre-Hire Cumulative Record: 12-21 (.363)

Cumulative Record (2 seasons): 17-6 (.739)

Current status: Meyer left Bowling Green for Utah, where he had unprecedented success. He is now the head man at Florida. The Falcons went 11-3 and 9-3 after Meyer left but fell to 6-5 in 2005 and after losing 38-3 at home to Kent State are now 2-2.

7. BYU, Gary Crowton

3 Year Pre-Hire Cumulative Record: 23-15 (.605)

Cumulative Record (4 seasons): 26-23 (.530)

Current status: Crowton resigned under pressure after four seasons and is now offensive coordinator at Oregon.

8. Buffalo, Jim Hofher

3-Year Pre-Hire Cumulative Record: 6-27 (.181)

Cumulative Record (5 seasons): 8-49 (.140)

Current status: Buffalo has never had a winning record in D-I. Honestly, I have no idea where Jim Hofher is today.

9. Georgia, Mark Richt

3-Year Pre-Hire Cumulative Record: 25-11 (.694)

Cumulative Record (5 seasons): 52-13 (.800)

Current status: Your average Tar Heel football fan is pretty clear at this point on Richt and how his career is going (and what might have been).

10. Kentucky, Guy Morriss

3-Year Pre-Hire Cumulative Record: 15-20 (.42

Cumulative Record (2 seasons): 9-14 (.391)

Current status: Morriss was the offensive line coach for Hal Mumme before getting the head job when Mumme resigned after getting the program placed on probation by the NCAA. He took the team to a 7-5 record his second year (no bowl allowed, however) and then jumped to Baylor rather than continue with the mess created in Lexington.

11. Maryland, Ralph Friedgen

3-Year Pre-Hire Cumulative Record: 13-20 (.393)

Cumulative Record (5 seasons): 41-20 (.672)

Current status: “Fridge” is another coach Tar Heel fans are all too familar with as his Maryland teams have frequently pasted the Heels and last season broke their hearts in OT at Kenan, leading to the Heels missing a bowl when they couldn’t beat the Hokies in Blacksburg. There is plenty of evidence, however, that Friedgen is faltering with his own players, going 5-6 each of the past two seasons and enjoying cupcakes this year to get to 3-1. (A 14-10 home win over Florida International this weekend probably hurts more than helps.) Still, many Tar Heel fans agree Friedgen is just too plain fat and untelegenic to ever have gotten the job at UNC.

12. Memphis, Tommy West

3-Year Pre-Hire Cumulative Record: 11-22 (.333)

Cumulative Record (5 seasons): 32-28 (.533)

Current status: West inherited a program that hadn’t had a winning record since 1994 and continued that trend his first two seasons but now has posted three straight winning records.

13. Miami, Larry Coker

3-Year Pre-Hire Cumulative Record: 29-8 (.783)

Cumulative Record (5 seasons): 53-9 (.854)

Current status: Coker won a national title his first season at the U and has a staggering winning percentage but at this point any loss or even a bad win could cost him his job. Four relatively easy games coming up (including UNC) before going to Atlanta for Georgia Tech and a home tilt with Virginia Tech.

14. Missouri, Gary Pinkel

3-Year Pre-Hire Cumulative Record: 15-19 (.441)

Cumulative Record: 29-30 (.491)

Current status: Pinkel’s five seasons have fluctuated between 4-7 (2001) and 8-5 (2003). This season may be his best however as the Tigers are 4-0.

15. Ohio, Brian Knorr

3-Year Pre-Hire Cumulative Record: 17-16 (.515)

Cumulative Record (4 seasons): 11-35 (.239)

Current status: Knorr replaced Jim Grobe, current coach at Wake Forest. Fired after four miserable seasons, he was succeeded by Frank Solich.

16. Ohio State, Jim Tressel

3-Year Pre-Hire Cumulative Record: 25-11 (.694)

Cumulative Record (5 seasons): 50-13 (.793)

Current status: Ranked #1 in the country.

17. Oklahoma State, Les Miles

3-Year Pre-Hire Cumulative Record: 13-20 (.393)

Cumulative Record (4 seasons): 28-21 (.571)

Current status: Miles turned OK State around with three straight winning seasons which he then used to catapult himself into the prestigious head job at LSU.

18. Rutgers, Greg Schiano

3-Year Pre-Hire Cumulative Record: 9-24 (.272)

Cumulative Record (5 seasons): 19-39 (.327)

Current status: Rutgers was Rutgers for the first four seasons under Schiano, but what has transpired since is well-documented. The Scarlet Knights went to a bowl last season for the first time since 1978 and are off to a 4-0 start this season, including a win in Kenan over Bunting and the Heels. Schiano received an extension last season through 2012.

19. San Jose State, Fitz Hill

3-Year Pre-Hire Cumulative Record: 14-20 (.411)

Cumulative Record (4 seasons): 14-33 (.297)

Current Status: The Spartans had been pretty miserable throughout the 1990s. Hill resigned and took an academic post after being unable to dent the apathy shown by the univeristy and community. The Spartans are now led by Dick Tomey.

20. Southern California, Pete Carroll

3-Year Pre-Hire Cumulative Record: 19-18 (.513)

Cumulative Record (5 seasons): 54-10 (.843)

Current status: Let’s just move along.

21. Texas Christian, Gary Patterson

3-Year Pre-Hire Cumulative Record: 25-10 (.714)

Cumulative Record (5 seasons): 43-18 (.704)

Current status: Patterson took over at TCU before the Horned Frogs’ bowl game in 2000 because then coach Dennis Francione left for the Alabama job. TCU is ranked and undefeated thus far in 2006.

22. Toledo, Tom Anstutz

3-Year Pre-Hire Cumulative Record: 23-11 (.676)

Cumulative Record (5 seasons): 45-18 (.714)

Current status: Never worse than 8-4 since taking over for Gary Pinkel, Anstutz is off to a 2-2 start this season.

23. Virginia, Al Groh

3-Year Pre-Hire Cumulative Record: 22-14 (.611)

Cumulative Record (5 seasons): 37-26 (.587)

Current status: Another name Tar Heel fans know very well, Groh replaced the (legendary?) George Welsh at UVA and has four straight seasons of 7-5 or better. The Wahoos are struggling in 2006 however and Groh’s support amongst the fanbase is less than enthusiastic.

24. Wake Forest, Jim Grobe

3-Year Pre-Hire Cumulative Record: 12-22 (.352)

Cumulative Record (5 seasons): 26-32 (.44

Current status: Outside the ACC, or maybe even just North Carolina, I doubt many people know or care much about Demon Deacon football. Tar Heel fans however look on at amazement at what Grobe has done at WFU, a school where it is impossible to have much sustained success. Grobe is 2-2 against John Bunting and 4-0 to start the 2006 campaign.

25. West Virginia, Rich Rodriguez

3-Year Pre-Hire Cumulative Record: 19-16 (.542)

Cumulative Record (5 seasons): 39-22 (.639)

Current status: No team looks to benefit from the “new Big East” more than the Mountaineers. Without Miami, Virginia Tech, or Boston College in the way WVU looks poised to at least make a run at the national title this season.

Sources:

http://www.cfbdatawarehouse.com/index.php

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/football/college/stats/2000/news.newc