The Florida Atlantic job is open. Head coach Tom Herman was fired Monday after a five-game shedding streak dropped his total file to 6-16 in lower than two full seasons.
Herman tried to revive his head teaching profession at FAU after a profitable run at Houston and an unsuccessful stint at Texas. His Owls by no means took off, regardless of this system’s potential in a talent-rich space. They went 3-11 within the American Athletic Convention throughout his tenure and have been 0-6 in league play this season.
“We firmly imagine in our skill to win championships and compete for bowl video games, and that is still our commonplace,” FAU athletic director Brian White mentioned in a launch.
So how good is the FAU job? What names may get within the combine? Based mostly on conversations with trade sources, here’s a report card for the job and the potential candidates to observe.
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On-field outlook: C
Expertise shouldn’t be a problem. The Owls are in the midst of the American Athletic Convention in 247Sports’ expertise composite rankings, and the college sits in one of many nation’s most fertile recruiting footprints. It may be an attractive vacation spot for Energy 4 transfers, like main rusher CJ Campbell Jr. (from Florida State) and quarterback Kasen Weisman (Colorado).
The roster has promise. Main tackler CJ Heard is a real freshman who initially dedicated to Florida State as a recruit. Campbell and high receiver Omari Hayes each have remaining eligibility. However there shall be a variety of work to do that offseason. Half of final week’s starters have been seniors, and the Owls rank exterior the highest 100 nationally in each scoring offense and scoring protection.
Redshirt junior quarterback Cam Fancher was advantageous earlier than he broke his collarbone in opposition to East Carolina. The Marshall switch put up common passing statistics within the convention whereas speeding for a minimum of 50 yards in 5 video games. His backup, Weisman, has accomplished 53.4 % of his passes as a redshirt freshman.
Cash state of affairs: B-
The Owls moved from Convention USA to the American final 12 months, bringing a step up in on-field competitors and off-field spending. FAU’s soccer price range in 2022 would have put the Owls within the backside half of the American, in keeping with figures submitted to the U.S. Division of Training. Amongst public-school coaches within the convention, Herman’s $1 million wage was tied for second-to-last, in keeping with USA At the moment’s teaching database.
However FAU’s funds look like transferring in the appropriate path. The varsity reported $23 million in athletics fundraising throughout the 2023-24 tutorial 12 months, a rise of 51 % from the earlier cycle and a division file for the third consecutive 12 months. Though FAU should spend extra to maintain up within the AAC, convention payouts are rising, too.
The varsity has proven a willingness to spend money on athletics. The 30,000-seat FAU Stadium opened in 2011, and its athletic constructing, the Schmidt Household Advanced, opened three years in the past.
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College stability: C+
Athletic director Brian White has held that function since 2018 and earned a five-year extension in September. The truth that White was in a position to preserve males’s basketball coach Dusty Could for one more season after the Owls’ Ultimate 4 run speaks effectively of the athletic division (Could has since left for Michigan).
Although White is revered within the trade, the college’s administration stays in flux. Stacy Volnick has been interim president since September 2022 throughout an ongoing, stop-and-start search that drew scrutiny from Florida’s lawyer normal about whether or not the method broke state legislation. The chairperson of FAU’s board of trustees resigned earlier this 12 months after a no-confidence vote from the entity that oversees Florida’s public universities. With administrative alignment poised to grow to be much more necessary within the revenue-sharing period, any issues about two of the college’s most necessary positions are problematic.
Latest historical past/custom: C-
FAU is a comparatively younger program; its historical past solely dates again to the flip of the century when Howard Schnellenberger helped construct it from scratch. The Owls have performed in 5 bowl video games, profitable 4 of them.
The rising pains are mirrored within the year-by-year standings. Of FAU’s six full-time coaches, 5 completed with shedding data. That features Herman and predecessor Willie Taggart (15-18), who each had earlier success as Group of 5 head coaches.
FAU’s teaching outlier is current and high-profile: Lane Kiffin gained a pair of Convention USA titles with 11-win seasons in 2017 and 2019. The success catapulted him to the Ole Miss job and proved the appropriate coach can win massive right here.
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Coach pool: B-
Penn State co-offensive coordinator Ja’Juan Seider has drawn head teaching curiosity earlier than and is sensible right here. He’s from close by Belle Glade, coached at three space excessive faculties and is a member of the Palm Seashore County Corridor of Fame. His deep South Florida background could be a boon in recruiting.
Georgia broad receivers coach James Coley is from Miami and has coached soccer there in any respect three ranges (six years in excessive faculties, 4 in faculties at Florida Worldwide and Miami, two seasons with the Dolphins). With a dozen seasons as an offensive coordinator/co-coordinator, he has the resume for the subsequent step.
Georgia assistant head coach Todd Hartley was the place coach for celebrity tight finish Brock Bowers and spent three seasons as a Miami assistant beneath Mark Richt. The 39-year-old doesn’t have the identical South Florida roots as Coley however could be an intriguing candidate.
Miami offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson is a significant cause why the Hurricanes are Faculty Soccer Playoff contenders. His offense is on observe to shatter college data in scoring (45 factors per recreation) and whole yards (544.8 per recreation). The quarterbacks he coached as a Houston assistant lit up the AAC.
UCF offensive coordinator Tim Harris has spent his complete profession in Florida. He gained a state title at Miami’s Booker T. Washington Excessive College and spent seven seasons at FIU earlier than bouncing again between UCF and the Hurricanes. In contrast to many others on this checklist, the 39-year-old wouldn’t have to fret concerning the Faculty Soccer Playoff affecting his candidacy/begin date.
Florida State defensive backs coach Patrick Surtain made three Professional Bowls with the Dolphins and was a adorned highschool coach in South Florida. However is it a priority that his faculty teaching expertise is proscribed to 2 seasons? His alma mater, Southern Miss, additionally has a emptiness.
Ole Miss offensive coordinator Charlie Weis Jr. is a 31-year-old wunderkind who runs a top-five scoring unit that has the Rebels within the Playoff combine. He gained a convention title at FAU as an assistant beneath Kiffin, however his earlier AAC expertise was a flop at USF. He’s vivid sufficient to be a head coach finally. Is he prepared now?
Arkansas offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino would match FAU’s Herman/Taggart/Kiffin mould as a former Energy 4 head coach on the lookout for (one other) recent begin. The truth that he recruited Lamar Jackson from the realm to Louisville would assist. However controversy all the time appears to comply with the 63-year-old.
Miami line of defense coach Jason Taylor is beloved within the area due to his Corridor of Fame profession with the Dolphins. Although his faculty teaching expertise is proscribed to at least one season as a Hurricanes analyst and one other as a place coach, his soccer data and pedigree are unquestioned.
Roger Harriott has led nationwide highschool powerhouse St. Thomas Aquinas to 5 consecutive state championships in close by Fort Lauderdale. He was thought-about one of many convention’s high recruiters throughout his time as an Owls assistant and could be a much less standard rent.
Total grade: B-
What the Owls lack in custom, they make up for in risk. There’s sufficient homegrown expertise to signal from excessive faculties or coming again to the realm by way of the portal to make this a profitable program, even when it’s not a turnkey job.
(Picture: Mark Brown / Getty Pictures)
