Coaching Changes - Final Spot Filled

December 19, 2017 by Dave Congrove

The last empty seat on the 2018 coaching carousel was filled on Monday (December 18) when Kent State hired Syracuse's Sean Lewis to replace Paul Haynes.

Overall, 21 hires have been made if you include Matt Luke having the interim tag removed after a full-season audition at Ole Miss.

The most noise was made by the domino effect of Texas A&M firing Ken Sumlin. That move led to Jimbo Fisher bolting from Florida State to Texas A&M, and Willie Taggart's move from Oregon to FSU.

The vacancies in 2018 created a huge opportunity for offensive coordinators. Lewis was the OC at Syracuse and Luke held that post with the Rebels under Hugh Freeze. They join fellow OC's Josh Huepel (UCF) and Billy Napier (Louisiana-Lafayette) on the list of new head coaches. That list also contains Mike Bloomgren (Rice), Jonathan Smith (Oregon State), and Joe Moorehead (Mississippi State). Hueple was the offensive coordinator at Missouri, while Napier leaves Arizona State, Bloomgren departs Stanford, Smith leaves at Washington, and Moorehead moves on from Penn State.

See: Coaching Changes