Only two Power Five jobs remain open in the 2022 cycle as the coaching carousel slows down and the early signing period for high school prospects approaches. Among them is Purdue, which was left in a lurch as a result of a chain reaction set off by Luke Fickell leaving Cincinnati to take the Wisconsin job. Following that move, Scott Satterfield left Louisville to replace Fickell at Cincinnati. Then, just days after the Boilermakers made a landmark achievement by appearing in the Big Ten Championship Game for the first time, they lost coach Jeff Brohm, who exited to replace Satterfield at Louisville.
It was an understandable move given what Brohm accomplished at Purdue ... and that Louisville is his hometown and alma mater. Still, the timing is tough for the Boilermakers. Brohm's replacement will be tasked with figuring out the program's 2023 roster at an awkward time with the transfer portal window and the Dec. 21 early signing day approaching quickly.
Other new Big Ten West hires, such as Fickell and Matt Rhule at Nebraska, will have a head start on Purdue's eventual hire in the roster management frenzy. Despite its challenges, however, Purdue is still a Power Five job in a rich conference, and it should attract plenty of interest.
Otherwise, Stanford is the only other Power Five job that open following David Shaw's resignation after 12 seasons in Palo Alto, California. Shaw leaves as the winningest coach in program history with a 96-54 record and a universally respected figure in college football.
Nebraska coach Scott Frost was the first coach pink-slipped of the cycle, and things spiraled from there. Georgia Tech and Colorado made changes after Geoff Collins and Karl Dorrell, respectively, led their teams to historically miserable starts. Auburn coach Bryan Harsin was fired on Halloween. Arizona State canned Herm Edwards after a 1-3 start and NCAA investigations, while Wisconsin parted ways with Paul Chryst after a 2-3 start at Wisconsin.
And that was just the beginning. But now that the carousel is hitting its final few spins, let's have a look at the best Power Five coach openings on the heels of Brohm's move to Louisville.
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| Purdue is a tough place to win, but Jeff Brohm showed that it's not an impossible job. With the Big Ten West in chaos over the past two seasons, he guided the Boilermakers to consecutive 6-3 marks in league play. Now, it's up to athletic director Mike Bobinski to hire a coach capable of sustaining the program's momentum as it comes off its first-ever appearance in the Big Ten Championship Game. The Boilermakers have not won 10 games in a season since 1979 and will likely never recruit at an elite level because of the school's academic standards and modest booster backing compared to many Big Ten peers. But Purdue should nonetheless be an attractive job, particularly to offensive-minded coaches. Brohm's pass-happy approach produced results in a defensive-oriented division full of programs that like to grind It out. | |
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| The last time Stanford made an external coaching hire was 2006 when the program plucked a former NFL player with just three years of collegiate coaching experience from San Diego to take over the program. Jim Harbaugh and his protege David Shaw could not have worked out better, but Shaw's resignation on Nov. 27 leaves the Cardinal in a difficult position. Stanford has all the money and prestige in the world to attract a quality coach, but any leader will have to work through exceedingly stringent academic standards. After a 6-18 record over the past two seasons, any candidate will have to gauge Stanford's commitment to major college football, especially in the era of NIL and post-Pac-12 realignment. The upside is high, but Stanford is one of the toughest jobs in the country. | |
