The coaching carousel never ceases to give us college football fans a ride and this year is no different. Many coaches we thought were out are out, some we thought were safe are gone, and one left and came back. All coaching changes decide the direction of a program, but some mean more to guys and girls like us who play college fantasy football. I’m here to decide which coaches will produce relevant college fantasy players and which ones shouldn’t be on our radars.

Also, I point out some notable offensive coordinator changes that occurred over the offseason that were big for their respective programs.

Head Coaching Changes, Buying

Eli Drinkwitz, App State

App State’s tenure under Scott Satterfield has been nothing short of remarkable. Satterfield made the transition with the Mountaineers from FCS to FBS and since 2013 has had two Sun Belt Championships, three 10-plus win seasons, and an undefeated 4-0 bowl record. Satterfield left to take the head coaching job at Louisville (we will get to that) and the Mountaineers now have former-NC State Offensive Coordinator Eli Drinkwitz at head coach.

Drinkwitz has had the Wolfpack in the top-30 in total offense in each of the past two seasons and a top-30 passing offense in both as well. He’s worked under Gus Malzahn at Auburn and Arkansas State, Bryan Harsin at Boise State, and Mike Sanford also at Boise State. He’s regarded as one of college football’s brightest young offensive minds and I for one can’t wait to see what Zac Thomas looks like next season under him.

Jamey Chadwell, Coastal Carolina

Given that Jamey Chadwell once coached at my alma-mater long, long ago, I have some familiarity with him. Chadwell has made his way up the ranks over the past 10 years starting with a three-year stint at North Greenville. Since coaching the Crusaders, he’s gone on to coach for Delta State and Charleston Southern before serving as the interim head coach for the Chanticleers in 2017. Chadwell has entered into everywhere he’s coached and won football games (63-44 overall) and produced a fantasy relevant player in 2017 with Malcolm Williams. With time, Chadwell will make offenses that revolve around their best playmaker and you are going to want whoever that is on your team.

Dana Holgersen, Houston

I’m not 100% sure why he left West Virginia for Houston outside of a pay raise but here we are. Holgersen has produced some of the best passing offenses in college football and has done so with a variety of players from Tavon Austin and Geno Smith, to Skylar Howard and Kevin White, and most recently Will Grier and David Sills V. Houston’s offense looked incredible under Kendal Briles last season and Helgersen will replicate that success with the inheritance of stud quarterback D’Eriq King. Expect more fantasy relevance from Houston receivers than we’ve seen over the past several seasons and don’t be afraid to pull the trigger on King early in 2019 drafts.

Chris Klieman, Kansas State

It’s hard not to buy on a coach that has dominated the FCS at the rate Klieman has over the past several seasons. North Dakota State has won seven of the last eight FCS tournaments with Klieman staking claim to the latter four. He also played a key role in the development of Carson Wentz and Easton Stick who could both find themselves on NFL rosters next season. I am anxious to see what Skylar Thompson looks like next season (and if you listen to the CFF: OnCampus Pod you know why) and see which direction Klieman has this team going after the departure of the great Bill Snyder.

Scott Satterfield, Louisville

The coach that has made App State what it is today, Scott Satterfield has headed into the great state of Kentucky to replace Bobby Petrino as Head Coach of the Cardinals. I’ve mentioned the level of success that Satterfield had at App earlier in the Eli Drinwitz analysis so I won’t go into too much detail on the past but focus on what the future holds. App State has had a fantasy relevant quarterback and running back duo in each of the past four seasons and the Cardinals will see that sort of offense in the upcoming seasons. Look for Louisville’s ground game to improve and look for the quarterback play to see more consistency.

Neal Brown, West Virginia

Finally, we can stop asking “when is Neal Brown going to land a Power Five job”. The Former Troy coach produced 10-win teams in each of the past three seasons with his biggest win coming against LSU in Baton Rouge two seasons ago. Brown’s teams have produced fantasy studs like Jordan Chunn and BJ Smith while also having quarterbacks with fantasy alure in Brandon Silvers and Sawyer Smith. Expect West Virginia’s running game to produce more than it has in recent years in the red zone and expect Oklahoma-transfer Austin Kendall to have a great season this year with the wealth of talent Brown has at receiver.

Hugh Freeze, Liberty

So this one caught me off guard but who could blame Liberty, a historically Christian school, for hiring a leader with a questionable past… Again. As much as I’m not a fan of Hugh Freeze having a D1 Head Coaching job so soon after a controversial firing from Ole Miss, I’m a huge fan of the hire. Freeze produced some magnificent offenses at Ole Miss and developed quarterbacks like Bo Wallace and Chad Kelly. Stephen Calvert will be a player that I talk up all offseason due to this hire and Antonio Gandy-Golden is now even more of a stud in a passer-friendly system.

Head Coaching Changes, Selling

Rod Carey, Temple

As a clarification, I am a fan of the hire for Temple as a program. The issue with Carey’s offenses is that they are incredibly inconsistent. Carey has had multiple players such as Marcus Childers, Joel Bouagnon, and Jordan Huff all have wonderful seasons and follow up the next season with a clunker. Take Childers for example After serving as the backup for the first three games in 2017, he scored 21 touchdowns in the final nine games. With five more games as the starter this past season, Childers scored 21 touchdowns again. Can Carey get more than one year of fantasy relevant production out of a player?

Les Miles, Kansas

I can’t be the only one who didn’t like this hire. Kansas needed an X’s and O’s kind of guy that can recruit around America. Miles hasn’t been an innovative offensive mind since he left Oklahoma State and he’s not going to try to recruit guys too far away from Lawrence, Kansas. Miles could flip the script and completely prove me wrong but until then I’m very firm in this stance. Kansas will be looking for, yet another, coach in the years to come.

Mike Locksley, Maryland

Maryland’s first mistake was leaving DJ Durkin in charge of this team when he returned from his suspension and the Terps somewhat rectified this mistake by firing him not too long after. After utilizing Matt Canada this season, Maryland decided to go with Alabama Offensive Coordinator Mike Locksley as their new head coach. Nick Saban has used failed head coaches as coordinators and put them on new career paths but Locksley is a whole other level of “failed head coach” compared to Lane Kiffin and Steve Sarkisian. Locksley served as the Maryland interim in 2015 where he went 1-5 and preceded this stint with a 2-26 record at New Mexico. I’m not sure that this season was more Mike Locksley than it was that Tua Tagovailoa was just that amazing, but I guess we will see in the upcoming years.

Gary Andersen, Utah State

A once-promising coach out of Utah State is now a huge disappointment as Gary Andersen has come full circle in his career back to the Aggies. Andersen left much to be desired after leaving Wisconsin for the Oregon State Beavers, a mess that Jonathan Smith is left to clean up. While Jordan Love should keep the Aggies in contention for the next couple of seasons, but after that, he could end up a success like Bill Snyder or a flop like John Robinson.

Coordinator Hires Worth Knowing

Kendal Briles to Florida State

Briles will be the biggest coaching hire in football for whatever year he finally bridges the gap to Head Coach. Track record at Houston and FAU speaks for itself.

Kalen DeBoer to Indiana

This one may not come off as sexy as you might think but DeBoer has pieced together two very productive offenses at Fresno State in the past two seasons and developed Marcus McMaryion into a solid fantasy product. DeBoer inherits Utah-transfer Jack Tuttle and a young stud running back in Stevie Scott.

Mark Whipple to Pitt

Despite making a questionable statement about a ref picking up a flag when he said the official “Raped us,” Mark Whipple seems like a solid hire for the Pitt Panthers. During his time at UMass, The Minutemen finished with a top-20 passing offense twice while Pitt’s passing offense hasn’t surpassed 221.7 yards per game through the air since the 2016 season. If there’s anyone who can turn the Pitt passing attack around, it’s Whipple.

Kerwin Bell to South Florida

Charlie Strong cleaned house at the end of the season and additionally lost OC Sterling Gilbert to McNeese State. Strong brought in Valdosta State Head Coach Kerwin Bell who made the Blazers into one of the most explosive offenses in DII-Football. If there’s anyone who can come in and make the Bulls offense back into what it was under Taggart, it’s Bell.

Phil Longo to North Carolina

I initially wasn’t sure what I thought about the Mack Brown hire and I still don’t know that I’m sold on it. What I am sold on is the hire of Phil Longo. Longo served as the Offensive Coordinator at Ole Miss and produced the Rebel’s first 1,000-yard rusher since 2009 while also producing a top-15 passing offense in his two seasons. North Carolina has no shortage of running backs and a promising young quarterback in Sam Howell to utilize this season.

Fantrax is one of the fastest growing fantasy sites of 2018. With multi-team trades, designated commissioner/league managers, and drag/drop easy click methods, Fantrax is sure to excite the serious fantasy sports fan – sign up now for a free year at Fantrax.com.