College Football: Five Coaches to Watch Out For

By: Brock Vierra

The world of college football is one of rapid change and the hiring/ firing cycle associated with the game could be hard to keep up with. Here are five head coaches that I believe could and should make the jump to a bigger program after the 2023 season.

1. Troy Sumrall, Troy. The Huntsville, Alabama native must’ve not gotten the memo on growing pains because, in his first season as a head coach, he went 12-2 (7-1) to win the Sun Belt Conference and the 2022 Cure Bowl. The longtime assistant is just 41 years old and with extensive experience in the SEC, he has established himself as not only a promising head coaching prospect but also one of the best linebacker developers in the nation. In fact, linebacker KJ Robertson won the Cure Bowl MVP in the Trojans’ 18-12 victory over the prolific offense of UTSA. Troy grinded out wins in 2022 with six of their wins coming under seven points but it should be noted that Troy was undefeated at home as well. Now Sumrall has both inexperience as a head coach and being a defensive-minded guy working against him but trust me when I say athletic directors across the nation taking great interest in him. Keep in mind that their two losses came during the season opener at ranked Ole Miss and via a Hail Mary at Appalachian State so neither loss really falls on coaching and strategy. We still need to see his results as a recruiter but when you consider he was a batted-down pass away from winning every winnable game in 2022, a strong 2023 season should see Sumrall get a massive promotion and payday.
2. Jeff Traylor, UTSA. Yes, the guy who lost the Cure Bowl is on this list but for good reason. Traylor is a winner. Taking over a program in 2020 that hadn’t won more than 6 games since 2013, Traylor has a record of 30-10 during his three years in San Antonio. Hosting one of the most prolific offenses in college football, Traylor is Texas football royalty. A four-time Class 4A Texas High School Coach of the Year, his three state titles and 25 years of high school experience gives him an inroad into high school recruiting, especially in a hotbed of talent like the state of Texas. He has two Conference USA titles and two Conference USA Coach of the Year awards. His offense was held under 30 points only twice in 2022, once at Texas and during the Cure Bowl which UTSA had an uncharacteristic five turnovers. A third straight double-digit win season should secure a new job for Traylor should he desire it and a nice payday for UTSA who recently extended him.
3. Brent Brennan, SJSU. I’m sure many of you are questioning the addition of a coach that has only two winning seasons in six years but when you look at the history of the San Jose State football program, their limited successes have been few and far between. Despite a 5-7 record in 2021, these past three years have been excellent for the Spartans. A COVID year of magic, they went 7-1 including a Mountain West title with a victory over Boise State and a finish the both the final AP and Coaches Polls of the season. Undefeated at home in 2022, the Spartans went 7-5 while sending Viliami Fehoko to the Dallas Cowboys via his fourth-round selection. The Spartans also had four players make the Mountain West First Team list. Fehoko also won the Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year award. With his QB Chevan Cordeiro named as the Pre-Season Offensive Player of the Year, 2023 could be another great year for SJSU. Having been associated with the Stanford opening, he’s drawing attention, especially with Justin Wilcox seemingly out the door at Cal. The 2023 schedule is unforgiving but with games at USC and against Oregon State, best believe AD’s across the country in particular, the Pac-12 will be watching and a good showing could insure a step up for Brennan.
4. G. J. Kinne, Texas State. Seven stops in seven years isn’t a telltale sign of success but for G.J. Kinne, he’s been able to secure a promotion in every year of his professional career. At only 34 years of age, he is remarkably young but what is even more remarkable is his offense. Acting as Todd Graham’s offensive coordinator at Hawaii in 2020, his offense scored at least 28 points in 5 of the 9 contests the Warriors played in that season, winning the 2020 New Mexico Bowl in the process. Kinne would move to UCF under Gus Malzahn in 2021 and despite losing long-time starting quarterback Dillion Gabriel, the Knights put up at least 28 points on 8 different occasions. Kinne then became the head coach at FCS Incarnate Word. When you talk about passing firepower and offensive explosion, Kinne had the Cardinals rolling. Even though star quarterback Cam Ward transferred to Washington State, Kinne had no excuses. Bringing in Lindsey Scott Jr, Kinne’s offense scored over 30 points in all 14 games played in the season. Scott Jr had over 4500 passing yards with 71 total touchdowns (60 passing) to 8 interceptions. Scott Jr would also have 712 rushing yards on his way to winning the Walter Payton Award, awarded to the best player in FCS football. His stats might’ve been even more outrageous if they weren’t screwed by the refs during their FCS Playoffs semifinal game at North Dakota State University. As head coach at Texas State, he is tasked with turning around a program that hasn’t had a winning season since 2014 but if history is correct, that should change shortly for the Bobcats. A talented recruiter as well, Kinne has brought in 16 transfers from power five schools as he continues to make a name for himself in the high school recruiting hotbed that is Texas.
5. Timmy Chang, Hawaii. Why would a coach entering not only his second year at a program but his second year as a head coach, in general, be on a short list for a promotion? Easy. Look at the football being played on the islands. It’s no secret that programs are looking to effectively air out the ball and the modern Air Raid offense has been getting coaches who use it promoted left and right. Chang who enters 2023 as a full-time play-caller for Hawaii brings a unique style of offense. As a player, he used the Run N Shoot offense to break Hawaii High School and NCAA records as a quarterback and as a coach, he served under Matt Mumme and Jay Norvell at Nevada. Mumme whose father Hal is the creator of the Air Raid offense and Norvell who had used a variety of spread offenses to become one of the highest-paid coaches in the Mountain West have directly influenced Chang and his philosophy. Walking into a program at the end of January 2022 that was raided in the transfer portal, he was in a no-win situation. Hawaii suffered early but would rebound in conference play with upset wins over Nevada and UNLV and 4 one-possession losses in their six conference losses, Hawaii outperformed expectations by a mile. With an easier schedule in 2023, should the Warriors go bowling, phone calls may come calling for Chang.