Head coaching changes for four programs

Four new head coaching hires have been made for the upcoming 2015 season with all four having an interesting impact on the program, the conferences and possibly the future of head coaching hires in the future.

Of the four, the most interesting are the hires of Lance Leipold at Buffalo and Tony Sanchez at UNLV. Leipold is leaving a great situation at Wisconsin-Whitewater for one of the less exciting jobs in the MAC. Sanchez is leaving the high school ranks where he was widely respected to take over a UNLV team that has won two or fewer games in four of the last five years.


Buffalo: Out (Jeff Quinn), In (Lance Leipold). After 4+ seasons in charge of the football program at Buffalo, Jeff Quinn was fired 7 games into the 2014 season. During his time in charge, the Bulls went 20-36 with a single winning season (8-5) in 2013 that ended in a loss in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl. In steps new head coach Lance Leipold. Leipold is coming from Division III power Wisconsin-Whitewater. During his 8 years with the program, the Warhawks went 109-6 with seven trips to the National Championship game and six national titles. This is an interesting hire due to the significant jump from Division III to the FBS. This will be one of the coaching hires to watch for the 2014 season.

Colorado State: Out (Jim McElwain), In (Mike Bobo). During the 3 years of McElwain, the Rams immediately turned heads with significant improvements on both sides of the ball that resulted in back-to-back winning seasons in 2013 and 2014. The Rams went bowling in 2014 with a 10-2 record but lost McElwain to the allure of the SEC where he took the head coaching job at Florida. In steps former Georgia offensive coordinator Mike Bobo. Bobo is an interesting hire as he is still young (40) but has spent virtually his entire career coaching with Georgia. He has spent the last 8 years as the offensive coordinator after serving as the quarterbacks coach. McElwain left the cupboard full and Bobo has the chance to continue the surge of Colorado State into national attention. The only worry is his lack of head coaching experience.

Troy: Out (Larry Blakeney), In (Neal Brown). After 24 years as the head coach at Troy, Blakeney decided to retire after the 2014 season. During his time, the Trojans went 178-113-1 and made the move from Division II to Division I-AA to the FBS in 2002. At the FBS level, the Trojans masde 5 bowl games, including 4 in 5 years from 2006-2010. Replacing Blakeney is Neal Brown. Brown spent the 2006-2009 seasons on the Troy coaching staff before trips to Texas Tech and Kentucky for offensive coordinator positions. At 34, he is one of the youngest head coaches in college football and will an interesting replacement for Blakeney at Troy.

UNLV: Out (Bobby Hauck), In (Tony Sanchez). The Rebels made a splash in 2010  with the original hire of Hauck, hiring him away from FCS power Montana to take over the program. Despite his pedigree at the FCS level, Hauck never got the UNLV program rolling and ended his five year tenure with a 15-49 record that saw him make only one bowl trip (2013 Heart of Dallas). Every other season ended with only two wins, capped by a 2-11 season in 2014. Making an even bigger splash, the Rebels went an odd route and hired high school head coach Tony Sanchez to replace Hauck. Sanchez went 85-5 at Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas and it will be interesting to see if he flames out like Hauck or can make it at the FBS level.