STAFF ROUNDTABLE: G5 Coaches With The Most To Prove In 2024

Joe Londergan | Jun 24, 2024

Sep 23, 2023; Lincoln, Nebraska, USA; Louisiana Tech Bulldogs head coach Sonny Cumbie and Nebraska Cornhuskers head coach Matt Rhule meet on the field after the Cornhuskers defeated the Bulldogs at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Dylan Widger-USA TODAY Sports / Dylan Widger-USA TODAY Sports

A good coach can take a bad college football program back to relevancy. However, sometimes if a coach loses momentum, it can light a fire under themselves and their team. Though, sometimes, the pressure is too much to overcome when trying to get your team to not fall into bad habits.

This week, G5 Football Daily managing editor Joe Londergan and staff writer Kevin Barral are joined by Eric Henry of 247Sports and Horns247 as they give their thoughts on the coaches in the Group of Five who need to put forth their best work in 2024 and prove they're the coach of their program's future.

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Joe: Biff Poggi (Charlotte), Trent Dilfer (UAB), Sonny Cumbie (LA Tech), G.J. Kinne (Texas State)

I think it’s fair to say most of the coaches I’m naming above haven’t started their respective coaching stints on a high note. Kinne is the exception. I think what we’re all interested to see is whether or not Kinne can sustain his momentum at Texas State after the school’s best season in over a decade. It won’t be easy, but it will obviously be huge if he can live up to expectations.

Louisiana Tech fired Skip Holtz, who has since won three championships coaching professional spring football, in order to bring in Cumbie. Cumbie has yet to produce a better record than what Skip Holtz did in his worst season with the Bulldogs (3-9) through two campaigns. Realistically, that can’t continue for much longer.

We all remember when Biff Poggi marched into AAC Media Days shortly after being hired, pounded the desk, and scolded the media for picking Charlotte to finish near the bottom of the AAC, and claimed his team was going to win the conference. What followed was a 3-9 campaign that was, at moments, remarkable for the wrong reasons. 

Dilfer was a head-scratcher of a hire to begin with, but he did have the UAB Blazers playing some very good football at moments in their 4-8 season. It’s entirely possible that UAB gets back to bowl eligibility this season, but Dilfer will have to learn from the mistakes of his debut as a college coach.

Kevin: Mike MacIntyre (FIU), Tom Herman (FAU), Sonny Cumbie (LA Tech), 

After two straight 4-8 seasons for Mike MacIntyre, it’s time to see some improvement. In a Conference USA that seems wide open outside of Liberty and potentially Jacksonville State, the Panthers' rather favorable schedule puts them in a position where results need to be seen. Four wins, even five may not cut it for MacIntyre in year three at the helm.

To Herman’s credit, his starting quarterback went down early in the season and wasn’t able to recover after that, but a tough non-conference schedule followed by a disappointing finish, dropping games to UAB, East Carolina and Rice was as disappointing as it gets for Herman in year one. Bringing in Cam Fancher to be the starting quarterback will help, but losses in the offseason still sting a bit. The Owls will avoid facing Tulane and Rice this season, so the schedule is in their favor. Herman will also have to face FIU for the first time with the Owls and keeping the Shula Bowl trophy in Boca Raton is important to the program. The pressure is on for Herman in year two.

Cumbie is coming off of his second straight 3-9 season in Ruston and the expectations continue to be high. After bringing in Hank Bachmeier through the portal, the expectations flew through the roof assuming he would be healthy. He only played in nine games and at one point was the backup to Jack Turner. With another year of Smoke Harris, the expectations are still high with Turner set to be the starting quarterback. Another nine-loss season would likely get Cumbie fired.

Eric: Biff Poggi (Charlotte), Trent Dilfer (UAB), Sonny Cumbie (LA Tech), Mike MacIntyre (FIU)

The only reason Biff Poggi makes this list for me is because of Biff Poggi. The 64-year-old coaching veteran arrived at Charlotte by making a lot of noise and just as many promises. Many of the latter haven’t come to fruition, but he’s only in year two of what was an obvious rebuild - despite Poggi’s proclamations of early success. Let’s see what type of progress he can make in year two. 

After Bill Clark’s run of success with the Blazers, the program is still establishing itself in the American under former NFL QB Trent Dilfer. It’s not that Dilfer’s job is in any type of jeopardy, however, getting the Blazers to a bowl game and not seeing them surpassed by programs like South Florida and Rice will be key. 

Sonny Cumbie has been trying to find his quarterback in Ruston since he took over two seasons ago. Nailing down that spot will be key for what he’s trying to build offensively. Skip Holtz’ dismissal is one that still could be argued for or against either way, but there’s a long tradition of success as a program for La Tech and another season without a bowl won’t do Cumbie any favors. 

Mike MacIntyre inherited a program that had less than 50 players on the roster and calling it a complete rebuild would be an understatement. The Panthers have seen brief moments of success in MacIntyre’s first two seasons, but as has been the case for various Group of Five programs – MacIntyre’s efforts to turn those glimpses into sustained progress have been thwarted by the transfer portal. Now in year three, the hope is that he’s been able to stabilize the roster and he has his pieces in place to build around.