Ranking the 10 best coaching hires of the 2022 college football offseason

The college football programs that made the right decision this year.

This year's edition of the college football coaching carousel was one to remember. Not in many years had so many high-profile programs been in need of new leadership and so many blue-chip coaches been on the move.

Over two-dozen FBS programs pulled the plug on their existing coaches to take a chance on bringing in new management, including at some prominent schools.

And now with the advent of the Early Signing Period and college football transfer portal, the pressure is on for schools to find their next coach earlier than before to not fall behind in the recruiting arms race.

The 2022 football season will look a lot different on some of the more prominent sidelines in the game. Which schools made the right move, and which didn't? Scroll through to see the best hires made this offseason.

Ranking college football's 10 best coaching additions

10. Tony Elliott

Where he was: Clemson (OC)

Where he went: Virginia

What to expect: Elliott helped engineer Clemson offenses that won two College Football Playoff national championships as co-OC since 2015 and as main play-caller since 2020. Elliott signed a six-year contract with Virginia, starting off at $4.1 million this season and moving up to potentially $4.55 million in 2027. 

And he inherits an offense that was the third-best in college football a year ago and brings back quarterback Brennan Armstrong, the nation's No. 3 passer from 2021.

9. Kalen DeBoer

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Where he was: Fresno State

Where he went: Washington

What to expect: For one thing, some good offense. Fresno State ranked in the top 20 in total offense in college football a year ago behind an aggressive, downfield-focused group that relies on strong, accurate quarterback play.

DeBoer had the Bulldogs ranked as high as No. 18 in the Top 25 poll a year ago and beat two ranked teams, including on the road to UCLA, and played Oregon in a seven-point game early.

8. Sonny Dykes

Where he was: SMU

Where he went: TCU

What to expect: Dykes is no stranger to the TCU program, where he landed as an analyst in 2017 following a 19-30 stint at Cal. He won 30 games at SMU in the last five years, helping revive the Mustangs program out of the doldrums to some of its best football since the death penalty in the 80s.

SMU posted a top 15 offense a year ago and was responsible for more than five TDs per game. Now he lands back in the Metroplex to step in after Gary Patterson's two decades at TCU ended last year and hopes to profit off his recruiting connections in the area.

7. Rhett Lashlee

Where he was: Miami (OC)

Where he went: SMU

What to expect: The 38 year old steps into his first head coaching role behind a series of profitable stops at some high profile programs as an assistant, specializing in offensive play-calling and quarterback development.

Now he returns to SMU, where he was OC under Sonny Dykes in 2018-19 before taking the same job at Miami. The U fielded a top 25 offense last season, a unit that ranked No. 5 in the ACC and was just eight combined points away from a perfect conference record.

6. Mario Cristobal

Where he was: Oregon

Where he went: Miami

What to expect: A native of Miami who played high school ball at Christopher Columbus High and won two national titles at The U as an offensive tackle, Cristobal returns home to revive the Hurricanes' fortunes.

He helped turn Oregon into a national recruiting fixture, going 35-13 there and winning two Pac-12 championships. Cristobal has already pulled down a top 15 recruiting class, assembled a solid support staff, and gets back signal caller Tyler Van Dyke, a 63% passer who had 25 TDs and five picks last year.

5. Brian Kelly

Where he was: Notre Dame

Where he went: LSU

What to expect: Kelly moves to a sunnier climate with a very strong recruiting base in Louisiana after leaving Notre Dame as that school's winningest head coach. He brings a track record of proven success in the last decade, if also a reputation for losing games against ranked teams, in bowl games, and especially against Southern teams.

Notre Dame lost to Alabama, 42-14, in the 2013 national title match, in a 30-3 CFP semifinal rout to Clemson, and to the Tide again in a 31-14 Rose Bowl CFP game. He'll have to do better there, but so far has attracted some solid talent to LSU both in the transfer portal and in a top 15 recruiting class. Now comes the gauntlet of an SEC West schedule every week.

4. Billy Napier

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Where he was: Louisiana

Where he went: Florida

What to expect: Napier helped build Louisiana into a nationally-respected team over the last several years, winning 40 games in four years, placing first in the division each season, winning two Sun Belt titles, and finishing in the Top 25 rankings twice.

He did that by establishing a laser-focus on recruiting, especially in the state of Florida, where he faces a mandate to dramatically improve the Gators' impact on the trail, especially in state, and eventually unseat Georgia as the big dog in the SEC East.

3. Marcus Freeman

Where he was: Notre Dame (DC)

Where he went: Notre Dame

What to expect: Freeman earned his promotion a little earlier than he thought after Brian Kelly bolted for LSU this offseason. That, after he served as the Irish defensive coordinator for one year. Notre Dame allowed the 10th fewest TDs in college football a season ago and will need to maintain that production going forward.

So far, so good as Freeman has kept Notre Dame aggressive on the recruiting trail, signing a top 10 class, and opened up the 2023 cycle as the early consensus No. 1 team. There's a very solid foundation to work from here, including among Freeman's assistants, many of whom stayed behind rather than follow Kelly. Expect to see the Irish hanging around as a national contender for the next few years.

2. Lincoln Riley

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Where he was: Oklahoma

Where he went: USC

What to expect: That's the big question after Riley kicked off a coaching change frenzy with his bombshell move out west. He arrives at a USC program that hasn't won a national title for nearly 20 years, swapping one failed coach for another and not getting much in return despite sitting in the middle of a recruiting paradise.

Riley brought a ton of blue-chip transfers with him, including 5-star quarterback Caleb Williams, former Oregon back Travis Dye, and Sooner wideout Mario Williams, among others. That should make this offense a lot better, but Riley and DC Alex Grinch have some major surgery to do on the Trojans' maligned defensive unit before we can call this team a contender in the Pac-12 or nationally.

1. Brent Venables

Where he was: Clemson (DC)

Where he went: Oklahoma

What to expect: OU needed to make a big splash after getting spurned by Lincoln Riley and that it did by signing arguably the best defensive game-planner in college football. Oklahoma should know — Venables coached the Sooners' defense on its last national championship team before winning two more titles at Clemson.

That should ensure OU plays some high-caliber defense in the years to come. And the addition of Jeff Lebby as offensive coordinator is a major plus for that side of the ball. He was the mastermind behind Ole Miss' No. 6 ranked offense a year ago and reunites with quarterback Dillon Gabriel, with whom he engineered a top 10 attack at UCF in the 2019 season.

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