Tramel's ScissorTales: Where does OU's Brent Venables rank among 2022 college football coaching hires?

College football had 29 head-coaching changes for the 2022 season. That’s the most since 29 for the 2016 season.

Some of the changes included big names. Lincoln Riley. Mario Cristobal. Brian Kelly. Some were not. Don Brown. Ken Wilson. Stan Drayton.

But some will be home-run hires. Some will be strikeouts. Check back in five years from now.

There are ways to guess, though. Experience. Track record. Regional ties. Program awareness.

Here are the 29 coaching changes, ranked from best to worst:

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1. Mario Cristobal, Miami

Cristobal left a better job, Oregon, for the Hurricanes. And that’s because he’s a fabulous fit in Miami. Cristobal, 51, grew up in Miami, the son of Cuban-Americans, and played football at the U. from 1989-92. His brother is a Miami police officer. Cristobal coached six years on the Miami staff, then became head coach at Florida International, where he twice took the Golden Panthers to bowl games, 2010-11. Cristobal foolishly was fired by FIU after going 3-9 in 2012. He rebounded by joining Nick Saban’s Alabama staff, then became Oregon’s defensive coordinator in 2017. When Willie Taggart left the Ducks after one season as head coach, Cristobal became head coach and went 35-13 in four seasons. If Cristobal can’t get Miami back to the top, it’s possible nobody can.

2. Lincoln Riley, Southern Cal

Hate him or loathe him, Riley is a perfect fit for USC. Offensive-minded in a league that’s not all that tough, able to attract quarterbacks to glitzy Los Angeles and a big name, which is needed in SoCal. He has no California ties, but USC is like Oklahoma, a national brand. The only question about Riley is, can he build a program? OU was a turnkey operation.

3. Don Brown, Massachusetts

Believe it or not, UMass football once was successful. In 2006, the Minutemen made the NCAA Division I-AA championship game. UMass’ coach then was Don Brown. His five-year record of 43-19 with the Minutemen is a far cry from the current state of Massachusetts football. In the 10 years since the Minutemen ascended to Division I-A, UMass is a combined 20-92. Brown left in 2009 to become defensive coordinator at Maryland. He’s also been DC at Connecticut, Boston College, Michigan and Arizona. He knows his way around. Even his advanced age, 66, is a positive in this situation.

4. Brent Venables, Oklahoma

The OU model is to hire a youngish assistant coach, preferably with Sooner ties, and it worked swimmingly with Bud Wilkinson, Barry Switzer, Chuck Fairbanks, Bob Stoops and Lincoln Riley. Venables is youthful in appearance and attitude, but he’s 51. The aforementioned coaches were all in their 30s when handed the Schooner reins. But Venables has incredible pedigree, working for Bill Snyder, Stoops and Dabo Swinney. And his 13 years as an OU assistant coach is more Sooner years than Wilkinson, Switzer, Fairbanks and Riley combined, from when they were named head coach (11 total). Venables has been a hot candidate forever and turned down some great jobs, including Auburn a year ago. OU won the sweepstakes.

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5. Mike MacIntyre, Florida International

MacIntyre, 57, has done well in difficult situations. He was 16-21 in three years as head coach at San Jose State, a winning percentage of .432 that is the Spartans’ best in the last 30 years. MacIntyre also was 30-44 in six years at Colorado (2013-18), which doesn’t sound great, but all five Buffalo coaches since Gary Barnett’s 2005 firing have had losing records. As a bonus, MacIntyre is the son of George MacIntyre, who fought the good fight in seven years as head coach at Vanderbilt, going 25-52-1, including a 1982 season in which the Commodores went 8-4 and tied for third in the 10-team SEC.

6. Mike Elko, Duke

Elko, 44, has been living the high life as defensive coordinator at Notre Dame and Texas A&M in recent years, but Elko worked three seasons (2014-16) as defensive coordinator at Wake Forest, the closest likeness to Duke football as you can get. Elko worked 12 years for Wake head coach Dave Clawson; now they’ll be Atlantic Coast Conference rivals.

7. Marcus Freeman, Notre Dame

In the Fiesta Bowl, OSU fans got a sneak preview of Freeman, who was Brian Kelly’s defensive coordinator and was promoted after Kelly left for LSU. Freeman is just 35, and he played at Ohio State from 2004-08, so Freeman’s experience is limited. But he zoomed up the ladder, serving four years as Cincinnati’s defensive coordinator (2017-20) before joining the Notre Dame staff. He grew up in Ohio and has been in either Indiana or Ohio his entire life. His personality seems to have connected with the Fighting Irish masses.

8. Joe Moorhead, Akron

The Zips went 3-24 in three seasons under Tom Arth, a youngish coach. Akron has gone the other direction and seems to have struck gold with the 48-year-old Moorhead. Moorhead, born in Pittsburgh, spent five years on the Akron staff (2004-08) and has been head coach at Fordham (38-13 record, 2012-15) and Mississippi State (14-12, 2018-19). Moorhead was offensive coordinator at Penn State and Oregon. Lots of experience and lots of Akron knowledge.

9. Dan Lanning, Oregon

Lanning was the nation’s hottest assistant coach in 2021. He prominently was mentioned as a potential OU candidate. Lanning, 36, was Georgia’s defensive coordinator the last three seasons. As recently as 2010, Lanning was special-teams coordinator at Park Hill South High School in suburban Kansas City. After two years as a Todd Graham graduate assistant at Pittsburgh and Arizona State, Lanning has been an assistant at Arizona State and Sam Houston State, a graduate assistant at Alabama and an assistant at Alabama, before landing at Georgia. Still, that’s minimal experience and minimal West Coast ties.

10. Jay Norvell, Colorado State

CSU made an intraconference hire, getting Norvell from Nevada, where he went 33-26 in five seasons as head coach. Norvell, 59, is a former Bob Stoops assistant at OU. Norvell’s Mountain West Conference experience should come in handy with the Rams; CSU is considered a better job than is Nevada.

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11. Sonny Dykes, Texas Christian

Dykes, 52, isn’t a perfect fit in Fort Worth, only because he seemed an even more perfect fit in Lubbock. Texas Tech, where Spike Dykes (Sonny’s father) was a popular and successful 13-year head coach, was looking for a coach. But TCU is a great spot for Sonny Dykes, too. Dykes has coached in Texas on the high school and junior-college level, then spent seven years on Mike Leach’s Tech staff. Dykes was Mike Stoops’ offensive coordinator at Arizona in 2007-09, then became head coach at Louisiana Tech, California and SMU, with a combined 71-63 record.

12. Brian Kelly, Louisiana State

Kelly is a world-class coach. He’s won big everywhere he’s been, most recently returning Notre Dame to its previous status as a traditional power. The Fighting Irish have made the national championship game or the College Football Playoff thrice in the last 10 years. But Kelly is not a good fit in Baton Rouge, where provincialism reigns and even quite successful coaches stay in hot water. Is this the Les Miles Story, Part II? It’s a fabulous social experiment. The farthest south Kelly ever has lived is Cincinnati. And now he’s in the Bayou.

13. Kalen DeBoer, Washington

DeBoer, 47, has tremendous offensive pedigree and some promising head-coaching experience, at NAIA Sioux Falls and the last two years at Fresno State. DeBoer’s Bulldogs in 2021 beat UCLA and almost beat Oregon. But DeBoer’s West Coast experience is nil other than Fresno State, and his Power 5 experience is limited to two years on Indiana’s staff.

14. Ken Wilson, Nevada

Wilson, 58, grew up in the Midwest and played at North Central College in Illinois. But Wilson arrived in Reno, Nevada, in 1989 and stayed 24 years, with two stints on the football staff with a five-year run in the middle as an associate athletic director. Wilson left Nevada to coach seven years on Mike Leach’s Washington State, then spent the last two years as Oregon’s co-defensive coordinator.

15. Jerry Kill, New Mexico State

Kill, 60, is a football lifer. His most notable stretch was five years at Minnesota, where he went 29-29 from 2011-15. But he also was head coach at Saginaw Valley State, Emporia State, Southern Illinois and Northern Illinois, and as recently as last autumn was TCU’s interim coach after Gary Patterson’s departure. New Mexico State is perhaps the worst job in major-college football, but there’s not much that Kill hasn’t seen.

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16. Jake Dickert, Washington State

Dickert, 38, was Nick Rolovich’s defensive coordinator. Dickert took over after Rolovich was fired in mid-season for not getting the COVID vaccine. The Cougars were 4-3 under Rolovich, then 3-3 under Dickert. The players rallied around Dickert, who brought much-needed stability. Think about it. Mike Leach left WSU after the 2019 season. Rolovich took over, and Covid hit. WSU’s season seemed imperiled, before the Pac-12 geared up in mid-season and went 1-3. Then the Rolovich controversy hit. Hiring Dickert was almost automatic, just from a steady-the-ship point.

17. Jon Sumrall, Troy

Mark Stoops’ co-defensive coordinator at Kentucky, Sumrall, 39, has Troy experience – he was the Trojans’ assistant head coach 2015-17 and reportedly was a finalist when Chip Lindsey was hired as head coach for 2018. Sumrall, a Kentucky graduate, also has coached at Tulane, so he knows the perils of mid-majors.

18. Jeff Tedford, Fresno State

The Bulldogs know exactly what they’re getting in the 60-year-old Tedford, who was a star quarterback at Fresno State in the 1980s and who coached the Bulldogs to a 26-14 record from 2017-19 before resigning due to health reasons. Now Tedford is back. He’s an excellent coach; his 82-57 record in 11 years at California is the most wins in Golden Bears’ history. The only concern might be the heart concerns that promoted Tedford to step away 2½ years ago.

19. Stan Drayton, Temple

Drayton, 51, was Steve Sarkisian’s running backs coach at Texas last season. But most of his career has been spent in the upper Midwest, and Drayton spent five years on the staffs of either Penn or Villanova, so he knows Philadelphia. Drayton never has been a head coach or a coordinator, but he’s got experience at a wide-ranging variety of schools. From Florida and Ohio State to Bowling Green and Eastern Michigan to the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers.

20. Jim Mora Jr., Connecticut

Mora, 60, is a big name for most any school, much less Connecticut. Mora has been head coach at UCLA, the Seattle Seahawks and the Atlanta Falcons. Mora was 31-33 in the National Football League and was 46-30 at UCLA; the latter is the best Bruins’ record since Terry Donahue’s 1995 retirement. But UCLA was Mora’s only college job until 2021, when he was an offensive analyst for the now-departed Randy Edsall. And UCLA is a long way from Connecticut.

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21. Billy Napier, Florida

Napier, 42, was a big winner at Louisiana-Lafayette, going 40-12 in four seasons. And he’s got experience as an assistant at big-time programs Clemson and Alabama. But Southeastern Conference schools hit about .500 hiring mid-major head coaches. Urban Meyer, Gus Malzahn, Lane Kiffin, Houston Nutt and Jim Donnan were hits. Dennis Franchione, Curley Hallman, Derek Dooley and Jim McElwain were misses.

22. Michael Desormeaux, Louisiana-Lafayette

Desormeaux, 36, is all Cajun and Ragin’ Cajun. Born and raised in New Iberia, Louisiana, Desormeaux played quarterback at ULL. Then he coached high school at his alma mater, New Iberia Catholic, and in Lafayette. In 2016, Desormeaux joined the Ragin’ Cajun staff and was hired to replace Billy Napier when he went to Florida.

23. Brent Pry, Virginia Tech

An 11-year James Franklin lieutenant, first at Vanderbilt and then at Penn State, the 51-year-old Pry has limited Hokie ties. He was a Virginia Tech graduate assistant from 1995-97, working for retired, legendary defensive coordinator Bud Foster. But Pry has coached in the region for a long time.

24. Clay Helton, Georgia Southern

Georgia Southern gets Helton on the rebound; he was fired by Southern Cal last September, two games into his seventh season as the Trojan head coach. Helton’s records of 46-24 overall and 36-13 in the Pac-12 were not up to USC’s standards, but no SC coach since Pete Carroll has come close to the Trojan standard. Georgia Southern is counting on the Frank Solich model – a defrocked head coach at a national power (Nebraska) who resurfaces at a mid-major (Ohio U.) and has a superb run. Helton at least has a history at struggling southern schools (Duke, Memphis), and his father, Kim, was head coach at Houston U., when the Cougars transitioned out of the Southwest Conference and into a mid-major odyssey.

25. Tony Elliott, Virginia

Brent Venables was not the only long-time Clemson coordinator to leave after the 2021 season. Elliott, 42, played at Clemson, then coached at South Carolina State and Furman before joining Dabo Swinney’s staff in 2011. He was co-offensive coordinator from 2015-19 and offensive coordinator the last two years. But Virginia does things quite a bit differently than does Clemson. Could be culture shock for Elliott.

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26. Rhett Lashlee, Southern Methodist

Lashlee was a high-school quarterback at Shiloh Christian in Springdale, Arkansas, where his head coach was Gus Malzahn. Lashlee was a backup quarterback at Arkansas, then began coaching, all but one year with or for Malzahn from 2006-16. Lashlee was offensive coordinator at SMU in 2018-19, then had the same job at Miami the last two years. So he knows the region and knows the Mustangs quite well.

27. Sonny Cumbie, Louisiana Tech

Cumbie, 40, quarterbacked Texas Tech under Mike Leach, then got into coaching and has coordinated offenses at Texas Christian and Texas Tech. But Cumbie never has been part of a mid-major operation. That’s always dicey.

28. Joey McGuire, Texas Tech

A little more than five years ago, McGuire had just completed his 22nd season as a Texas high school football coach. Then he joined Matt Rhule’s Baylor staff and immediately was hailed as an up-and-comer. His personality apparently is quite contagious. But McGuire never has been a college coordinator, has experience at only one college program and that for only five years.

29. Timmy Chang, Hawaii

Chang, 40, returns to his alma mater, where as a quarterback he set the NCAA record for passing yards. But Chang was not the Rainbow Warriors’ first choice. Hawaii wanted Chang’s Hawaii coach, June Jones, but Jones publicly rejected the job, saying the Rainbow Warriors were offering just a two-year contract, with stipulations on who had to be on the staff. Chang spent five years on Jay Norvell’s Nevada staff and had joined Norvell at Colorado State.

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Tre Mann report card

Tre Mann was the 18th overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft and performed rather well for the Thunder. Picks in the teens can go either way, but Mann as a rookie mostly showed he belongs in the NBA.

Our series of Thunder report cards continues with the guard from the University of Florida:

Stamina: A

Mann was a slight, 21-year-old rookie. Yet he never hit the rookie wall. Mann’s minutes and production and efficiency generally ascended as the season progressed. Mann’s playing time in February and March went up by about 50 percent over his December and January minutes, but his numbers went up by about 100 percent. In his final 24 games, Mann averaged 15.3 points while shooting 35.8 percent from 3-point range.

Consistency: C

Mann’s best performances came in bunches. A four-game span from February 14-25, during which he averaged 21.8 points and made 42.3 percent of his deep shots. A four-game span from March 18-23, during which he averaged 23.5 points and made 45 percent on 3-pointers. But Mann, like many a rookie, was prone to slumps, including an eight-game stretch in January in which he failed to reach double-digit scoring.

Shooting: B

Mann was billed as a multi-level scorer, and he showed that as a rookie. He made 36.6 percent of his non-heave 3-pointers, including 43.6 percent from the corners. Mann made 37 percent of his deep 2-point shots, not a great number but not bad.

Strength: D

Mann must bulk up. He made just 53.3 percent of his shots from the restricted area, besting only Theo Maledon and Ty Jerome among Thunder teammates. And Mann was often bullied while playing defense, which you’d expect from a 178-pound rookie. A stronger Mann will help both offensively and defensively.

Ballhandling: B

Mann at times showed the ability to be a point guard. His 1.9 turnovers per 36 minutes were fewer than point guards Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Josh Giddey or Theo Maledon, but then so were his 2.4 assists per 36 minutes – far below. If Mann develops into a sniper who can slide over to the point, his value increases dramatically.

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Bedlam renews in Big 12 golf

The most underrated Bedlam rivalry resides in men’s golf, and the Sooners and Cowboys convene again this week in the Big 12 Championships at Whispering Pines Golf Club in Trinity, Texas.

OU is ranked No. 1 nationally. OSU is No. 2.

The Sooners won the 2017 NCAA championship and were national runnersup a year ago. OSU won the 2018 NCAA title. Both Bedlam rivals made the NCAA match-play quarterfinals last spring.

OU has won five tournaments this season, tied for the most in program history. The Sooners are led by Rutgers transfer Chris Gotterup, ranked third nationally, and all-American holdovers Logan McAllister (ranked seventh) of Christian Heritage Academy and Patrick Welch (75th). Also in the OU lineup are Drew Goodman of Norman, the fifth-ranked freshman in college golf, and redshirt freshman Stephen Campbell Jr.

OSU is led by sixth-ranked Eugenio Lopez-Chacarra, No. 24 Aman Gupta, No. 30 Rasmus Neergaard-Peterson and No. 35 Brian Stark. Also in the Cowboy lineup is Bo Jin, a second-team all-American a year ago as a junior.

The three-day, 72-hole tournament concludes Wednesday. It’s a loaded field, which also includes fifth-ranked Texas and No. 9 Texas Tech.

OSU has won 11 of the 24 Big 12 championships contested, after winning 36 of the 39 Big Eight championships contested.

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Mailbag: Lincoln Riley

Lincoln Riley’s essay in The Players Tribune drew some interest from readers.

Don: “I liken Lincoln Riley to a comedian who has told a joke that was so bad he feels like every time he stands up he has to explain it.”

Tramel: I said all I had to say about Riley with my responses last week to The Players Tribune piece. But I will say this. The crowd of 33,000 for the Southern Cal spring game was impressive.

I know, OU more than doubled that attendance. But you’d expect that out of wounded Sooners. USC is a largely apathetic place. For 33,000 to hit the Los Angeles Coliseum on an April Saturday to watch a scrimmage, that’s a big deal. Congratulations to Riley. He indeed has ignited massive interest.

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The List: NBA playoff scoring leaders

These NBA Playoffs have been notable for the breakout of young stars. But the old guard still is making noise. Here are the top 15 scorers, per game, in this postseason:

1. Nikola Jokic, Denver, 31.25

2. Jimmy Butler, Miami, 30.5

3. Donovan Mitchell, Utah, 30.25

4. Jalen Brunson, Dallas, 29.75

4. Brandon Ingram, New Orleans, 29.75

6. Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee, 27.5

6. Steph Curry, Golden State, 27.5

8. Joel Embiid, Philadelphia, 26.0

9. Anthony Edwards, Minnesota, 24.75

9. Klay Thompson, Golden State, 24.75

11. Jordan Poole, Golden State, 24.25

12. C.J. McCollum, New Orleans, 24.0

13. Desmond Bane, Memphis, 23.25

13. DeMar DeRozan, Chicago, 23.25

15. Tyrese Maxey, Philadelphia, 22.75

Berry Tramel: Berry can be reached at 405-760-8080 or at btramel@oklahoman.com. He can be heard Monday through Friday from 4:40-5:20 p.m. on The Sports Animal radio network, including FM-98.1. Support his work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Ranking college football coaching hires for 2022 offseason carousel