It was an unusually busy year on the FCS coaching carousel, up from 17 in 2012-13 to 26 in 2013-14. Call it a market reaction to the abnormally light year one level above. Three coaches retired, five took FBS head coaching jobs and another two took head coaching jobs within the FCS; it was an especially volatile year in the MEAC and SWAC, where seven of the combined 21 schools switched head coaches. While only 18 schools actually dismissed their head coaches, in the end, more than 20 percent of the FCS will have a new head coach in 2014.
Either way, the hiring season came to a close (barring the completely unforeseen) on Thursday morning with Sam Houston State's hiring of former Delaware coach K.C. Keeler. Twenty-six jobs have come open, and all 26 have now been filled.
Much like we did yesterday with FBS, let's break it down by outgoing and incoming coaches.
Of the outgoing coaches...
FIVE took FBS head coaching jobs (Dino Babers, Craig Bohl, Bill Clark, Chris Creighton and Willie Fritz)
THREE coaches retired (Dick Biddle, Robert Ford and Joe Walton)
TWO coaches took head coaching jobs within FCS (Rick Comegy and Clint Conque)
TWO found work as a coordinator within the FCS (Jody Sears and Joe Trainer)
ONE landed a position as an FBS assistant (Kevin Higgins), and
THIRTEEN are presently out of coaching (Dale Carlson, Henry Frazier III, J.C. Harper, Donald Hill-Eley, Anthony Jones, Mickey Matthews, Jeff McInerney, Karl Morgan, Chris Mussman, Donovan Rose, Tony Samuel, Jason Swepson and Doug Williams - although the Washington Post reports Williams is close to joining the Redskins' front office). This number will surely go down as the dust settles with hirings across the nation - as it should.
Of the 26 incoming coaches...
FIVE were hired away from FBS coordinator jobs (Kim Dameron, Jim Fleming, Tom Matukewicz, Rich Skrosky and Everett Withers)
FIVE were FBS position coaches (Jay Hill, Lee Hull, Greg Gattuso, Jerry Mack and James Spady)
FOUR were promoted from within (John Banaszak, Rick Fox, John Grass and Chris Klieman)
THREE ascended from FCS coordinator positions (Dave Cecchini, Dan Hunt and Bubba Schweigert)
THREE landed from Division II head coaching jobs (Mike Houston, Connell Maynor and Pete Rossomando)
TWO were out of coaching in 2013 (Harold Jackson and K.C. Keeler)
TWO were hired away from other FCS head coaching jobs (Comegy and Conque)
ONE was an FCS position coach (Broderick Fobbs), and
ONE was elevated from a junior college head coaching gig (Steve Campbell)