It would not have come as a surprise that five members of Nick Saban's 2015 staff would become head coaches within a decade. It would be a surprise to learn that none of them would take over for him at Alabama.
That honor would belong, of course, to Kalen DeBoer who at this moment 10 years ago was trying to figure out ways to improve an Eastern Michigan offense that scored 179 points on its way to a 2-10 season in 2014. EMU would go 1-11 in 2015.
Within a decade though, DeBoer would attain arguably the best job in the sport.
A decade after our first Where Were They Then?, FootballScoop again examines where each FBS head coach found himself in the summer of 2015. And in examining the numbers, the path to an FBS head coaching position is once again clear: there's power in proximity.
Of the 136 current FBS head coaches, this time a decade ago 50 were currently in head coaching positions ranging from the NFL level to high schools, and 49 were on Power 4 staffs either as coordinators, position coaches, or graduate assistants. Of course, many more coaches would go on to obtain head coaching positions between 2015 and 2025 or were head coaches previously before taking detours as assistants. In all, 89 current FBS head coaches had prior head coaching experience prior to landing their current job. This trend shows there's no substitute for executive experience like executive experience.
There are, of course, exceptions. Ten years ago, Northwestern head coach David Braun was gearing up for his first season as UC Davis's defensive line coach. Sherrone Moore was (literally) 128 miles and (figuratively) 10,000 miles away from the Michigan head coaching position as the second-year tight ends coach at Central Michigan. And Bob Chesney honed his craft far away from the FBS spotlight, coaching in a 1,200-seat stadium at Assumption University.
And then there is DeBoer, who was not on anyone's radar to one day succeed the best coach in the history of the sport.
Most of the FBS head coaches in 2035 will be found in the usual spots in 2025, either in close proximity to power as a Power 5 assistant, gaining valuable experience as a lower-division head coach, or on the rebound after a crash and burn elsewhere. (And it goes without saying Kirk Ferentz will be preparing for Year 37 at Iowa.) But there will be exceptions, and 10 years from now we'll see which FCS position coaches and Group of 5 coordinators combined the power of hard work, good fortune and patience to make themselves household names in 2035.
POWER 4
Power 4 coordinator: 18
Power 4 position coach: 8
Current job: 8
Power 4 head coach (different school): 7
Group of 5 head coach: 7
Group of 5 coordinator: 4
Power 4 support staff: 3
High school head coach: 2
NFL head coach: 2
NFL assistant: 2
Sub-FBS head coach: 2
Sub-FBS assistant: 2
Group of 5 assistant: 2
Out of coaching: 1
ACC (plus Notre Dame)
Bill O'Brien, Boston College -- Houston Texans head coach
Justin Wilcox, Cal -- USC defensive coordinator
Dabo Swinney, Clemson -- Clemson head coach
Manny Diaz, Duke -- Mississippi State head coach
Mike Norvell, Florida State -- Arizona State offensive coordinator
Brent Key, Georgia Tech -- UCF offensive coordinator
Jeff Brohm, Louisville -- Western Kentucky head coach
Mario Cristobal, Miami -- Alabama offensive line coach
Bill Belichick, North Carolina -- New England Patriots head coach
Dave Doeren, NC State -- NC State head coach
Marcus Freeman, Notre Dame -- Purdue linebackers coach
Pat Narduzzi, Pitt -- Pitt head coach
Rhett Lashlee, SMU -- Auburn offensive coordinator
Frank Reich, Stanford -- San Diego Chargers offensive coordinator
Fran Brown, Syracuse -- Temple defensive backs coach
Tony Elliott, Virginia -- Clemson co-offensive coordinator/running backs coach
Brent Pry, Virginia Tech -- Penn State co-defensive coordinator/linebackers coach
Jake Dickert, Wake Forest -- Minnesota State defensive coordinator
Big 12
Brent Brennan, Arizona -- Oregon State wide receivers coach
Kenny Dillingham, Arizona State -- Arizona State offensive assistant
Dave Aranda, Baylor -- Wisconsin defensive coordinator
Kalani Sitake -- Oregon State defensive coordinator
Scott Satterfield, Cincinnati -- Appalachian State head coach
Deion Sanders, Colorado -- Triple A Academy (Texas) head coach
Willie Fritz, Houston -- Georgia Southern head coach
Matt Campbell, Iowa State -- Toledo head coach
Lance Leipold, Kansas -- Buffalo head coach
Chris Klieman, Kansas State -- North Dakota State head coach
Mike Gundy, Oklahoma State -- Oklahoma State head coach
Sonny Dykes, TCU -- Cal head coach
Joey McGuire, Texas Tech -- Cedar Hill (Texas) High School head coach
Scott Frost, UCF -- Oregon offensive coordinator
Kyle Whittingham, Utah -- Utah head coach
Rich Rodriguez, West Virginia -- Arizona head coach
Big Ten
Bret Bielema, Illinois -- Arkansas head coach
Curt Cignetti, Indiana -- Indiana University-Pennsylvania head coach
Kirk Ferentz, Iowa -- Iowa head coach
Mike Locksley, Maryland -- Maryland offensive coordinator
Sherrone Moore, Michigan -- Central Michigan tight ends coach
Jonathan Smith, Michigan State -- Washington offensive coordinator
PJ Fleck, Minnesota -- Western Michigan head coach
Matt Rhule, Nebraska -- Temple head coach
David Braun, Northwestern -- UC Davis defensive line coach
Ryan Day, Ohio State -- Philadelphia Eagles quarterbacks coach
Dan Lanning, Oregon -- Alabama graduate assistant
James Franklin, Penn State -- Penn State head coach
Barry Odom, Purdue -- Missouri defensive coordinator
Greg Schiano, Rutgers -- Out of coaching
DeShaun Foster, UCLA -- UCLA graduate assistant
Lincoln Riley, USC -- Oklahoma offensive coordinator
Jedd Fisch, Washington -- Michigan quarterbacks/wide receivers coach
Luke Fickell, Wisconsin -- Ohio State defensive coordinator
SEC
Kalen DeBoer, Alabama -- Eastern Michigan offensive coordinator
Sam Pittman, Arkansas -- Arkansas offensive line coach
Hugh Freeze, Auburn -- Ole Miss head coach
Billy Napier, Florida -- Alabama wide receivers coach
Kirby Smart, Georgia -- Alabama defensive coordinator
Mark Stoops, Kentucky -- Kentucky head coach
Brian Kelly, LSU -- Notre Dame head coach
Lane Kiffin, Ole Miss -- Alabama offensive coordinator
Jeff Lebby, Mississippi State -- Baylor passing game coordinator/running backs coach
Eli Drinkwitz, Missouri -- Boise State offensive coordinator
Brent Venables, Oklahoma -- Clemson defensive coordinator
Shane Beamer, South Carolina -- Virginia Tech assistant head coach/running backs coach
Josh Heupel, Tennessee -- Utah State offensive coordinator
Steve Sarkisian, Texas -- USC head coach
Mike Elko, Texas A&M -- Wake Forest defensive coordinator
Clark Lea, Vanderbilt -- Syracuse linebackers coach
GROUP OF 5
Power 5 position coach: 11
Sub-FBS coordinator: 10
Sub-FBS head coach: 8
Power 5 coordinator: 7
Group of 5 coordinator: 6
Sub-FBS position coach: 5
Group of 5 head coach: 4
Current job: 4
Power 5 head coach: 4
Power 5 support staff: 2
Group of 5 position coach: 2
NFL assistant: 2
Out of coaching: 2
High school head coach: 1
American
Jeff Monken, Army -- Army head coach
Tim Albin, Charlotte -- Ohio offensive coordinator
Blake Harrell, East Carolina -- The Citadel defensive coordinator
Zach Kittley, Florida Atlantic -- Texas Tech graduate assistant
Ryan Silverfield, Memphis -- Arizona State offensive analyst
Brian Newberry, Navy -- Kennesaw State defensive coordinator
Eric Morris, North Texas -- Texas Tech offensive coordinator
Scott Abel, Rice -- Washington & Lee head coach
Alex Golesh, South Florida -- Illinois tight ends coach
KC Keeler, Temple -- Sam Houston head coach
Jon Sumrall, Tulane -- Troy linebackers coach
Tre Lamb, Tulsa -- Mercer quarterbacks coach
Trent Dilfer, UAB -- Out of coaching
Jeff Traylor, UTSA -- Texas tight ends coach
Conference USA
Ryan Carty, Delaware -- New Hampshire offensive coordinator
Willie Simmons, Florida International -- Prairie View A&M head coach
Charles Kelly, Jacksonville State -- Florida State defensive coordinator
Jerry Mack, Kennesaw State -- North Carolina Central head coach
Jamey Chadwell, Liberty -- Charleston Southern head coach
Sonny Cumbie, Louisiana Tech -- TCU co-offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach
Derek Mason, Middle Tennessee -- Vanderbilt head coach
Ryan Beard, Missouri State -- Northern Michigan cornerbacks coach
Tony Sanchez, New Mexico State -- UNLV head coach
Phil Longo, Sam Houston -- Sam Houston offensive coordinator
Scotty Walden, UTEP -- East Texas Baptist offensive coordinator
Tyson Helton, Western Kentucky -- Western Kentucky offensive coordinator
Independent
Jim Mora, UConn -- UCLA head coach
MAC
Joe Moorhead, Akron -- Fordham head coach
Mike Uremovich, Ball State -- NC State offensive line coach
Eddie George, Bowling Green -- Out of coaching
Pete Lembo, Buffalo -- Ball State head coach
Matt Drinkall, Central Michigan -- Kansas Wesleyan head coach
Chris Creighton, Eastern Michigan -- Eastern Michigan head coach
Mark Carney, Kent State -- Virginia State offensive coordinator
Chuck Martin, Miami (Ohio) -- Miami (Ohio) head coach
Thomas Hammock, Northern Illinois -- Baltimore Ravens running backs coach
Brian Smith, Ohio -- Occidental College offensive coordinator
Jason Candle, Toledo -- Toledo offensive coordinator
Joe Harasmyiak, UMass -- Maine defensive coordiantor
Lance Taylor, Western Michigan -- Stanford running backs coach
Mountain West
Troy Calhoun, Air Force -- Air Force head coach
Spencer Danielson, Boise State -- Azusa Pacific linebackers coach
Jay Norvell, Colorado State -- Texas co-offensive coordinator/wide receivers coach
Matt Entz, Fresno State -- North Dakota State defensive coordinator
Timmy Chang, Hawaii -- Jackson State offensive coordinator
Jeff Choate, Nevada -- Washington defensive line coach
Jason Eck, New Mexico -- Montana State offensive line coach
Sean Lewis, San Diego State -- Bowling Green co-offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach
Ken Niumatalolo, San Jose State -- Navy head coach
Dan Mullen, UNLV -- Mississippi State head coach
Bronco Mendenhall, Utah State -- BYU head coach
Jay Sawvel, Wyoming -- Minnesota defensive backs coach
Pac-12
Trent Bray, Oregon State -- Nebraska linebackers coach
Jimmy Rogers, Washington State -- South Dakota State linebackers coach
Sun Belt
Dowell Loggains, Appalachian State -- Chicago Bears quarterbacks coach
Butch Jones, Arkansas State -- Tennessee head coach
Tim Beck, Coastal Carolina -- Ohio State co-offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach
Clay Helton, Georgia Southern -- USC offensive coordinator
Dell McGee, Georgia State -- Georgia Southern running backs coach
Bob Chesney, James Madison -- Assumption head coach
Michael Desormeaux -- Ascension Episcopal (La.) School head coach
Bryant Vincent, ULM -- South Alabama co-offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach
Tony Gibson, Marshall -- West Virginia defensive coordinator
Ricky Rahne, Old Dominion -- Penn State quarterbacks coach
Major Applewhite, South Alabama -- Houston offensive coordinator
Charles Huff, Southern Miss -- Penn State running backs coach
GJ Kinne, Texas State -- Philadelphia Eagles quarterback
Gerad Parker, Troy -- Purdue wide receivers coach