"Being a high school head coach is ten times harder than being an interim head coach, or even coordinator"

Going from interim head coach to being named the permanent replacement is widely recognized as a long shot.

In recent cycles, Blake Harrell at East Carolina and Spencer Danielson have defied the odds to earn the promotion to head coach after helping to lead impressive turnarounds as interim head coaches.

Harrell went from defensive coordinator to interim head coach after back-to-back blowout losses to Charlotte and Army in October of 2023, and led the Pirates to a 5-1 finish down the stretch after parting ways with Mike Houston, and Danielson was tabbed interim head coach as Boise State was sitting at 5-5 battling for bowl eligibility and led the Broncos to three straight wins before suffering his first loss in the team's bowl game.

There are plenty of other coaches who stepped in and did impressive jobs but failed to earn the job, perhaps the most notable being the job Ed Orgeron did at USC following the tarmac dismissal of Lane Kiffin back in 2013. Coach O galvanized the Trojans after a 3-2 start under Kiffin to go 6-2 down the stretch, but USC ultimately decided to bring Steve Sarkisian back to USC after he helped turn around Washington.

With five Power Five job openings early in the 2025 cycle already, five interim coaches (and a number of interim coordinators) are getting an extended interview for the permanent spot in what is widely considered to be among the toughest positions to hold in any sport. 

As an interim, you take over a team (often times) assembled by someone else, and your job is to not only get the train back on its tracks, but also unite a splintered locker room reeling from the departure of the man responsible for giving them their opportunity, and make subtle - not drastic changes to schemes, preparation, and various schedules - with the goal of winning games and providing a positive experience for the locker room and staff.

That's a tall order.

At Oklahoma State, offensive coordinator Doug Meacham was tabbed as the interim head coach after Mike Gundy's dismissal and yesterday Meacham announced the decision to part ways with veteran defensive coordinator Todd Grantham, who was in his first season in Stillwater.

To replace Grantham, the interim Meacham tabbed Clint Bowen as the team's interim defensive coordinator for the season.

Bowen, a longtime member of the Kansas staff from 1998-2010 and 2012-2019, where he served in a variety of roles including defensive coordinator and special teams coordinator including working on both offensive and defensive sides of the ball as an assistant, has been in Meacham's shoes before. During the 2014 season, following the dismissal of Charlie Weis, Bowen was tabbed as interim head coach of his alma mater, where he stepped in and went 1-7.

After a stint as the defensive coordinator at North Texas, Bowen spent the last several years as a high school head coach at Lawrence HS (KS) before coming back to college football on Gundy's staff prior to this season. After having the opportunity to serve with multiple interim titles, Bowen shared high praise for what it takes to be a high school head coach.

"High school coaches are the most amazing humans. If anyone had any idea...coaching high school football is ten times harder than any interim role, whether it's interim head coach, or an interim coordinator at a Power Four school."

"You want to talk about guys who truly have to invest more than you would ever dream of having to invest. I mean, you're raising money to buy shoes, you're raising money to buy food, you're trying to get equipment money raised. You're taking kids home. You're meeting with parents."

"I mean, it is 24-hours a day. Nonstop high school football and it is the greatest gig there is."

Bowen says to this day, most of the texts he receives are from high school kids that are asking for advice on this or that.

"It is a special job to be a high school football coach, in terms of what you can do to impact kids."

After a long career in college football, Bowen says going back to being a high school head coach served as a reminder for him.

"I am here to help those players. If I gained anything from high school to going back to now, I have brought myself back to an attitude that it is about the players. This isn't about me. It isn't about us. This is about helping these young men reach their goals and fulfill their dreams."