UTRavens
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It's always good to have a historical context behind this to give us a better sense of how good Butch Jones' resume really.
What I wanted to do was find coaches who, like Jones, succeeded at two different programs. Because college football reference leaves out FCS teams, I'm narrowing it down to coaches who had success at two lesser schools over a relatively short time frame (leaves out a few coaches who spent close to a decade at one school) before taking the leap to a bigger program.
Turns out, it's pretty rare.
Brady Hoke (Michigan, 2011) - Like Jones, had success with two different programs over a relatively short period. His Ball State tenure (starting in 2003) initially saw a fairly prolonged decline before a winning season in 2007 and a breakout 12-1 year in 2008. He then went to a floundering San Diego State program, going 4-8 in 2009 and soaring to 9-4 in 2010.
How he did at Michigan: Pretty well so far. He took a middling at best team under Rich Rod and had a stunning 11-2 performance in his first year. He followed that up with a somewhat disappointing but still solid 8-4 mark in 2012.
Brian Kelly (Notre Dame, 2010) - Obviously the most similar career path. He elevated a dormant CMU program to a 9-4 season in 2006, then took over a decent but middling Cincinnati team that had 3 loss seasons in 2007 and 2008, then went undefeated in 2009. It's debatable as to how exactly Jones' performance at the two schools compares to Kelly's, with arguments going both ways.
How he did at Notre Dame: Not bad.
John L. Smith (Michigan State, 2003) - He started at Utah State and more or less kept them at the same level as before, staying around .500 for three years. He then went to Louisville, taking over a 1-10 team and going to five straight bowls. He peaked with an 11-2 2001 season that was followed by a 7-6 performance before this departure.
How he did at Michigan State: Not very well. He had a surprising 8-5 season in 2003, but coached for four more years and never made another bowl.
Dennis Franchione (Alabama/Texas A&M) - He did take some time in elevating New Mexico in the 1990s, taking six seasons to get them to a 9-4 record. He then quickly brought up a dead TCU team to two consecutive winning seasons, than a 10-1 showing in 2000.
How he did at Alabama/Texas A&M: His Alabama tenure could conceivably be included with the two above, since he only stayed for two seasons and had success in the second. At A&M he was not necessarily bad but definitely less successful, hovering around .500 with one somewhat big year in 2006.
What we have is one slam dunk, one guy who's doing very well, one who was okay, and one who wasn't so good. It's worth noting, and probably fairly significant that only Kelly had one of his stints in a BCS conference like Jones.
I left out Urban Meyer simply because he was so ridiculously successful. It certainly doesn't hurt Jones' case, but I don't want to be accused of reaching.
What I wanted to do was find coaches who, like Jones, succeeded at two different programs. Because college football reference leaves out FCS teams, I'm narrowing it down to coaches who had success at two lesser schools over a relatively short time frame (leaves out a few coaches who spent close to a decade at one school) before taking the leap to a bigger program.
Turns out, it's pretty rare.
Brady Hoke (Michigan, 2011) - Like Jones, had success with two different programs over a relatively short period. His Ball State tenure (starting in 2003) initially saw a fairly prolonged decline before a winning season in 2007 and a breakout 12-1 year in 2008. He then went to a floundering San Diego State program, going 4-8 in 2009 and soaring to 9-4 in 2010.
How he did at Michigan: Pretty well so far. He took a middling at best team under Rich Rod and had a stunning 11-2 performance in his first year. He followed that up with a somewhat disappointing but still solid 8-4 mark in 2012.
Brian Kelly (Notre Dame, 2010) - Obviously the most similar career path. He elevated a dormant CMU program to a 9-4 season in 2006, then took over a decent but middling Cincinnati team that had 3 loss seasons in 2007 and 2008, then went undefeated in 2009. It's debatable as to how exactly Jones' performance at the two schools compares to Kelly's, with arguments going both ways.
How he did at Notre Dame: Not bad.
John L. Smith (Michigan State, 2003) - He started at Utah State and more or less kept them at the same level as before, staying around .500 for three years. He then went to Louisville, taking over a 1-10 team and going to five straight bowls. He peaked with an 11-2 2001 season that was followed by a 7-6 performance before this departure.
How he did at Michigan State: Not very well. He had a surprising 8-5 season in 2003, but coached for four more years and never made another bowl.
Dennis Franchione (Alabama/Texas A&M) - He did take some time in elevating New Mexico in the 1990s, taking six seasons to get them to a 9-4 record. He then quickly brought up a dead TCU team to two consecutive winning seasons, than a 10-1 showing in 2000.
How he did at Alabama/Texas A&M: His Alabama tenure could conceivably be included with the two above, since he only stayed for two seasons and had success in the second. At A&M he was not necessarily bad but definitely less successful, hovering around .500 with one somewhat big year in 2006.
What we have is one slam dunk, one guy who's doing very well, one who was okay, and one who wasn't so good. It's worth noting, and probably fairly significant that only Kelly had one of his stints in a BCS conference like Jones.
I left out Urban Meyer simply because he was so ridiculously successful. It certainly doesn't hurt Jones' case, but I don't want to be accused of reaching.
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