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2022 Report Card: Year 1 Grades for every Power 5 head coach & Marcus Freeman at Notre Dame

On3 imageby:Jesse Simonton•12/24/22•

JesseReSimonton

Billy Napier, Marcus Freeman, Lincoln Riley, Mario Cristobal
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Just before the start of the 2022 regular season, I outlined “reasonable expectations for the 13 new head coaches in the Power 5, plus Marcus Freeman at Notre Dame.”

With the regular season over and the Early Signing Period in the books, it’s the perfect time to circle back and hand out some grades. 

A full and complete evaluation requires more context and sample size, but after 12 (or more) games and a full recruiting cycle, we at least have a solid understanding of which hires worked in Year 1. And which ones didn’t. 

All grades aren’t equal, either. The expectations around Brent Venables at Oklahoma and Billy Napier at Florida were much different than Joey McGuire at Texas Tech or Mike Elko at Duke. 

We know last offseason’s coaching carousel was nuts, as some of the most marquee jobs in all of college football — USC, LSU, Florida, Notre Dame, Miami, Oklahoma and Oregon — had openings in the same cycle. Some of the biggest coaching characters in CFB — Lincoln Riley, Brian Kelly and Mario Cristobal — changed teams. 

So with that: Here’s a Year 1 Report Card for the 2022 Power 5 first-year head coaches. 

Mike Elko, Duke: A+

After three consecutive losing seasons to end the David Cutcliffe era, Elko nearly won a divisional title with the Blue Devis. Duke went 8-4 in 2022, with three losses by a combined eight points. 

Per the USA Today, Elko’s program was the only Power 5 team in the country to win eight games after winning fewer than four games the previous season. Unlike many others on this list, Elko didn’t load up on the transfer portal, either.

Instead, the former Texas A&M DC and 2022 ACC Coach of the Year developed the roster organically, improving the team’s discipline and defense and getting better production from dual-threat quarterback Riley Leonard. 

Billy Napier, Florida: D+

I won’t belabor too many thoughts on Billy Napier’s first season in Gainesville, as I outlined my analysis in a column earlier this week. 

But it was a lost season for Florida in 2022. The Gators upset Utah in the season opener, but the next three months were mostly miserable. 

After getting blasted in the Las Vegas bowl by Oregon State, UF finished with a losing record (6-7) for the second straight fall — a first in 44 years. For the first time in school history, the Gators lost to Tennessee, Georgia and Florida State. That’s not exactly what you want to be written at the top of your Year 1 byline if you’re Billy Napier. 

The good news is Florida’s recruiting has improved under Napier, as the Gators landed a Top 10 class during Early Signing Period. They missed on some big names late, but Napier did a nice job keeping talent in-state (70% of UF’s class) and fending off FSU for a pair of blue-chip flips.

Brian Kelly, LSU: A-

LSU’s last two showings — a pathetic loss at Texas A&M and then a blowout in the SEC Championship to No. 1 Georgia — might make Kelly’s grade seem slightly inflated, but if you take a macro look at the Tigers’ entire season, the former Notre Dame coach did a really nice job in Year 1. 

The Tigers were projected to win around seven games, yet it upset Alabama, won at Florida and held on to beat Arkansas to win the SEC West. 

Kelly inherited a roster that had fewer than 40 players in their bowl game last December, but he rebuilt the roster through the transfer portal and he just inked a Top 6 recruiting class in his first full cycle.

He hired a great staff, especially DC Matt House, and has quickly changed some of the cultural issues that plagued LSU’S program during the end of the Ed Orgeron era. 

Mario Cristobal, Miami: D

If not for the Hurricanes’ impressive showing on the recruiting trail — they closed with the nation’s No. 3 class during the Early Signing Period, landing 16 blue-chip prospects including three 5-stars — Mario Cristobal might’ve warranted a failing grade after such a disappointing 5-7 campaign in Year 1. 

Despite a down ACC, Miami was a disaster on the field this fall, regressing offensively and defensively. The Canes allowed 40+ points five times, lost to Middle Tennessee State and Duke at home and saw starting quarterback Tyler Van Dyke go from looking like a future NFL 1st Round Draft pick to getting benched multiple times this fall. 

Cristobal has now cleansed the roster — 15 transfers out, a couple plug-and-play veterans in and the recent recruiting haul — so the former Canes offensive lineman must deliver real results in Year 2. 

Marcus Freeman, Notre Dame: B

It wasn’t the smoothest transition season for Marcus Freeman, but the first-year Irish coach navigated losing his starting quarterback early in the season to finish 8-4. 

Notre Dame suffered stunning losses to Marshall and Stanford, but it won eight of nine games before dropping its season-finale to rival USC. If the Irish were in the ACC — wins over Syracuse, North Carolina and Clemson — Freeman might’ve competed for a conference title. 

Despite a frustrating finish to the Early Signing Period, Freeman proved his chops as one of the best head coach recruiters, landing the nation’s No. 8 class in his first full cycle.

Brent Venables, Oklahoma: D

Venables gets the Mario Cristobal treatment here, as a strong showing in the 2023 recruiting cycle is the only thing saving him from a big, fat F after such a disastrous debut. 

The Sooners had their worst season in close to a quarter century (1998), losing six games including getting housed 49-0 by Texas in the Red River Rivalry.

Oklahoma opened the year as a Top 10 team and started 3-0. The Sooners then dropped 5-of-7 as their defense — Venables’ specialty — had more holes than a cheese grader. They couldn’t cover or tackle. 

The Sooners allowed 55 points in a blowout to TCU. A bad Baylor offense dropped 38 on OU. They finished the regular season with the nation’s No. 100 scoring defense (30 points per game allowed). 

Unlike most other first-year head coaches, Venables didn’t walk into a situation in shambles. Lincoln Riley certainly took his fair share of offensive talent with him to Los Angeles, Oklahoma is among the most stable programs in the country. 

The Sooners should not have been as bad as they were this fall. But they were, and now Venables, with a Top 10 class in tow headlined by 5-star quarterback Jackson Arnold, has a year to figure things out before OU likely joins the SEC in 2024. 

Dan Lanning, Oregon: B+

The former Georgia DC was quite the riverboat gambler in his first year as a head coach. Sometimes the 4th down decisions paid off. Other times they didn’t — the latter costing Oregon a potential spot in the CFP. 

The Ducks got dog-walked by the Bulldogs in the season-opener, only to win eight straight games and become a legit contender for the Pac-12 title. 

The Ducks floundered a bit late in the season — losses to rivals Washington and Oregon State by a combined seven points — but Lanning and his staff turned Bo Nix into one of the better QBs in the country. 

Nix has announced he’ll be back for 2023 and Lanning was one of the real winners of the Early Signing Period, landing a couple of 5-stars and flipping a trio of other blue-chip recruits. 

Lincoln Riley, USC: A

If not for Sonny Dykes’ rapid rebuild at TCU, Riley likely would’ve been the national Coach of the Year after taking the Trojans from a 4-8 team to the verge of the College Football Playoff. 

Riley arrived at USC and hammered the transfer portal, and his process worked, as an overhauled Trojans roster won 11 regular-season games and saw former OU quarterback Caleb Williams take home the Heisman Trophy. 

Riley still needs to fix his team’s defensive issues, but the bright lights are shining on Los Angeles again. 

USC was not supposed to be this good this fast, but now it won’t surprise anyone if Riley leads the Trojans to the playoff in 2023. 

Sonny Dykes, TCU: A+

The National Coach of the Year pulled off one of the most impressive Year 1 turnarounds we’ve ever seen, taking over a 5-7 program that was unranked in the preseason and winning the Big 12 regular-season title and earning a spot in the College Football Playoff.

Sonny Dykes used a little Hypnotoad magic in his first season in Fort Worth, as the Horned Frogs had multiple comeback wins in 2022, including dramatic victories against Oklahoma State, Kansas, Kansas State and Baylor. 

Under Dykes, TCU wasn’t just good, but fun. 

Dykes turned quarterback Max Duggan, a backup to start the season, into the runner-up for the Heisman Trophy award. The Horned Frogs averaged over 40 points per game this fall just a season removed from scoring as many in a single game just twice all year in 2021. 

Joey McGuire, Texas Tech: B+

McGuire led the Red Raiders to their best season in the Big 12 since 2009, winning as many conference games (5) as their overall projected preseason win total. 

They beat Texas and Oklahoma — both overtime thrillers including a 51-48 walkout field goal to upset the Sooners to end the regular season — in the same year for the first time in school history. 

McGuire juggled playing three different starting quarterbacks, and despite real roster challenges, TTU finished the season on a three-game winning streak. 

The former Baylor assistant also significantly upgraded the Red Raiders’ recruiting efforts, as Tech signed the No. 4 class in the Big 12 (trailing only Texas, OU and TCU) — a Top 25 finish. 

Tony Elliot, Virginia: D

Tony Elliot deserves credit for the way he handled a tragic and shocking blow to his program that saw three football players killed in an on-campus shooting in November. Virginia’s season was cut short, canceling its final two games. With all of Charlottesville grieving, Elliott united a devastated group of players, coaches and families amid such adversity.

But Elliot’s on-field performance didn’t inspire a ton of confidence. The former Clemson OC inherited a real stars and scrubs roster from Bronco Mendenhall, yet in 2022, nearly every one of Virginia’s best offensive players regressed this fall. 

Brennan Armstrong went from looking like one of the top quarterbacks in the ACC to a turnover machine. A year after totaling 40 touchdowns, Armstrong, who is now in the transfer portal, had more giveaways (16) than total scores (13) this fall. 

Armstrong led a Top 25 offense in 2021, but Virginia plummeted more than 100 spots nationally in scoring under Elliott, finishing the season averaging just 17.0 points per game.

Brent Pry, Virginia Tec: C-

The Hokies were expected to be a bad team in 2022, and they were exactly that in Pry’s first season in Blacksburg, going 3-8.

Va. Tech lost its season-opener to Old Dominion and got blown out by so-so West Virginia and Pitt teams. Notably, the team didn’t quit late in the season, though, losing multiple one-score games (including losses to NC State and Georgia Tech by a single point each) before ending the year with an upset over Liberty. 

Pry brought in transfer quarterback Grant Wells from Marshall hoping to spark an offense that ranked next-to-last in the ACC in 2021, but that experiment didn’t work, as Wells struggled (9 TDs to 9 INTS) and the offense was even worse this fall.

Pry faces a long rebuild and is looking to turn over the roster this offseason. So far, 11 players have entered the transfer portal with more attrition anticipated. 

Kalen Deboer, Washington: A

The Huskies won six-straight games to end the 2022 season, including an upset at Oregon and a win in the Apple Cup over rival Washington State. 

Deboer inherited a 4-8 team that ranked No. 107 nationally in scoring in 2021 and won 10 games with the country’s 4th-best offense. Quarterback Michael Penix, who had his best season at Indiana when Deboer was his OC, led the nation in passing and is coming back for the 2023 season. 

With USC and UCLA set to leave the Pac-12 after next season, Deboer looks like he has Washington positioned to be one of the top players in the Pac-12 for the next few years. 

The Huskies signed the nation’s No. 27 class Wednesday — a wild 59-spot jump in the recruiting rankings.  

Jake Dickert, Washington State: B

The Cougars’ former interim coach worked around a rather brutal schedule — nine conference games plus a road trip at Wisconsin — to finish 7-5 in his first season in Pullman.

All five of WSU’s losses were to ranked teams — including three one-score defeats to Utah, Oregon and Oregon State. 

Still, Dickert inherited a tough situation a year ago, kept much of his roster intact, landed quarterback Cam Ward from the transfer portal and got WSU to a bowl game in Year 1. 

Dickert navigated Washington State through the Nick Rolovich saga quite well, and now he must nail another program reset as the Cougars lost both their coordinators this offseason.