Chris Fowler weighs in on coaching carousel, state of college football

It’s been a wild month for college football, between the transfer portal and a coaching carousel for the ages. ESPN analyst Chris Fowler had some poignant thoughts about it this week.

Fowler made an appearance on The Rich Eisen Show this week to discuss everything. Eisen asked Fowler how he feels about coaches leaving before bowl games, and he didn’t hold back.

“I don’t like the direction the sport’s going in that respect,” Fowler said. “I think it’s irreversible, basically. I think the fluidity is hard to stop with the transfer portal, [coaching] movement. A couple things happened … on the coaching front. Orgeron getting fired is a chilling thing for coaches because two years ago, he [was] walking on water at LSU. Two years later, he’s out of a job. It can happen that fast, so I think people feel like, ‘Well, if they can do that to one of your own.’

“Brian Kelly goes down to LSU knowing he’s got to win because culturally, it’s a weird fit. He’s had … some awkward moments in the transition to the bayou, which is a unique, wonderful place. But I’ve talked to many coaches over the years who’ve been outsiders there … if you’re not from there, you don’t get the culture, you just have a shorter rope.”

Chris Fowler on Lincoln Riley’s move to USC

Kelly’s move to LSU was big, but Lincoln Riley’s decision to leave Oklahoma for USC also stunned the college football world.

Fowler weighed in on the move, and he knows how Riley can impact things at USC. It goes back to recruiting, which Riley talked about on National Signing Day.

“No offense intended to Norman, Oklahoma, but if you have the chance to be in LA and resurrect USC, I think he feels like he’s gone as far as he can at Oklahoma,” Fowler said. “They didn’t win a championship or win a playoff game, but headed to the SEC, it’s going to get even more challenging. I think he sees a chance to immediately inject life into the recruiting at USC, which has been kind of untapped for a while.

“They have not recruited the way they needed to [and] let guys go. Just look at these California quarterbacks. Look at CJ Stroud, Bryce Young, they’re LA guys. They’re right there. … You’re not just losing guys to Oregon or somewhere else in the Pac-12. You’re losing them to schools across the country.”