There were seven new hires made in the Power 5 and eight in the Group of 5. There are four new coaches in the SEC, including Tennessee's Josh Heupel, Auburn's Bryan Harsin, Vanderbilt's Clark Lea and South Carolina's Shane Beamer. Four former SEC coaches also took new jobs. That group is Illinois' Bret Bielema, Arkansas State's Butch Jones, UL-Monroe's Terry Bowden and UCF's Gus Malzahn. The Malzahn hire filled the last vacancy in this year's cycle, at least for now.
Bryan Harsin, Auburn
Harsin led Boise State to three Mountain West Conference championships, and the 44-year-old coach is making the move up after compiling a 69-19 record with the Broncos. He levels up with Auburn, and the challenges of a first-time Power 5 coach in the SEC West are daunting. Keep in mind that Gus Malzahn won three Iron Bowls in eight seasons against Alabama. Harsin deserves a fair chance, but he will need to prove it on the recruiting trail first.
Gus Malzhan, UCF
This is a big-name hire for UCF, and Malzahn should be able to maintain — and probably add to — the success that Scott Frost and Heupel have had in the American Athletic Conference. Malzahn was 68-35 at Auburn and led the Tigers to a BCS championship appearance in 2013. The Tigers averaged 39.5 points per game that season, a standard that will be expected with UCF in the American Athletic Conference. It's a great hire for the Knights, one that other SEC schools will be watching closely.
Meet the first-year FBS coaches for 2021: SEC shuffle continues across Power 5, Group of 5 | Sporting News
Throw in Tater Tot at ULM and Butch Jones at Arkansas St and we have some close to home situations which are very interesting. ULM is at rock bottom. Arkansas St and Auburn are on a downward trend. It is going to bear watching to see which one strikes gold first. To doubt Bowden will improve ULM since up is the only direction they can go.
Bryan Harsin, Auburn
Harsin led Boise State to three Mountain West Conference championships, and the 44-year-old coach is making the move up after compiling a 69-19 record with the Broncos. He levels up with Auburn, and the challenges of a first-time Power 5 coach in the SEC West are daunting. Keep in mind that Gus Malzahn won three Iron Bowls in eight seasons against Alabama. Harsin deserves a fair chance, but he will need to prove it on the recruiting trail first.
Gus Malzhan, UCF
This is a big-name hire for UCF, and Malzahn should be able to maintain — and probably add to — the success that Scott Frost and Heupel have had in the American Athletic Conference. Malzahn was 68-35 at Auburn and led the Tigers to a BCS championship appearance in 2013. The Tigers averaged 39.5 points per game that season, a standard that will be expected with UCF in the American Athletic Conference. It's a great hire for the Knights, one that other SEC schools will be watching closely.
Meet the first-year FBS coaches for 2021: SEC shuffle continues across Power 5, Group of 5 | Sporting News
Throw in Tater Tot at ULM and Butch Jones at Arkansas St and we have some close to home situations which are very interesting. ULM is at rock bottom. Arkansas St and Auburn are on a downward trend. It is going to bear watching to see which one strikes gold first. To doubt Bowden will improve ULM since up is the only direction they can go.
