In spite of the fact that the majority of the conversation in college football regarding the Pac-12 this season was about conference realignment, which George Kliavkoff recently blamed on the schools, or the depth of the conference, there were three new coaches.In addition to replacing a head coach, Arizona State, Colorado, and Stanford all replaced a head coach. The first two schools had fired a head coach, and Stanford’s all-time winningest coach resigned after losing his luster. Colorado needed a complete reset after a decade of irrelevance, Arizona State was fresh off a scandal, and Stanford is looking to return to prominence. Each program is in a very unique situation because of these three factors.
As far as the win-loss record is concerned, none of the three teams did particularly well. Stanford and Arizona State both finished with a record of 3-9, while Colorado finished with a record of 4-8 but only won one conference game. Whatever the case may be, it is undeniable that every institution possesses the ideal candidate for the position; all that is required is some time to bring about the desired change.Jesse Simonton of On3 recently provided year-one grades for all of the new Power 5 coaches, and among the three new coaches, Deion Sanders was the one who received the highest grade. Here is how each of them performed on the test.
Considering that Troy Taylor inherited the least experienced roster in the Power 5 and that it was nowhere near the scholarship threshold, the Stanford rebuild is going to be a challenging one for him. According to Simonton, the fact that Taylor is unwilling to make use of the portal is something that has the potential to be detrimental to the program.It is certain that the transition of the program to the ACC for the upcoming season will be an interesting one. Taylor did, in fact, sign a recruiting class that belongs to the Top 40 and is ranked eighth in the ACC
. Nevertheless, his complete reluctance to use the transfer portal continues to be detrimental to the program from a numbers and depth perspective. This is evidenced by eight departures and zero signees or commits for the program.When Taylor addressed the transfer portal on the day of early signing, he stated that Stanford is essentially only interested in transferring undergraduate students because it is difficult to accept graduate students as transfers academically. If the academic requirements of the school do not become more relaxed, then this program will be built on recruiting and developing new members.
As a result of the Herm Edwards era, the Sun Devils experienced a significant amount of roster turnover, in addition to being plagued by injuries and the disappointment of sanctions and other negative consequences. They have, however, made effective use of the portal and have hired a number of important recruits. Otherworldly fame is something that Deion Sanders brings to the table, which is something that virtually no other college football coach possesses. In addition to being one of the most watched teams in the nation, his squad got off to a 3-0 start to the year, making them one of the most exciting teams in the country.
Although they were defeated eight times out of the last nine games, the first month of the season was one of the most exciting months of college football that we have ever witnessed. After demoting his offensive coordinator in the middle of the season, he did have some staffing issues, and he also criticized his offensive line for being among the worst in the country. Jordan Seaton, a five-star left tackle, is the most notable member of the 2024 class, despite the fact that he did not recruit the class very widely and only received six commitments.