Coordinator Carousel: Big East Changes

May 20th, 2008 by Drew Howard

While head coaches get most of the glory, a good coordinator can single -handedly morph a unit from sub par to successful given the right coaching strategies. Drew Howard and the guys at College Gridiron Boss begin in the Big East.

Louisville

Offensive Coordinator
Out: Charlie Stubbs . Quite frankly, Louisville was a disaster this past season, so it is no surprise that Stubbs resigned from his position after following Steve Kragthorpe from Tulsa.

In: Jeff Brohm . The older brother of former quarterback Brian Brohm , Jeff has been on successful Louisville teams in the past, and as a local product, Louisville fans hope that he can improve the offense from last season. This can only be good news for new QB Hunter Cantwell (right, Icon SMI).
Defensive Coordinator
Out: Mike Cassity . In a tenure that closely compared to the one he had at Illinois, Cassity followed up a BCS bowl season with the Cardinals with an absolutely abysmal performance. Louisville could not get rid of him soon enough.

In: Ron English. English was perhaps the most respected assistant from Lloyd Carr’s old Michigan staff, and this should be a great hire for the Cardinals.
Pittsburgh Defensive Coordinator
Out: Paul Rhoads . Rhoads left Pittsburgh, where he had the fifth ranked defense in the country this past season, to become the defensive coordinator at Auburn, and it is hard to argue that it is not a step up for him.

In: Phil Bennett. While Bennett was not a successful head coach at SMU , he got that opportunity by being a very good defensive coordinator at Kansas State. This is a safe and solid hire by Pittsburgh.

Syracuse Offensive Coordinator
Out: Brian White. White left for a position on Ty Willingham’s staff at Washington, but I do not think that Syracuse fans were disappointed to see him go.

In: Mitch Browning. This is without question the best hire in the Big East. Browning was one of the masterminds behind Minnesota”s fantastic rushing attack under Glen Mason. This was the perfect hire for a school and coach that needs to quickly find a successful offensive identity.

Syracuse Defensive Coordinator
Out: Steve Russ. Russ also left for an assistant position, this one at Wake Forest.

In: Derrick Jackson and Greg Robinson. Jackson was promoted from defensive line coach, and Robinson is going to make sure that he takes an active role in the defense in his "put up or shut up" season.

West Virginia Offensive Coordinator
Out: Calvin McGee . McGee followed Rich Rodriguez to Michigan so Bill Stewart added…

In: Jeff Mullen. Mullen was formerly the quarterbacks coach at Wake Forest, where he helped lead Riley Skinner to his successful freshman season. This is a good stylistic fit with the skills that West Virginia’ s offensive players have.