ACC Coastal transforms into one of nation's most impressive collections of coaches
Give the ACC this, in less than a week, it has seriously elevated its coaching star power.
Friday, hours after Miami introduced Mark Richt, Virginia lured Bronco Mendenhall away from BYU, with those moves coming days after Virginia Tech landed Memphis' Justin Fuente.
Georgia is expected to soon hire Alabama defensive coordinator Kirby Smart to backfill Richt's job, giving the SEC a name everyone has long tagged as a star, the ACC has arguably won this year's coaching silly season.
South Carolina may end up going with former Florida and current Auburn defensive coordinator Will Muschamp, Arizona's Rich Rodriguez or USF's Willie Taggart, but is the additions of whoever the Gamecocks go with, Smart and Missouri promoting longtime assistant Barry Odom a better haul? Is USC, which many consider the biggest job that was open, sticking with Clay Helton, is that move more impressive than the names the ACC has added?
The Coastal Division's current lineup of headmen now boasts Richt, Mendenhall, Fuente, David Cutcliffe (Duke), Larry Fedora (North Carolina), Paul Johnson (Georgia Tech) and Pat Narduzzi (Pitt). Add in the Atlantic and the conference now has eight of the top 50 active coaches in winning percentage -- with at least five years under their belts -- in Florida State's Jimbo Fisher (84.0), Richt (74.0), Clemson's Dabo Swinney (73.7), Louisville's Bobby Petrino (71.7), Mendenhall (70.2), Johnson (66.9), Fedora (66.9) and NC State's Dave Doeren (64.1).
The SEC has seven such coaches and is now without Richt, who only trailed Alabama's Nick Saban (76.2) in that category.
Bringing Richt back to Miami, a move that has the potential to bring the Hurricanes back to the level the ACC had long hoped they would return, is understandably the attention-grabber.
He's a Miami product, a proven winner and since 2010 has produced four top-8 recruiting classes. Richt was working on a haul currently ranked third. He's positioned to challenge Florida's Jim McElwain, who is wrapping up his first year, and Fisher for major recruits in fertile grounds.
However, the state of Virginia may have pulled off the safest and yet smartest moves.
Fuente not only revitalized Memphis, winning a combined 19 games in the past two seasons, but he's taking over in Blacksburg with mainstay Bud Foster continuing in his role as defensive coordinator, along with Torrian Gray (secondary) and Charley Wiles (d-line).
Under Foster, the Hokies ranked int the top 10 in scoring defensive 12 times, and keeping him place to lend the attacking style to Fuente's ability to aid a dormant offense.
Meanwhile, the Cavaliers snagged Mendenhall from Provo, where he leaves one victory away from the 100th of his career, and where he was accustomed to winning under atypical circumstances.
Last season, BYU reported an average of 43 married players per team during Mendenhall's run and the coach has also had to operate with the school's Honor Code, a litany of rules to protect the university's integrity.
Not that he's going to Sodom and Gomorrah, but in Charlottesville he'll have a high set of academic standards impeding the ability to get the best football product on the field. Those are limitations that Mendenhall's past, as he's won fewer than eight games once in the last 10 years, shows he can handle.
Syracuse remains open and it's believed it is looking to Bowling Green's Dino Babers, a Art Briles disciple whose Falcons are third in the nation in total offense (566.0).
It's a move that wouldn't necessarily add another major name to the league's coaches, but it could turn the Orange into an interesting wildcard in the stacked Atlantic.
While the SEC may boast the strongest collection of coaches in any one division in the West's Saban, Bret Bielema (Arkansas), Hugh Freeze (Ole Miss), Gus Malzahn (Auburn), Les Miles (LSU), Dan Mullen (Mississippi State) and Kevin Sumlin (Texas A&M), the ACC went a long way toward leveling the playing field with its latest Coastal hires.
Saturday night, the ACC could punch a second straight trip to the College Football Playoff should top-ranked Clemson roll. If No. 10 North Carolina pulls the upset, it could make for an intriguing argument to rise up and crash the party.
It's the first top-10 matchup in the championship game's history, putting even more of a spotlight on the ACC.
These are heady days for the conference, and landing three of the biggest names to change sidelines makes it all the more impressive.
Follow Cory McCartney on Twitter @coryjmccartney and Facebook
