Former Red Wolves Coach Bryan Harsin
Every year about this time one of our favorite sports columnist, Stewart Mandel, hands out report cards on college coaches hired. This year we noticed Boise State’s hiring of former Arkansas State head coach, Bryan Harsin, got a good grade.
• Boise State: Bryan Harsin, former Arkansas State head coach. Harsin, 37, played quarterback for the Broncos in the late 1990s. He was a Boise State assistant for 10 years (2001 through ’10), the last five as Chris Petersen’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. His familiarity with the program should help with continuity, while his subsequent outside experience — especially his two seasons at Texas — presumably inspired fresh ideas for running his own team. Grade: A
And listed as a best of the rest is Arkansas State’s newest head football coach, former UNC offensive coordinator, Blake Anderson.
Here’s what Mandel had to say about Anderson:
Arkansas State: Blake Anderson. Following their recent blueprint, the Red Wolves landed yet another fast-rising offensive coach, who excelled in two seasons at North Carolina.
In last year’s “Grading the Coaching Hires” column, Mandel gave Auburn an “A” for hiring Gus Malzahn, saying this:
• Auburn: Gus Malzahn, former Arkansas State head coach. The right man to lead the Tigers already did so from 2009-11, and has a national championship to prove it. With a year’s head coaching experience under his belt, Malzahn is in perfect position to come back and reinstall the hurry-up offense Gene Chizik mysteriously abandoned prior to the 3-9 debacle in 2012. Malzahn has assembled an impressive staff, led by ace Georgia recruiter Rodney Garner. Grade: A
Arkansas State’s hiring of Harsin didn’t make the cut for “best of the rest,” however, Arkansas’ hiring of Bret Bielema pulled an “A” from Mandel:
• Arkansas: Bret Bielema, former Wisconsin head coach. Credit Arkansas AD Jeff Long for putting the Bobby Petrino/John L. Smith debacle behind him by going in a completely different direction. Bielema, 68-24 in seven seasons at Wisconsin, is a darn good coach, despite what his many detractors in Madison will say. He’ll need to make some adjustments in the SEC, though, mainly by steering a bit from the Wisconsin blueprint and recruiting more speed. Grade: A
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