DeBoer, Moore, Day, Fisch, Riley, & Venables Face Impossible but Inescapable Expectations
By Rock Westfall
In college football, brand perception is reality. Head coaches Kalen DeBoer, Sherrone Moore, Ryan Day, Jedd Fisch, Lincoln Riley, and Brent Venables face demands that are unlikely to be met in 2024. Achieving the impossible is part of the job description in today’s college football, but that doesn’t mean it’s a realistic expectation.
Kalen DeBoer and the Shadow of the GOAT
Last season, Kalen DeBoer led the Washington Huskies to the national championship game. It was a tremendous accomplishment at a school that has struggled to consistently maintain its national cache since the retirement of Don James three decades ago. DeBoer walked into a crisis at U-Dub but came out of it as one of the hottest coaching prospects in the game. Thus, when Coach Saban retired, DeBoer was a highly credible candidate to step into the position. But DeBoer has entered a world that no coach could fathom.
Nick Saban won seven career national championships including six at Alabama. He achieved the impossible by earning the equal esteem of the revered, beloved, legendary late great Bear Bryant in Tuscaloosa. Saban is a near-unanimous choice as the GOAT of college football coaching.
DeBoer will be dealing with one of the most spoiled, demanding, and unreasonable fan bases in the sport. His honeymoon will end upon his first loss. Additionally, Saban had his reasons for getting out. He could read the writing on the wall in regards to NIL, the transfer portal, and player empowerment. Saban knew his success and iron fist were unsustainable, especially at age 72, so he got out when the getting was good.
There is almost no way DeBoer can match Saban’s career record. But Alabama fans will hear none of it, making for the probability of a miserable marriage.
Moore Losses Will Leave Sherrone Dazed and Blue
Michigan head coach Sherrone Moore replaces the man who led the Wolverines to the greatest season in their storied history. Jim Harbaugh may have been a national lightning rod, but at Michigan, he matched his mentor and hero, Bo Schembechler, as the most beloved coach in program history. The Wolverines are coming off a perfect national championship season in which Moore had a key role.
Moore, Harbaugh’s offensive coordinator, led Michigan to three victories in the final three games of the regular season while Harbaugh was serving a suspension. The Maize and Blue faithful are familiar with Moore and his role in saving the dream season. But Moore takes over a program that in no way resembles what it was one year ago. Michigan lost most of its key players, coaches, and support staff after Harbaugh departed.
Moore does inherit the Big House, winged helmets, “The Victors” fight song, and a fan base that noted Michigan historian John U. Bacon says is only happy if they are unhappy.
Michigan fans have always had a form of arrogance and sense of certainty that won’t change with coaches. In a newly expanded and tougher Big Ten, that is an explosive combination.
A New Day – At Least It Better Be
At Ohio State University, losing to Michigan is a mortal sin. Head coach Ryan Day has done it for the past three seasons. But with his hated arch-nemesis Jim Harbaugh off to the NFL and Michigan’s roster wiped clean of most of its assets, fans believe that Day has a clean slate and assume he is an ascending stock.
Ryan Day has a career record of 56-8 with three College Football Playoff appearances and two Big Ten championships. He successfully followed in the footsteps of legendary Urban Meyer. Anywhere else, the hot seat would be a non-topic. But at Ohio State, Day’s chair could quickly become an all-consuming inferno.
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Ohio State is one of the most legendary programs in college football. But with such history comes constant demands of a fan base that has been compared to werewolves.
Ryan Day must beat Michigan in 2024. If he loses to the Maize and Blue for the fourth consecutive year, especially without Harbaugh and his loaded roster, it will likely mean sunset for Day.
Vulnerable Venables Faces Increased Demands in Tougher League
Brent Venables stepped into a full-blown crisis at Oklahoma after head coach Lincoln Riley, superstar quarterback Caleb Williams, and a host of other top players and assistants bolted for USC.
Following a 6-7 mulligan campaign in 2022, Venables improved to 10-3 in 2023. But Oklahoma faded down the stretch in both seasons, leaving Venables open to criticism.
For 2024, Venables must navigate the impossible task of returning Oklahoma's status to that of a nationally contending program while playing its first season in the SEC. Elitist Oklahoma fans will tolerate no alibis regarding the move to the toughest league in college football.
Venables is facing the historic Oklahoma demands of the old Big Eight and Big 12 Conference days of lore in today’s unrecognizable world of college football and the SEC. Can reality trump perception? In college football, that rarely occurs.
A Fisch Out of Water?
Jedd Fisch replaced Kalen DeBoer at Washington, leaving behind a young, up-and-coming Arizona program that was expected to enter the Big 12 with a loaded roster and the momentum of a 10-3 season in 2023.
Like Venables, Fisch takes over a program that is switching leagues (Pac-12 to Big Ten). Fisch will not be inheriting the roster that DeBoer took to within one win of the national championship. But he does inherit DeBoer-sized expectations. Washington fans loved their taste of the big time in 2023 and want more of it. But that desire is probably not realistic, at least in 2024.
One intangible advantage Fisch does have is that Seattle is a pro-sports-crazed market. Thus, he will face relatively less initial heat than what is the case at Alabama, Michigan, and Ohio State.
Lincoln Riley’s Lost Shine
When Lincoln Riley arrived at USC, he was celebrated as the most brilliant offensive mind in college football. Instant success was considered a fait accompli. Instead, Riley went from 11-3 in his first campaign to 8-5 last year.
Dating back to his days at Oklahoma, Riley never prioritized defensive or physical football, and that was reflected on the field. Like Fisch and Venables, Riley will lead a historic program into a new, tougher league (Pac-12 to Big Ten). In the Big Ten, playing stout defense is not an option but a non-negotiable requirement.
It will be fascinating to watch how Riley adjusts his soft program to the Big Ten's comparative brute physicality. The Caleb Williams sideshow has ended, which could help, along with newly arrived defensive coaches. But Riley has no record of being anything other than a run-and-gun coach.
A difficult transition is expected. And if it proves to be too difficult, there will be no California Cool for Riley, even amidst the bountiful distractions in Southern California.
