10 assistants who will be head coaches again soon

Win big in college football and they’ll eventually build you a statue. See, as examples, Gary Patterson at TCU and Nick Saban at Alabama, to name two active coaches already immortalized in bronze.

But win just enough and you’ll get the runner-up prize — a second chance. Check out this past offseason, which saw five coaches previously fired by one Football Bowl Subdivision spot get picked up by another.

Randy Edsall is back at Connecticut. Lane Kiffin gets his third shot, this time at Florida Atlantic. After a sour end to his tenure at North Carolina, Butch Davis was hired at Florida International. Likewise for Jeff Tedford at Fresno State, and Charlie Strong at South Florida.

So getting fired once isn’t the death knell for a coaching career. This week’s top 10 list takes a look at those in line for similar return to the bright lights: Which former head coaches currently working as assistants have moved themselves in position to nab a top spot on the FBS ranks as early as 2018?

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1. Greg Schiano, Ohio State

Technically, Schiano wasn’t fired at Rutgers following the 2011 season, when he cashed his fifth season with eight or more wins in a six-year span into the gig with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He’s still a name to include on this list: Schiano’s reputation may have lost some varnish after his short NFL stint, but it only took one season under Urban Meyer for his name to reappear on short lists for job openings this past winter. Coaching for Meyer tends to do that.

2. Mario Cristobal, Oregon

The former Florida International coach found a soft landing spot at Alabama, where he earned praise for his work with the Crimson Tide’s offensive line, and this past offseason joined Willie Taggart at Oregon. After an unceremonious ouster from FIU, it’s almost time for Cristobal’s next shot.

3. Sonny Dykes, TCU

Dykes won’t spend too much time as an assistant under Patterson at TCU. Big-time programs won’t come calling; Dykes had a fine run at California but was far from spectacular, and many programs may be scared off by the annual disaster zone that was the Golden Bears’ defense. But he’ll get another shot.

4. Pete Lembo, Maryland

Lembo holds a career mark of 112-65 across 15 seasons as a head coach at Lehigh, Elon and Ball State. He went 10-3 with the Cardinals in 2013, just the third 10-win season in program history, before leaving to join D.J. Durkin at Maryland prior to the 2016 season. He can be choosy about the next move.

5. Bob Diaco, Nebraska

Admittedly, Diaco isn’t for everyone. But he’s young, wildly energetic, frighteningly optimistic and a top-notch communicator — so, in other words, Diaco is destined to get another shot at running an FBS program at some point in the future. Reviving the once-proud Nebraska defense would be a good start.

6. Dan Enos, Arkansas

Why did Enos leave Central Michigan for Arkansas after the 2014 season? Because even as he won games for the Chippewas — reaching bowl eligibility in each of his final three years, for example — Enos knew he’d be a more attractive candidate as an SEC assistant than as a head coach in the Mid-American Conference. What seemed like a strange move then could prove to be a shrewd decision.

7. Ruffin McNeill, Virginia

Now two years removed from being jettisoned from East Carolina, which cut him loose after a 5-7 final season, the 58-year-old McNeill could be an attractive candidate for Conference USA or Sun Belt schools searching for an experienced hand. A step forward in the win column for Virginia, where he serves as the Cavaliers’ assistant head coach and defensive line coach, would help matters … but that’s probably not happening in 2017.

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8. Garrick McGee, Illinois

McGee’s tenure at UAB was defined by on-field failures and a general lack of off-field direction, to put it lightly. But coaches with his offensive pedigree never fall completely off potential hiring lists, and McGee could put a feather in his cap should he help Lovie Smith build Illinois into an annual bowl team.

9. Jim Leavitt, Oregon

The other Oregon coordinator is fresh off a hugely successful stop at Colorado, where his defense was one of the primary motivators behind last season’s much-awaited breakthrough. He does have an issue, however: Leavitt was fired at USF in early 2010 amid allegations of player mistreatment, making his hiring a potential non-starter for a number of programs across the FBS.

10. Tim DeRuyter, California

This is a longer shot than most, given how DeRuyter’s tenure at Fresno State ran off the track after a strong start, but he does have two assets in his favor. The first is his 20-6 mark through his first two years with the Bulldogs. The second is the opportunity to rebuild the aforementioned Cal defense; if he can do so, DeRuyter may very well rebuild his reputation.

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