From the Vault: Anatomy of a Coach Carousel, 2001

This is a wider re-release of a 2025 episode for Split Zone Duo’s paid subscribers, who make this show possible. We’re sharing it widely to show more people what our subscriber shows are like, and because it’s a natural fit with our new episode on the 25-year anniversary of the 2001 season.

The coaching carousel before the 2001 season transformed college football. Some programs set themselves up for national championship (or even dynastic) runs. Some screwed themselves. Some set the stage for the next several decades of the top tiers of the SEC and Big Ten. In this episode, Alex Kirshner, Richard Johnson, and Steven Godfrey take a fine-toothed comb through the consequential coaching cycle at the end of 2000:

9:07: The hires that worked out well (Gary Patterson to TCU, Pete Carroll to USC, Jim Tressel to Ohio State, Rich Rodriguez to WVU, and many more)

23:20: The hires that fell flat (hello, UNC and Arizona)

26:45: The hires that shaped college football to this day

29:06: The what-if scenarios that nearly made it all different

40:03: A reevaluation of Larry Coker?

54:32: Ohio State and Georgia shopping for upgrades

55:45: Class superlatives, including the Ellis Johnson Southern Miss Award for missed opportunities, the Coaching Carousel Global Impact Award for the most profound ripple effects, and Hire of the Year

Producer: Anthony Vito

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