During and following the regular season, there were several job openings among Power 5 schools. High-profile names like Gus Malzahn at Auburn, Kevin Sumlin at Arizona, and Will Muschamp with South Carolina were all ousted in 2020.
Today, we take a look at the latest news across the nation regarding coaching and what it means for the programs involved.
Michigan Extends Harbaugh
Jim Harbaugh agreed to a contract extension with the University of Michigan that could keep him in Ann Arbor through 2026, after rumors and rumblings that 2020 would be his final season on the Wolverines sidelines.
The extension adds five years to Harbaugh’s existing deal, which had only one year remaining. It also lowers Harbaugh’s base salary to $4 million but includes multiple incentives allowing him to double that figure if he can turn the program into a contender.
Escalators in Harbaugh’s deal are tied to winning the Big Ten East Division and the Big Ten conference title, qualifying for the College Football Playoff and claiming a national championship.
The 57-year old has a 49-22 record since being hired before the 2015 season, but he has yet to defeat the program’s top rival, Ohio State, in five attempts.
Beamer Rounding Out Staff at SC
As noted, Muschamp was dismissed in the middle of the South Carolina season, and Shane Beamer was named his successor in the first week of December. On Sunday, the son of the legendary former Virginia Tech head coach, Frank Beamer, appointed his offensive and defensive coordinators to work alongside him in Columbia.
The first-time head coach has hired NFL assistant Marcus Satterfield as offensive coordinator and Western Kentucky's Clayton White as defensive coordinator. Satterfield has spent the last three years under Matt Rhule at Baylor and with the Carolina Panthers, while White has been the DC with the Hilltoppers for the past four seasons.
Notre Dame Finds New Defensive Coordinator
Fighting Irish head coach Brian Kelly convinced Marcus Freeman to come to South Bend to become the new DC at Notre Dame. Freeman had been the DC for Cincinnati and Luke Fickell, whose name is also connected with major Power Five openings, and figured to take Freeman with him if he landed one.
Freeman and Fickell joined together for much of the last two decades, starting when Freeman was a player at Huber Heights (Ohio) Wayne High School. Fickell recruited Freeman, a highly touted linebacker, to Ohio State and was his position coach with the Buckeyes during Freeman’s college career from 2004-08. In 2010, Fickell also gave Freeman his first job in coaching as an Ohio State graduate assistant.
Before the pair reunited at Cincinnati before the 2017 season, Freeman was the linebackers coach at Kent State from 2011-12 and at Purdue from 2013-16. He added co-defensive coordinator to his duties in 2016.
At Notre Dame, Freeman reunites with Irish cornerbacks coach Mike Mickens, who held the same role at Cincinnati from 2018-19 and was a high school teammate of Freeman’s.
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