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College Football Recruiting, Opinion, and Analysis

Bill O’Brien, Alex Grinch, and Other Coaches Who Get an Undeserved Bad Rap

Mike Huesmann looks at assistant coaches who are better than you think

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Aug 3
Aug 3

By: Mike Huesmann

Today, I look at five assistant coaches who, for various reasons, are scorned by many fans but should not be. All of these guys have some criticism coming to them that is warranted. I’m not saying they’re perfect, but they’re all good coaches who, whether due to program difficulties, head coaching errors, or fan expectations, have been labeled as bad coaches when it clearly isn’t the case. Look for my five head coaches who get a bad rap next.

Bill O’Brien

Offensive Coordinator, Ohio State

O’Brien’s hiring at Ohio State has been polarizing, to say the least. On one hand, he wasn’t great with the Patriots, but he didn’t do a bad job at Alabama. He was criticized for not developing the elite recruits, but Bryce Young did win a Heisman and become the #1 pick under his tutelage. O’Brien’s bad reputation comes from his terrible job as GM of Houston, not coaching itself.

He took over a Penn State team that was in the wake of the 2nd biggest football scandal in history (maybe first), and he won 15 games in 2 years. He did such a good job that the Houston Texans hired him away. He coached 6 full seasons in Houston and won the division in 4 of them. That’s not an easy thing to do. His performance as GM is worth every criticism. His reputation as a coach is negatively and unfairly impacted by this.

Pete Golding

Defensive Coordinator, Ole Miss

Another former Alabama coordinator who probably gets an unfair rap because of the high standards of the program. Golding did a great job as DC at UTSA, leading them to the 7th-ranked overall defense in FBS and 8th in scoring defense. This performance led Nick Saban to hire him as LB coach. After 1 season as LB coach, he was promoted to DC after Tosh Lupoi left for the NFL. Golding did struggle in his initial season as DC in 2019, but 2020 saw him lead one of the better defenses in recent years as the Tide won the national title.

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In 2022, Golding’s final year in Tuscaloosa, the Tide had the 9th-ranked defense in scoring nationally and were 4th in yards allowed per play. His single year at Ole Miss was a resounding success as the Rebels went 11-2.

Josh Gattis

Offensive Coordinator, Maryland

Talk about an impressive resume and list of head coaches to work under. Gattis has been a coordinator for James Franklin at Vandy and Penn State, Saban at Alabama, Harbaugh at Michigan, Cristobal at Miami, and now Locksley at Maryland. His one-year stop at Miami, Mario’s first year there, is the only season where he’s been poor. What we didn’t know then was that everything about Miami on the field under Mario would be poor through two seasons.

At Vandy, he mentored Jordan Matthews to consecutive All-SEC seasons. While at ‘Bama, he coached Jerry Jeudy to a Biletnikoff Award in addition to coaching Devonta Smith, Jaylen Waddle, and Henry Ruggs. Fast forward to 2023, and his Maryland offense saw Taulia Tagovailoa break many schools, and the Terps go 8-5 with a Music City Bowl win over Auburn. His lone year with the Canes should not be held against him as much as it is.

Alex Grinch

Former Defensive Coordinator, USC

I’m not going to lie and say Grinch was good at USC. He wasn’t. But that’s not totally his fault. Lincoln Riley has turned multiple DCs into failures. His teams simply don’t emphasize defensive recruiting, they don’t help their coaches or players on defense, and it is something Lincoln has been inept at fixing. Grinch was always going to be the fall guy for that.

His track record before is not as bad as his reputation. He is a 4-time Broyles Award nominee who took a Washington State defense that was ranked 117th nationally before he got there to 56th, 4th nationally at 3rd down defense before Urban Meyer tabbed him to go to Ohio State. Grinch only spent 1 year at Ohio State, and it was average at best, so there is some fault that lies with him, too. He’s had his struggles and deserves some criticism, but much of his criticism should be laid at the feet of Lincoln Riley.

Apr 23, 2022; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Southern California Trojans defensive coordinator Alex Grinch during the spring game at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

Mike Bobo

Offensive Coordinator, Georgia

Replacing Monken off of two national titles was never going to be an enviable position, but the early season scorn from UGA fans was unfair to Bobo. Playing too conservative, not utilizing the talent, and being unimaginative were all thrown out and frankly didn’t make sense. Unlike Monken with Bennett, Bobo was breaking in a new QB in Carson Beck. Beck ended up throwing for nearly 4,000 yards (200 less than Bennett in 2022) and 28 TDs (more than Bennett).

His teams didn’t need to get out of second gear in most games because they were so superior to their opponents and controlled most games. Losing all-world TE Brock Bowers for a significant number of games didn’t help him either. Kirby Smart made the right move to retain him, and as we look ahead to 2024, the Bulldogs are one of the favorites to win it all. 

Georgia Offensive Coordinator Mike Bobo on the field during warm ups before the start of a NCAA college football game against UAB in Athens, Ga., on Saturday, Sept. 23, 2023.
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