Coaching At Your Alma Mater Offers Unique Challenges

You can’t go home again.

Or who says you can’t go home.

Is Thomas Wolfe right? Or Jon Bon Jovi?

When you look at the coaching carousel and realize how many college coaches have returned to their alma mater to coach, it seems that both are.

In fact, the end-of-season hirings and firings happening right now have already provided two examples as Mark Richt returns to the “U” and Kirby Smart returns to Georgia. Before them, Jim Harbaugh’s so-far-successful return to Michigan this year was the most recent example.



Here is a short list of big names in coaching who have coached their alma mater at some point (and their record there):

Jim Harbaugh (Michigan) 2015 (9-3)

Mike Shula (Alabama) 2003-2006 (26-23)

Karl Dorrell (UCLA) 2003-2007 (35-27)

Paul Chryst (Wisconsin) 2015 (9-3)

Mike Gundy (Oklahoma State) 2005-present (94-46)

Dave Wannstedt (Pittsburgh) 2005-2010 (42-31)

Troy Calhoun (Air Force) 2007 – present (67-48)

David Shaw (Stanford) 2011 – present (52-14)

Pat Fitzgerald (Northwestern) 2006 – present (70-55)

Rich Rodriguez (West Virginia) 2001-2007 (60-26)

Kliff Kingsbury (Texas Tech) 2013 – present (19-18)

Chris Ault (Nevada) 1976-1992; 1994-1995; 2004-2012 (233-109-1)

Phillip Fulmer (Tennessee) 1992-2008 (152-52)

Johnny Majors (Tennessee) 1977-1992 (116-62-8)

Bobby Petrino (Louisville) 2003-2006; 2014 – present (57-18)

Mike Riley (Oregon State) 1997-1998; 2003-2014 (93-80)

John Robinson (USC) 1972-1974; 1993-1997 (104-35-4)

Bill Snyder (Kansas State) 1989-2005; 2009 – present (192-100-1)

Bill Walsh (Stanford) 1977-1978; 1992-1994 (34-24-1)

Three notables not on that list are two alums who had less than successful returns:

Cam Cameron (Indiana) 1997-2001 (18-37)

John Blake (Oklahoma)  1996-1998 (12-22)

And then we have the granddaddy (no pun intended) of alumni coaches Frank Beamer (Virginia Tech) who is hanging up his headphones after 29 seasons at Virginia Tech where he currently holds the distinction of having the most wins of any active coach (235-10-2 compiled from 1987-2015).

 Cam Cameron during his time at Indiana. (via Indiana.edu)

What are some of the challenges returning coaches face?

According to Cam Cameron, whose 18-37 record over 5 years at his alma mater at Indiana left something to be desired by other alums, once you have coached somewhere else, you have a different view of your own alma mater’s sports programs. But many of the people who were there when you played or coached before are still there and they expect you to adhere to the status quo instead of adjusting the program to your own specifications. He says “getting those people to move forward and see your vision” is really hard.

Cameron gives some examples of the struggles he found at IU. When he wanted to change the recruiting strategy to better suit his style of play, he hit brick walls. Even though Indiana had only one Big Ten win in the two seasons prior to his return there, no one seem interested or wanted to take the time to learn his way of doing things.

Like anyone coming into a new job with staff already well-entrenched, trying to teach them new work habits is a challenge. Cameron says that someone who is returning faces even more obstacles because they knew you when you adhered to someone else’s program and those people are in their comfort zone with what they’ve been doing since you left.

 Paul Chryst (via jsonline.com)

Paul Chryst echoes some of what Cameron says and even elaborates further. Chryst played quarterback at Wisconsin from 1986-1988 and returned as the school’s head coach this season. He had been at Pitt from 2012-2014 where he broke even with a 19-19 record and took the team to three bowl games.

Chryst says that returning to a program where some of the decision-makers were there when he was a player still see him as a subordinate, making it difficult to institute change. Mike Gundy, now the coach at Oklahoma State where he played as quarterback in the late 1980s, agrees, saying that those people still remember him as the player “trying to sneak out of study hall.”

Dave Wannstedt, who was an offensive lineman at Pitt and returned to coach there in 2005, says that issues also arise with the administration outside the athletic department. When he returned to coach at Pitt, their once-proud athletic facilities needed major renovations but he couldn’t get any buy-in. He couldn’t even fund a modern form of travel. He was taking the train on recruiting trips while coaches at schools at the same level were flying around on private planes.

Some coaches do find some advantages to being an alumnus. Having already been a high-profile personality in that community, raising money for the program can be easier. And, as Frank Beamer points out, being an insider may make the administration more patient. “Not many people would survive 2-8-1 in their sixth year,” said Beamer. Of course that was long ago in a galaxy far away from one in which Mark Richt can have only one losing season out of 15 at Georgia, have an overall record of 145-51, be recognized as SEC Coach of the Year twice and still be headed to another school this year. Of course, Richt is headed back to his alma mater which was not Georgia.

 Legendary Virginia Tech head coach Frank Beamer (via AP Photo/Gerry Broome)

What is the athletic director’s role?

When making a decision to hire a new coach, whether a candidate is an alumnus may be a factor. But rather than elevating that person to a finalist for that reason, athletic directors should take into account the wisdom of these coaches who have been there. While bringing back a familiar face may help fundraising and bring happiness to other alumni, it may be even more difficult to break up with an alumnus when the relationship doesn’t work out.

It will be interesting to watch the programs develop with Richt and Smart at the controls, especially for Smart who has never been a head coach. Whether they will become an institution at their alma mater like Frank Beamer or have a brief stop like Cam Cameron and Mike Shula, their futures are sure to add to the lore of colleges banking on the familiar to lead their programs to success.