As we wait out the last 115 days before USF meets Boise State to open the football season, here’s a fun fact to consider.
Alex Golesh is tied for third in longevity among the American Athletic Conference head coaches. Trent Dilfer of UAB, Eric Morris of North Texas, and Brian Newberry of Navy joined their programs in 2023, the same year Golesh came to rebuild USF.
Army’s Jeff Monken, who started in 2014, is the longest-serving in one place. UTSA’s Jeff Traylor and Ryan Silverfield of Memphis started in 2020 and are tied for second.
Six AAC teams have new head coaches this season.
With such a wide disparity, it begs the question about which AAC programs actually qualify as “good” jobs for coaches looking to move up.
Do those jobs have the kind of administrative and fan support necessary to succeed?
Can you win a championship there?
Let’s take a stab at it.
Top Tier: Army, Memphis, Navy, Tulane, UTSA, USF.
Last season, Army and Navy shattered the myth that service academy teams can’t win big.
Both were ranked in the Top 25 at one point last season and Army went 8-0 in the AAC to win the AAC title in its first year. Army also won the Independence Bowl. Navy went 10-3 and beat Oklahoma in the Armed Forces Bowl.
In the NIL and transfer portal era, that’s saying a mouthful. It’s also not a problem because none of the players at those academies have NIL or booster deals.
“We are a unicorn,” Newberry said on Yahoo Sports.
Meanwhile, back at NIL and booster land, Memphis thrives despite being 51st largest TV market. Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium, where the Tigers play, is undergoing a $220 million renovation.
And yes, you can win there.
With the exception of a 6-6 finish in 2021, the Tigers have had winning seasons since 2014. They have gone 21-5 in the last two years and won the 2019 AAC title.
Tulane has shown staying power as well.
The Green Wave have appeared in the last three AAC title games, and they won in 2022.
Since bottoming out at 2-10 in 2021, Tulane has gone 32-10 in the last three years and won the 2022 Cotton Bowl.
Since joining the conference in 2023, the UTSA Roadrunners have gone 16-10 with two bowl wins. The school has made substantial investments in football and its overall athletic program.
UTSA could merit strong consideration for a move to a power conference during the next round of conference roulette.
However, no team in the American has invested more heavily in football and overall athletics recently than USF.
The Bulls have a complete overhaul of all athletic facilities well underway, but the crown jewel is the $348.5 million on-campus football stadium set to open in 2027.
We all know how far USF football had sunk before Golesh arrived in 2023. Athletic Director Michael Kelly promised to provide all the tools Golesh needed to revive the program, and he had made good on that vow.
The Bulls have never won a conference championship and likely won’t be favored this season. But the reason to put them in the top tier is that this can be a program that routinely competes for titles.
USF is just now reaching that stage, but the Bulls plan to stay there once they arrive.
"Just Happy To Be There (For Now Anyway) Tier
After he fired head coach Mike Houston after seven games last season, East Carolina athletic director Jon Gilbert said, “We have high expectations and they are not changing.”
He added, “I believe ECU is a premier job with a passionate fan base, unprecedented support from our Pirate Club donors, and great facilities that continue to improve.”
Well, OK. They’ll still have to prove it.
The Pirates have finished above .500 in the conference four times since joining the AAC in 2014. One of those times was last season. Blake Harrell earned the permanent head coaching job after going 5-1 as the interim and leading the Pirates to a Military Bowl win over North Carolina State.
"When Does Basketball Season Start” Tier.
Charlotte seems to have inflated expectations and no idea how to achieve them. They fired head coach Biff Poggi after less than two seasons on the job when USF hung 59 points on them in Week 10.
Since 2015, they’ve had just one season with a winning record, and that was 7-6 in 2019 while in Conference USA.
A lot of people were surprised when UAB kept Trent Dilfer after his Blazers went 7-17 in his two years as head coach.
It might have been a financial decision. Dilfer has complained about the financial gap between his program and the top teams in the AAC. That doesn’t appear to be changing any time soon – at least not on his watch.
Florida Atlantic is in the same boat. The Owls flourished for a couple of years under Lane Kiffin, but after he left in 2019 they swung and missed on a couple of retreads – Willie Taggart and Tom Herman. They are 22-35 overall since Kiffin left and trend line is pointing downward. They are 4-12 since joining the AAC in 2023 and don’t show any signs of improving.
Rice, Temple, and Tulsa round out the bottom tier.
Rice has had 10 consecutive losing seasons, although the Owls hung a surprising and embarrassing loss on USF to conclude last season.
Tulsa has been competitive at times but can’t maintain consistency. The Golden Hurricane lost seven of their final eight games last season and now face a major rebuild.
It’s the same story at Temple.
The Owls (what is it with Owl nicknames in this conference) used to compete for championships. However, since going 8-5 in 2019, Temple has had five consecutive losing season.
They are 13-40 since then, with four consecutive 3-9 seasons.
The situation has deteriorated so much that after Temple fired Stan Drayton last year, a Philadelphia columnist suggested in all seriousness that the school should drop football.
That seems harsh, but a once-proud program appears to be a long way from becoming relevant again.