The roster of Tampa Bay college coaches grew again Monday, when ESPN reported that Florida Atlantic University had agreed on a new contract with Lane Kiffin.
Kiffin, who has been the offensive coordinator at the University of Alabama, had been mentioned for several openings before agreeing to join the Owls. Kiffin might have gotten a bigger head coaching job if not for his reputation of jumping one school for another.
Regardless, the roster of coaches in the state schools is impressive.
FSU has Jimbo Fisher, ackowledged to be one of the best in the country. He flirted with LSU in each of the last two off-seasons, but stayed with the Seminoles. Fisher is the only coach in the state who has won a national title. Fisher is 74-17.
Florida has Jim McElwain, who has guided the Gators to the last two SEC title games (but lost). His team’s offense has been slowed by the lack of a true quarterback, however. McElwain is 17-8 at Florida, 39-24 overall.
Miami seems pleased after one season of coach Mark Richt, who led his team to an 8-4 finish this year. He’s 153-55 overall.
USF just hired new coach Charlie Strong, who has led the Louisville and Texas programs. He’s 53-37 overall.
UCF enjoyed its turnaround under Scott Frost from a winless team to a bowl team. His club is 6-6.
FIU earlier announced it would hire Butch Davis, who is 79-43 at Miami and North Carolina.
Now there is Kiffin, who is 35-21 as a head college coach.
Whose the best coach? We’ll see. Few states can match these guys. It ought to be fun.