Grading Arkansas State's Last Four Head Coaches

To say that Arkansas State University has become the modern day "Cradle of Coaches" would obviously be a pretty darn fair assessment.

     Prior to the 2011 football season, Steve Roberts and many before him struggled to make the then Indians (ultimately Red Wolves) competitive let alone a successful, solid football program. Many forget (and many more simply don't realize) that Roberts didn't bring in Hugh after dismissing his long time colleague and offensive coordinator, Doug Ruse, after a dismal 4-8 campaign in 2009. He had originally hired Clayton Helton, which many fans saw as an astonishing coup for the Red Wolves as he had been a long time Running Backs/Quarterbacks/Wide Receiver and Offensive Coordinator for the Memphis Tigers. He coached the highly touted Deangelo Williams during his time in Memphis and spent two months with the Red Wolves before he was whisked away by the USC Trojans. He remains there to this day, and for the most part has been a solid get for the program. Having to scramble to get a new offensive coordinator in place before fall camp (especially one that ran a similar fast paced, hurry up style that Helton had begun to implement at ASU) when Hugh Freeze came into the picture. Freeze, who was two months into his first big time college gig as San Jose State's OC/QB coach, had become home sick and had hoped to land a gig closer to his native Senatobia, Mississippi. When ASU came calling, Freeze instantly took the opportunity.

     Freeze in barely two months time instilled his "basic playbook" in the players and coaches at Arkansas State and despite another 4-8 season in 2010, the team broke several school records, both in yardage and individual performances. Roberts was canned after that season and Freeze, who barely a year before was struggling to keep his NAIA Lambuth program afloat, became one of the youngest head coaches in the program's history.


    You know the rest of the story, or at least the important parts. Freeze completely turns ASU around, winning 10 games, clinching it's first outright conference title in over 20 years and leading the Red Wolves to only it's second bowl game as a FBS Division member. Then he left to become Ole Miss' head coach.

     Then the improbable....the one and only Gus Malzahn steps in to take over. He too leads the Red Wolves to an undisputed conference title and yet another bowl game. And then he quickly returns to the Plains of Auburn to be their head man.

    Bryan Harsin stumbled a bit, not quite reaching the high level of succeess as his two predecessors did but thanks to a little bit of outside luck, still secured ASU a share of the conference crown with yet another visit to the GoDaddy Bowl.

....then Harsin flew the coup back to his native Boise.

     Now, as we anxiously await how the Blake Anderson era will play out, I only seem it's necessary to review the previous head coaches more thoroughly, their highest and lowest moments, their defining game and the legacy they left behind. Finally, perhaps conjure an idea as to what mark Anderson will leave on his first (and dare I say ONLY) season at ASU.

Steve Roberts-"The Helmsman" 

When Steve Roberts became the 'captain' of ASU in 2002, he would've been at the helm of ship both sinking and lacking direction at once. Arkansas State joined the (what we now call) FBS level of college football in the early 90s and simply put-it was an ABYSMAL decade. The Indians were practically beaten left and right, belonged to the incredibly stretched out Big West Conference and all around play was pathetic. Roberts first season brought ASU it's first 6+ wins since 87!! The Helmsman not only steers but rights the ship and Steve Roberts did that. Though he never won more than six games at his time as the head coach, Steve rejuvenated recruiting, had the loyalty and respect of the majority of his players and oversaw the transition from "Indians" to "Red Wolves."

FINAL GRADE: C+
Though there can be hardly any doubt that Roberts turned the football program around, he ultimately fell short of winning the "important" games (Conference games) and only had one shared conference title and bowl appearance in 2005. Their were moments where his squads were both explosive on both sides of the ball and moments of utter incompetence and lack of urgency. Perhaps his most lasting impact on the program didn't come from his coaching or victories, but by bringing in Hugh Freeze as his offensive coordinator.

Most Impressive Victory: Texas A&M 2008

Though ASU floundered late in the 2008 season, this was and still is, the biggest win in the programs history. Leading the newly christened Red Wolves to College Station, Steve and his coaches completely shut down Mike Sherman and his Aggies Running game, and with clutch turnovers and timely plays, Arkansas State secured their as of this post only victory over a Power 5 program.

Hugh Freeze-"Game Changer"
Hugh Freeze was a man use to having little and making the absolute most of it. From his humble beginnings as a high school coach at Briarcrest Christian High School, and his first head coaching gig at Lambuth University, Freeze showed an uncanny ability to take a brick and build a house. He had taken an offense that was middle to bottom in conference statistics and catapult them to the top the next season-that was merely in a coordinator position. When he became head coach December of 2010, he quickly showed another fantastic ability-his charisma and mindset that he instilled to everyone he met and spoke with. As the 2011 season started and continued throughout the season he inspired not only his players but a fan base that for so many years had grown accustomed to mediocrity and "coming up short" to glory and success that hadn't occurred in over two decades. 'Gamechanger' is a term uttered so many times in the sports world...if you were to look it up in the dictionary, Freeze's face should be right next to the definition. I really wished we could have seen if Freeze would have kept the momentum going had he stayed on.

FINAL COACHING GRADE: A-
Simply put, it's absolutely incredible how Freeze took an ASU squad that went 4-8 and completely changed them to winners the next. He dominated the Sunbelt, going undefeated in conference play. The only thing keeping his grade from being an 'A+' was how slow it took for the offense to start clicking, with lackluster and sputtering performances against Illinois and Virginia Tech in weeks one and three. However once it finally hit a groove, they were nearly unstoppable.

Most Impressive Victory: Middle Tennessee

 Though the blowout victory against Memphis was the best the offense played all season and the clutch win over Lafayette was very important, I had to go with the Middle Tennessee game for a couple of reasons: 1, with this victory it clinched the conference title for the Red Wolves. Two, ASU had NEVER beaten the Blue Raiders in Murfreesboro since the two began Sunbelt conference play and was only the fourth victory ASU had over MTSU-this was the last roadblock between Arkansas State and history and though the Raiders made it close to the end half, Freeze rallied his team in the lockerroom and the Red Wolves dominated the second half to secure the win and more importantly, the conference title. Finally, after the game Freeze had informed the team that they had been invited to play in only their 2nd FBS bowl game.

Gus Malzahn-"The Next Level"
When it was formally announced that Gus Malzahn was leaving Auburn to become Arkansas State's head coach in December of 2011, it was a signal that ASU was indeed heading for a whole new level never experienced in the entire history of the program. When Freeze was head coach, he was the lowest paid coach in the Sunbelt Conference and one of the LOWEST paid head coaches in all division I college football (his base salary was a little over $200,000). Malzahn as a coordinator at Auburn was making well over that amount. Words alone cannot describe the universal shock and awe many felt when Malzahn stepped out of the plan with his wife and stood at the podium in Jonesboro. The impossible had happened...Hell indeed froze over that day. Publicly, Malzahn quipped it was the right place at the right time for him and his career...the fact Auburn lost virtually everybody from their 2011 National Championship team and the rumored "uneasy" relationship he had with Chizik also played a factor as well.

Though Malzahn slipped up to Western Kentucky, and his squad were utterly destroyed by both Oregon and Nebraska, his short stint in Jonesboro will probably the most remembered and storied season for ASU.

FINAL COACHING GRADE: B+
As previously mentioned, he was out-coached in the Hilltopper lost and Oregon and Nebraska simply ran the Red Wolves over. Much like Freeze, his offense got off to a slow and sputtering start. However, once the offensive production finally found itself in the FIU victory...it never let up. While Freeze won the nail biters and got comfortable wins, Malzahn annihilated everybody else in the conference, averaging over two touchdown victories in conference play. The way he left and particular things he said will linger (rather bitterly) in many ASU fans collective memory for a long time, however his impact will be felt for years to come.

MOST IMPRESSIVE VICTORY: UL-Lafayette Ragin Cajuns

Essentially, both this game and the ULM game were very big, impressive wins for Malzahn. Though the Warhawk match up was the more discussed game in the Natural State (mostly with ULM upsetting Arkansas earlier in the season) the Ragin Cajun domination was simply put-perfect. All three phases of ASU football team shined that night-the offense executed flawlessly, the defense got pressure on Broadway all game long and forced turnovers while the special teams added onto the scoreboard with several field goals.

Bryan Harsin-"Big Shoes to Fill"
When Bryan Harsin came into the picture, it wasn't a secret nor an unknown fact that he in fact had high levels of expectations to meet thanks to his last two predecessors. And it wasn't going to be easy-long time quarterback Ryan Aplin was gone, along with many clutch players. He was going to have to break in a new quarterback and instill an offensive scheme that, though similar to Freeze and Malzhan's, was still quite different Harsin claimed. With so much coaching turnover and talent graduating, at some point the ride has to take a drop and this occurred in Harsin's one year tenure. Though he was very charismatic and had a clean, young look his teams played very inconsistently. The Auburn game made him look like a fool when his team wore the anthracite jersey's and were hit with pre game penalties which put his outmatched defense in terrible positions, and Malzahn in fantastic scoring positions. Their was just something...missing with Harsin; as the old saying goes, he seemed to lack the "it" factor (though to be fair, first head coaching gig). Ultimately, this particular departure I believe was ultimately the best for all involved parties-Harsin was going back home to Boise State...the Bronco program had to pay ASU 1.4 million for Harsin' buyout and I feel they landed with a solid hire in Anderson (which we'll discuss in a bit).

FINAL COACHING GRADE: B-
As I stated above, the 2013 Red Wolves were very inconsistent throughout the season, particularly early on. The lowest point was the confusing 23-7 lost to the Cajuns at Jonesboro-the offense was simply not clicking and the D couldn't stop Broadway or the Cajun rushing attack. However, Harsin made without a doubt one of the best moves of his entire tenure-he handed over all play calling duties to Dirk and next thing you know, the Red Wolves came to life winning four straight. Thanks to some outside help from the Warhawks and the South Al, Astate and Lafayette ended sharing the conference title-although outright titles are always preferred, championships are championships and even though it was the Godaddy bowl, Red Wolves were going bowling for the third straight season. Ultimately, though Harsin's time at ASU was technically a step back from the previous two seasons, the results can't be ignored.

MOST IMPRESSIVE VICTORY: ULM

No doubt about this one: this was the Red Wolves finest performance during the Harsin tenure. ASU was clicking on all sides of the ball-the defense especially began getting the edge on the ULM offense, rattling Kolton Browning into making multiple mistakes and Astate capitalized. The one debbie downer of this game would be only wondering where this team had been all season long.

Blake Anderson: ???
So here we are again...Arkansas State's fifth head coach in five years. Though I will admit I was initially disappointed in the hire (I had been really pulling that ASU could nab Rhett Lashlee at Auburn or Clemson OC Chad Morris) after some time had passed, watching him talk and reading up on his career I feel much, much better about this hire. In terms of resume and experience, he's certainly got quite the padded portfolio with over twenty years of coaching experience at over seven universities. His demeanor is more traditional, hard nosed though his offensive philosophy is certainly modern day minded. Though he's back to square one with the quarterback position, he's certainly in a better spot than Harsin in that he has a guy that's actually played within the system and not transferring in like Adam Kennedy. He still has JD Mckissic and Michael Gordon, which is a plus-though he'll have to patch up the O-Line and with the lost of Kyle Coleman, he'll need to keep his fingers crossed that Arkansas transfer AJ Turner can not only play this season but keep the grades up.

The schedule is certainly an interesting on-playing a rebounding Tennessee Volunteers in Knoxville and going travelling back to Miami (except instead of FIU they get the 'U', Miami Hurricanes). A big time week four home matc hup with Mountain West Conference champions Utah State caps off the month of September. Conference play, having to go to Lafayette will be nasty and the Red Wolves will have to make the long trek to Moscow to take on the Vandals. However, the rest is a pretty big break for ASU and if Anderson can get the team clicking on cylinders fairly quickly, I feel pretty confident he can win 8-9 games.