Meet the New Hires: Larry Fedora

2005-2007: Oklahoma State - Offensive Coordinator
2002-2004: Florida - Offensive Coordinator
1999-2001: Middle Tennessee State - Offensive Coordinator
1997-1998: Air Force - QB/WR Coach
1991-1996: Baylor - WR/TE/RB Coach
1987-1990: Garland (TX) HS - Head Coach

Of all of the coaching changes during the 2007 offseason, the most surprising may have been Jeff Bower leaving the University of Southern Mississippi. While he officially resigned, it was assumed that he was nudged out the door by the USM program.

While asking someone like Bower to leave the program may not be the best thing for USM’s karma, the hiring of Larry Fedora has worked out so far. Even though he had an abbreviated period of time to recruit, Fedora landed five star receiver DeAndre Brown along with other top prospects.

In order to figure out where Fedora picked up his recruiting acumen it helps to trace his career back to 2002, when Ron Zook hired him onto his staff at Florida. Fedora had previously coached at Baylor, Air Force, and Middle Tennessee State, but Florida would be a new test for him. While the staff’s on field results were not up to par with the Steve Spurrier era, Zook and company were able to stockpile talent that would help lead to Urban Meyer’s BCS title in 2006. Zook has quickly turned around the Fighting Illini, and Fedora does not have as daunting a rebuilding job in Hattiesburg.

However, the early recruiting success by Fedora was not the reason he was hired. He has long been hailed as one of the best offensive minds in college football. He built this reputation prior to being hired by Oklahoma State, but his results there really cemented it. Following an adjustment to his personnel in 2005, Fedora had back to back seasons of top 20 performances in total offense. What makes that stat even more impressive is the turmoil at quarterback he had to deal with in 2006, when Bobby Reid slowly lost his job to Zac Robinson, which led to Mike Gundy’s famous explosion this past season.

Fedora also made waves in Oklahoma city with his salary, which was nearly $400,000 per year. This was partially the reason he never defected back to the SEC as an offensive coordinator. T. Boone Pickens understood what Fedora could do to his offense, and made sure that Oklahoma State kept him.

One thing that Fedora does not have is D-1 head coaching experience. It remains to be seen how this will affect his performance, and you cannot find out for sure before he gets a season or two under his belt. Much of it will come down to how effectively Fedora can delegate the coaching to his assistants while “managing” the program. This is another aspect where Fedora may have learned from Zook. One of the key’s to Zooks success at Illinois has been the trust he has in, and the capability of, his assistants. If Fedora can duplicate this model he should be very successful at USM.

As far as next year goes, look for Fedora to have a down offensive year by his standards, similar to what happened at Oklahoma State. However, USM had a strong enough team last year that a bowl game is not out of the question. In addition, if he can adjust to being a head coach, look for Fedora to have great success in CUSA, and potentially compete for a coveted BCS bowl in the future.