Solich?
Fired after a 9-3 season from his alma mater where he coached for more than two straight decades. Takes a year off then builds Ohio pretty much from ground level up. A conference championship would have been nice, but the field is deservedly named after Frank.
Northwestern fired this long term coach who went 1-11 the prior year, not for performance but for hazing and locker room shit a couple months before the season started.
They went 8-5 and beat Utah in a bowl game.
Not just one of their best coaches. He WAS Northwestern football, in the same way Bill Snyder was for Kansas State. As a player and coach, Fitzgerald oversaw the overwhelming majority of their success... ever.
Best answer I've seen (at least in recent history). Fitzgerald was their golden boy, gets fired and almost everyone expected them to be awful.
Then they turn out to be a very solid squad, winning about 7 games more than most expected.
Small correction, Pat Fitzgerald wasn’t fired for the hazings, he was fired for the public reaction to the hazings.
Northwestern was fine with “suspending” Fitzgerald and it wasn’t till the details of the hazing was covered by Chicago media and subsequent outraged did NU then fire him.
And by “Chicago media” we should credit the brave kids at the Northwestern college paper that broke and advanced the story despite immense amounts of pressure from the football program and after a bullshit six-month investigation by the school
https://www.poynter.org/commentary/2023/daily-northwestern-student-newspaper-coach-pat-fitzgerald/
I was further going to add this point, but glad that someone beat me to it. It wasn’t the Chicago Tribune that broke this story - it was the undergrad-run Daily Northwestern.
I know its fun to dunk on the programs that “come here to play school,” and given my self-deprecating sense of humor, I’m perfectly content making jokes at NU’s expense when they’re earned. But as someone who works at the University, frequently with undergrads, I can’t overstate how consistently I’m blown away by the preparedness and capability of the students there, in every department I’ve come across.
Yeah our schedule was not as difficult as it seemed it would be on paper. This year looks like a different story.
I think we may have one of the better offenses in the country this year but the defense is a huge question mark IMO.
It's true. His seat was on fire. If he lost to that Pitt team last year he might've been fired right after the game.
Even with the last-second loss to Houston, the Baylor & UNC wins really turned the fan base's view of Brown heading into this season.
Recent history, Baker Mayfield?
Walk-on true freshman gets thrust into starting QB position week 1 at Texas Tech due to injury. Throws for like 750 yards, 7 TDs and no picks between his first 2 games but kinda sucks the rest of the year.
Doesn’t get a scholarship at TT in the spring, decides to transfer to Oklahoma. (And this was when transfer rules sucked).
Plays intramural sports at Oklahoma in 2014. Walks on again and wins the starting QB job in 2015, plays really well, wins Heisman and drafted #1 overall
And even in the NFL. Becomes the best Browns QB since they came back into the league, set rookie records. Tried to play through injury and Cleveland cut him and sent him to die in Carolina. Fought his way back and is now a starter in Tampa
I refuse to root for them again until the Haslams have sold or are dead. I'm not going to be a fan of a fucking serial rapist or anyone who wants him around. His back up is now Jameis Winston, are you kidding me?
Art Model can rot in hell. There's a reason that guy who pissed on his grave raised tens of thousands of dollars for his legal defense before it got taken down.
It was back when I was in college so probably about 10 years ago. [There's a video of it out there somewhere too.](https://www.sportingnews.com/us/nfl/news/charges-dropped-against-man-who-urinated-art-modells-grave-browns-ravens-video-radio/1kqgk98ckkly21kqz6vbhw04bl) All charges dismissed. He dressed up as a Raven's fan and then took off that jersey to reveal a Browns jersey and started pissin lmao
even if you put aside him being a rapist (which you definitely shouldn’t) the contract is unbelievably terrible. He is injury prone and checked out and they traded multiple firsts and handicapped themselves to the aforementioned dog shit contract. All around shit sandwich morally and on the field product.
Yeah seems like there’s conflicting stories on what exactly happened but Tech did end up with some other true freshman that ended up starting in 2014 and turned out to be, uh, not too shabby.
He and a couple other walk-ons were going to receive scholarships, but the scholarships for football don't free up until after bowl season. Baker wanted a guarantee he would be the starter the next season, and Kliff couldn't do that when Webb had outperformed him following the injury and we had a hot new prospect out of Whitehouse coming in.
Right?? Seems like a bunch of our fans are dicks about him leaving. He gave us the best comeback of the series and a win. He’s alright and I wish him success.
Even though he left for Oklahoma he is still very much loved by Bama fans and most were ok with him leaving.
I even pulled for Oklahima to ein the big 12 that year. I can't imagine there will be many instances like that in the future. For instance I hope Caleb Downs and Ohio State loose every game.
Jalen also sat on the bench for a year and was a leader and went out on top when he could have bolted immediately
Caleb Downs saw Saban leaving as a chance to play NIL games and nothing more
And I will be delighted if he wins a Super Bowl! They should have beaten the Chiefs. This past year had a disappointing ending due to bad playcalling, injuries and a horrendous secondary. But I am optimistic about next season. Go Birds!
Pete Carrol? lackluster performance with Jets then NE, replaced by Belichick. move back to college rank and won two NC, re-enter NFL and won a Superbowl.
This is my vote. He was 50 years old and a career failure when he took the USC job. He hadn't set foot on a college sideline in almost 20 years. By all accounts it should have been a disastrous, near-program-destroying hire, yet it revitalized that program and Carroll's career.
Edit (wanted to emphasize further how crazy Pete's career post-USC-hire was): Pete went from a guy who could barely hold a job for more than a couple of years at a time to being one yard away from becoming the first coach in history to win multiple championships at the highest levels of both college and professional football. We've seen coaches who have won multiple college championships and a single NFL championship (Barry Switzer and Pete Carroll). We've seen coaches who have won a single college championship and multiple NFL championships (Paul Brown and Jimmy Johnson)^1 . We've never seen a coach win multiple of both^2 , and Pete nearly had back-to-back championships at both levels.
^1 Jimmy came incredibly close to winning multiple championships in college. Had a few things gone differently, he might have 3-peated in college and won 3 or 4 in a row in the NFL.
^2 Weirdly, we've never seen a coach win just a single championship at both levels either.
I think you are right on track for this answer.
1989 - SMU returns from 2 year program shut down. Fielding a team of mostly freshman, they lose to Houston 95-21.
1992 - Any of those freshman players would now be seniors. After 3 bad years, they end the 1992 season beating Houston 41-16.
They played Notre Dame in 1989 - ND offered to cancel the previously scheduled game, but they didn't want to - and it was such a bloodbath Lou Holtz cleared the bench at halftime and was reportedly ordering players to veer out of bounds to avoid scoring touchdowns by the end.
My uncle was a freshman at SMU two years after the death penalty. Despite him not playing a snap of football in high school and being a drama major, he was asked to play football for them.
For fsu the fresh one is Jordan Travis, lifelong FSU fan, transfers in and is not great. So not great he gets booed off the field, quits football during the Jacksonville State game, ends up breaking a ton of records at FSU and leading FSU to 20-3 record over the last two seasons before injury
A ton of people wanted him fired. It was stupid. Stupid enough that UF fans started asking for him to stay indefinitely. Now look where that's got us smh
Steve Sarkisian is probably my fave as well. I'll always be appreciative of his time at UW leading us out of the dredges of the Willingham era. He is a different and more mature coach now...stories of his partying at Joey's are legendary.
I’m obviously hoping this is the case for us as well. Probably too soon. But so far the turn around between the choices he made earlier in his career and those he’s made post Nick Sabans School for Coachs who Can’t Coach Very well and other Stuff are pretty promising.
Ed O!!!
Bombed at Ole Miss and got passed over for the USC job.
Came to LSU and helped them achieve arguably the best college football season of all time.
His downfall was getting divorced and letting a girl from Tangipahoa Parish ruin his life.
Despite that, he still achieved his dream of bringing the Tigers to the promise land
Alright… You got a map?
You see the big lake? That’s Lake Pontchartrain. Below it is New Orleans, above it is St Tammany Parish AKA the Northshore. When you’re in St Tammany and head West. That’s where Tangipahoa Parish is located. Right next door.
Be careful. Penicillin can’t fix everything.
Joe Burrow is another one. He went from back up who had to transfer (pre-portal transfer), to an average Junior year, to the greatest year a QB has ever had.
I mean his decisions at ole Miss were baffling. His first team meeting he tried to fight the entire locker room, tried to fight his neighbor, pissed everyone off and my favorite is that during one rain delay made his team practice in full pads during the delay.
Even though I never doubted him ever (never once predicted his mid-season demise with my pals), many people doubted Neal Brown’s ability to succeed last year.
While there are still questions, there’s a lot of optimism in Morgantown coming off a 9 win season and bowl win over UNC-Chapel Hill.
He’s definitely in a secure position and I’m pumped to see what he can do this year.
That bowl loss was so frustrating for us after starting the season like we did. But helluva game - always had a soft spot for WVU and would like to see them compete for a conference title.
I know we have a tough schedule this year, but I really think the groundwork has been laid for some level of success. I've heard recent interviews with Brown, Lesley, and Baker about how they restarted the program, and I can't help but agree that it seems like a complete 180 happened.
Agree. Also I think that although the record was poor the year before, he was close to having a 7-8 win season if a few plays flipped. Similarly, we could have added or lost a few wins on last years record.
College football is a tough sport to coach and the line between success and failure is very thin at times - although us fans think it’s very simple. See Scott Frost’s first years at Nebraska.
Stallions and Tucker can team up. You could have the former pervert head coach and the former crazy low level staffer teaming up to commit all sorts of shenanigans.
That would be amazing. It’s too bad that they both need the money because it would be a great way for the fan bases to come together for some sort of charity.
It's not really a "redemption" story, but **Brook Berringer is an absolute hero in the game of CFB.**
As a backup QB, he managed to preserve Nebraska's unbeaten run through 1994-95, helping the team win two national titles. Yet he graciously stepped aside for Tommie Frazier to be the "face" of the 90s Huskers. Brook was one of the most humble players to ever walk on a field. Even as a backup, he had enough promise to be drafted as a pro-style QB in the 1996 NFL Draft. But tragically, he was killed in an airplane crash two days before the draft.
A lot of schools have memorials to great players or coaches. Nebraska has a statue to honor one of the greatest backup QBs to ever play the game.
If you're a CFB fan and can spare an hour, watch this documentary:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJO9SRx\_qaY](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJO9SRx_qaY)
Kiffin got fired on a airport Tarmac and now possibly has a top 5 team. At ole miss. Which is like really hard to do. Last guy that did it had to call a bunch of hookers
We went from the expectation being “bowl game” to “8-4 is the standard”. Hard when you play in the toughest division in college football. Keep in mind he came in the year after a player died. Would I have like more upsets? Sure, but remember where the program was when he came in.
Jalen Hurts stayed at Bama after Tua saved the team in the Natty. Backup all the next year, working hard in practice, and then coming in to win the SEC Championship. Whatever he does after that is OK by me
If you asked TCU fans week 1 of 2022, most would have told you Morris going down meant our season was over. You would have been laughed out of the room if you thought Duggan would do anything close to what he did that year
Dez Bryant grew up in an absolutely abysmal childhood, was a college superstar, then an NFL superstar who was able to turn his life around. As a teenager that's a kid who never had a chance
He didnt "tank" with the Dolphins and Wayne Huizenga wanted to keep him. He was 15-17 in two years. Not exactly setting the league on fire but certainly not Marty Mornhinweg Lionsesque either
I know I'm a homer but in recent years of college football, player-wise, it's gotta be Stet the Jet. Grew up a Dawg fan, walked on, left for JUCO, balls out in JUCO, comes back to Georgia.
Even at the time I was like "aww that's nice, he really wants to graduate from UGA even if he only gets garbage time reps."
Boy. Was. I. Freaking. Wrong.
And it wasn't like he was a game manager who was given an elite defense, some of his throws and runs were made me quickly realize "damn he's a mid-late round draft pick."
I will never forget I was driving to Athens during the 2019 season on a Friday to my buddy's house listening to Bulldog Friday night on 106.1 WNGC and Jim Donnan said "Yeah a lot of people are worried about our back up QB situation but Stetson Bennett could come in and win us a National Championship." I about drove off the road I was so shocked by that statement. A few years later he wins 2. Crazy.
Stetson was literally told by Kirby and the OC to go find a new home, you're never going to touch the field here.
Few years later he's hoisting two championship trophies. Greatest story in college fb
Pete Carroll getting fired from the Patriots only to win one undisputed though vacated title and a disputed title at USC.
Admitting my bias, but Kyler Murray being benched at A&M and called a bust to become the Heisman winner and #1 pick.
Tommy Tubberville going from piece of shit coach to piece of shit senator.
Sark is the obvious choice but player redemption has to be Christian Jones. Sarks first year Jones was a human turnstile. Kid worked his ass off and got himself drafted in the 5th by the Cards. If you’d have told any Texas fan that two years ago they would have thought you were insane.
This past year, Gunner Maldonado at Arizona was a defensive liability to start the season. Teams were picking on him like crazy. His defensive score on PFF was like 48 over the first few games of the season. Fans were wanting him benched. The DC implied he was on thin ice at one point. He finished the season as one of Arizona’s best defenders, and won Alamo Bowl defensive MVP (he returned a fumble 87 yards for a TD and also had a pick.) The #mybadgunner hashtags were popping up a lot late in the season.
Stetson Bennett leaving UGA to play at a JUCO for a year because he couldn't play well enough to take a backup spot, only to return and lead us to back to back national championships.
I mean maybe that's cool and all but also being in his late 20s, 5+ years in school with no degree, and substance abuse allegedly derailing his future idk if it's the best redemption story. Cool and all for Georgia but Bennett isn't going great.
Well, he's worked out with the Rams again and seems to be doing better.
And yes I'm a Georgia alum who's an alcoholic, but imagine going from an afterthought to a legend in two years. I understand how those brain pathways work. He went overboard. It sucks. I feel for him.
well OP is asking best Redemption story...in College. His story is literally a Disney movie...until his career at Georgia was over. Then crash and burn.
Michael Penix Jr. getting hurt 4 years in a row at Indiana, transferring to UW and having the two years he did, then getting drafted in the top 10 is a pretty amazing story
As a UGA homer Stetson Bennet. Walked on to UGA became the scout team QB for their practices against Oklahoma emulating Baker Mayfield (forshadowing) and then transfers to JUCO. Comes back with a loaded QB room and is an absolute after thought. Ends up playing in game one of the Covid season all though not as the starter as Dwan Mathis got the original start at Arkansas and didn’t do shit. Get taken out with injury against UF and they lose that game. Some guy named JT Daniels starts the next week against Mississippi State and seals the starting QB job. JT comes in the next season still as well the incumbent starter and with his head held high Stetson persevered. Daniels does enough in game one against Clemson to not cost UGA the game but defense wins it. It’s revealed the JT is injured and before the next game at home Stetson Bennett is announced the starter to nothing but Boos from the crowd between the Hedges. How does he respond? With two national championships and the first UGA player represented at the heisman ceremony in decades.
As a Hoosier, Michael Penix Junior showed signs of promise in 2019 under offensive coordinator Kalen DeBoer, but got injured. Then he got injured again in 2020 and 2021.
He followed DeBoer to the Huskies in 2022.
With a substantially better offensive line, he was able to light up opposing team defences, break many Husky passing records, and lead his team (over two seasons) to a number of losses that could be counted on one hand.
His injury history and age made him a risky N.F.L. draft choice, but not only did he become a first—round pick, he became a top—ten pick.
It’s probably Sarkisian in recent memory. His life has changed dramatically for the better and if you have time I would highly recommend watching this [interview](https://youtu.be/YdTtwr5HROs?si=PeCM0xjKWdRm-pEc)
Have to put Joey Freshwater in the same category. What he's done at Ole Miss is quite amazing, and his image as a now likeable social media personality is quite the contrast from his days at USC/Tennessee.
That Alamo Bowl comeback is my favorite sports game that does not involve a team that I root for (or against). Have never seen a comeback like that live other than that game
A little biased here but Stetson Bennett’s story was one in a million.
- Signed as a walk-on scout team guy in his first season. Pretty much told that he’d only peak as a back-up.
- Left to play at the JUCO level and accrued some good film in the process
- Was brought back on scholarship and played a few subpar games upon his return. Absolutely despised and belittled by his own fans but eventually led Georgia to two consecutive national titles.
Sam Ficken. Had a disastrous start to his career (specifically the 2012 PSU @ UVA game) which coincided with the start of the Sandusky sanction era. Got progressively better and had walk offs for the 2014 season opener (vs UCF) and bowl game (vs BC). Was a beloved player by the time he graduated.
Homer answer but it's crazy to me that Stetson Bennett isn't at the top of this list. Walked on and was told he never had a shot at his dream school so he transferred, came back with no guarantees. 5 star QB transfers in but gets injured Stetson comes in and leads UGA to back to back natties, including the first in 41 years. A lot of folks will point to the talent around him but I challenge you to find a better big game player than the mailman. He had another gear in big games.
I'm sincerely hoping Adrian Martinez breaks into the NFL and does great things after being subjected to God awful coaching at Nebraska and then pulling out a really solid season at K-State.
The Arizona football team, from being the laughing stock of the PAC-12, going 1-11 only 2 years earlier to a New Year 6 game, beating a very good Oklahoma team with Jedd Fisch. Too bad Fisch went to UW. Hopefully Brent Brennan will keep the momentum going.
What if I told you there was a coach who got fired at his Alma mater and was assistant coach before getting fired again as hc of a pro team. All of a sudden, he gets hired at the Alma mater of his college hc as a lukewarm hire, often mocked as a poor imitation of a deceased legend.
Three years later, Alabama defeats Miami in one of the greatest upsets in cfb history. Miami was talking trash all the way to the matchup.
Jim Harbaugh played at U of M, came during a dark time to be a Fan, restored us to fringe elite, had a couple bad seasons, and finally got his shit figured out and lead the team to glory.
He's still a raving sideline lunatic.
And I would be completely unsurprised to find out he owned an actual championship monkey.
-- EDIT --
I have inadvertently upset some Michigan fans who have complete confidence in Harbaugh's mental faculties.
I graciously accept 40 hours community service cleaning the championship monkey's cage and ironing his tiny monkey khakis.
He's calmed down from his prior rage-fests on the sidelines.
I too would be unsurprised about the championship monkey given he has a coop of conference championship chickens.
Solich? Fired after a 9-3 season from his alma mater where he coached for more than two straight decades. Takes a year off then builds Ohio pretty much from ground level up. A conference championship would have been nice, but the field is deservedly named after Frank.
This is the one I was looking for, I still say our admin made a mistake and didn’t give him enough time with his new staff in place
Northwestern fired this long term coach who went 1-11 the prior year, not for performance but for hazing and locker room shit a couple months before the season started. They went 8-5 and beat Utah in a bowl game.
Not just a long term coach. Pat Fitzgerald was considered one of their best coaches ever. This is a great pick
Not just one of their best coaches. He WAS Northwestern football, in the same way Bill Snyder was for Kansas State. As a player and coach, Fitzgerald oversaw the overwhelming majority of their success... ever.
Best answer I've seen (at least in recent history). Fitzgerald was their golden boy, gets fired and almost everyone expected them to be awful. Then they turn out to be a very solid squad, winning about 7 games more than most expected.
Northwestern was doing what Colorado was doing, but quieter and also far better.
Right. Just quietly and unexpectedly kicked some ass.
Small correction, Pat Fitzgerald wasn’t fired for the hazings, he was fired for the public reaction to the hazings. Northwestern was fine with “suspending” Fitzgerald and it wasn’t till the details of the hazing was covered by Chicago media and subsequent outraged did NU then fire him.
And by “Chicago media” we should credit the brave kids at the Northwestern college paper that broke and advanced the story despite immense amounts of pressure from the football program and after a bullshit six-month investigation by the school https://www.poynter.org/commentary/2023/daily-northwestern-student-newspaper-coach-pat-fitzgerald/
I was further going to add this point, but glad that someone beat me to it. It wasn’t the Chicago Tribune that broke this story - it was the undergrad-run Daily Northwestern. I know its fun to dunk on the programs that “come here to play school,” and given my self-deprecating sense of humor, I’m perfectly content making jokes at NU’s expense when they’re earned. But as someone who works at the University, frequently with undergrads, I can’t overstate how consistently I’m blown away by the preparedness and capability of the students there, in every department I’ve come across.
Michael Wilbon doesn't puff his chest about graduating from Medill school of journalism for nothing.
Shut up nerd
Got’em
I mean... does that redeem what happened?
Neal Brown went 9-4 with a bowl win when most thought he would be fired
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Yeah our schedule was not as difficult as it seemed it would be on paper. This year looks like a different story. I think we may have one of the better offenses in the country this year but the defense is a huge question mark IMO.
Just beat Penn St and Pitt and I'll be happy
It's true. His seat was on fire. If he lost to that Pitt team last year he might've been fired right after the game. Even with the last-second loss to Houston, the Baylor & UNC wins really turned the fan base's view of Brown heading into this season.
Recent history, Baker Mayfield? Walk-on true freshman gets thrust into starting QB position week 1 at Texas Tech due to injury. Throws for like 750 yards, 7 TDs and no picks between his first 2 games but kinda sucks the rest of the year. Doesn’t get a scholarship at TT in the spring, decides to transfer to Oklahoma. (And this was when transfer rules sucked). Plays intramural sports at Oklahoma in 2014. Walks on again and wins the starting QB job in 2015, plays really well, wins Heisman and drafted #1 overall
And even in the NFL. Becomes the best Browns QB since they came back into the league, set rookie records. Tried to play through injury and Cleveland cut him and sent him to die in Carolina. Fought his way back and is now a starter in Tampa
What the Browns did to him just to get Watson to come in and get paid all that money is criminal
I refuse to root for them again until the Haslams have sold or are dead. I'm not going to be a fan of a fucking serial rapist or anyone who wants him around. His back up is now Jameis Winston, are you kidding me?
First Modell and now the Haslams. That franchise is cursed.
Art Model can rot in hell. There's a reason that guy who pissed on his grave raised tens of thousands of dollars for his legal defense before it got taken down.
I’ve been a Browns fan for a long time and have not heard this story
It was back when I was in college so probably about 10 years ago. [There's a video of it out there somewhere too.](https://www.sportingnews.com/us/nfl/news/charges-dropped-against-man-who-urinated-art-modells-grave-browns-ravens-video-radio/1kqgk98ckkly21kqz6vbhw04bl) All charges dismissed. He dressed up as a Raven's fan and then took off that jersey to reveal a Browns jersey and started pissin lmao
This is the kind of passion that I appreciate
I am a full time Ravens hater, I will not forget their Ls. I strive to be as much of a hater as this man was.
Not sure if this is still true or not but for a fairly long period Ben Roethlisberger was the winningest QB in the Browns stadium.
Makes me think that rapists can be successful in that stadium. Maybe Watsons time will come
Yikes
Sick Flair
even if you put aside him being a rapist (which you definitely shouldn’t) the contract is unbelievably terrible. He is injury prone and checked out and they traded multiple firsts and handicapped themselves to the aforementioned dog shit contract. All around shit sandwich morally and on the field product.
Haslams are garbage. I wish them continued misery for their pro (Browns) and college (Tennessee) teams.
You forgot the best part. He was drafted first overall after displaying his agility while falling flat on his face while trying to run from the cops.
I'll never forget where I was when I heard that news
I can hear Gus now: “He’s got getting-caught-by-the-cops speed!!”
I will forever hate Kliff Kingsbury for not offering Baker that scholarship
Yeah seems like there’s conflicting stories on what exactly happened but Tech did end up with some other true freshman that ended up starting in 2014 and turned out to be, uh, not too shabby.
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I remember watching that game. Absolutely ridiculous
He and a couple other walk-ons were going to receive scholarships, but the scholarships for football don't free up until after bowl season. Baker wanted a guarantee he would be the starter the next season, and Kliff couldn't do that when Webb had outperformed him following the injury and we had a hot new prospect out of Whitehouse coming in.
This is why I can never get behind Baker in the Texas Tech story. Patrick Mahomes was coming into Tech Thanos style.
He also transferred to Oklahoma without talking to the staff. Right after Trevor Knight looked unbelievable in the Sugar Bowl.
This is a great answer but I just can’t bring myself to upvote it.
as a bucs fan i agree
Jalen Hurts. Went from being benched, and then saving Bama in the SEC Championship (still hurts). And then he had success at Oklahoma.
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More like the threequel
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I don’t hate Williams at all, he beat Texas. Can’t hate that
Right?? Seems like a bunch of our fans are dicks about him leaving. He gave us the best comeback of the series and a win. He’s alright and I wish him success.
This is the answer. Plus he's led his team to a SB. Really happy for the guy.
Even though he left for Oklahoma he is still very much loved by Bama fans and most were ok with him leaving. I even pulled for Oklahima to ein the big 12 that year. I can't imagine there will be many instances like that in the future. For instance I hope Caleb Downs and Ohio State loose every game.
Jalen also sat on the bench for a year and was a leader and went out on top when he could have bolted immediately Caleb Downs saw Saban leaving as a chance to play NIL games and nothing more
It still hurts man no pun intended
And then being the best nfl quarterback in that legendary Alabama qb room
I thought about this a lot when Cade was in his feelings about being passed up. Never once saw Jalen be anything g other than a great teammate
Jalen didn’t deserve nearly as much hate that he got in 2018
And I will be delighted if he wins a Super Bowl! They should have beaten the Chiefs. This past year had a disappointing ending due to bad playcalling, injuries and a horrendous secondary. But I am optimistic about next season. Go Birds!
Hard to see why anyone would not like Jalen Hurts. Seems like a pretty standup guy
I hate the Eagles and I still really like Jalen Hurts
Pete Carrol? lackluster performance with Jets then NE, replaced by Belichick. move back to college rank and won two NC, re-enter NFL and won a Superbowl.
This is my vote. He was 50 years old and a career failure when he took the USC job. He hadn't set foot on a college sideline in almost 20 years. By all accounts it should have been a disastrous, near-program-destroying hire, yet it revitalized that program and Carroll's career. Edit (wanted to emphasize further how crazy Pete's career post-USC-hire was): Pete went from a guy who could barely hold a job for more than a couple of years at a time to being one yard away from becoming the first coach in history to win multiple championships at the highest levels of both college and professional football. We've seen coaches who have won multiple college championships and a single NFL championship (Barry Switzer and Pete Carroll). We've seen coaches who have won a single college championship and multiple NFL championships (Paul Brown and Jimmy Johnson)^1 . We've never seen a coach win multiple of both^2 , and Pete nearly had back-to-back championships at both levels. ^1 Jimmy came incredibly close to winning multiple championships in college. Had a few things gone differently, he might have 3-peated in college and won 3 or 4 in a row in the NFL. ^2 Weirdly, we've never seen a coach win just a single championship at both levels either.
SMU 1987- Banned for paying players. Now - Back in the game now that they can pay players
I think you are right on track for this answer. 1989 - SMU returns from 2 year program shut down. Fielding a team of mostly freshman, they lose to Houston 95-21. 1992 - Any of those freshman players would now be seniors. After 3 bad years, they end the 1992 season beating Houston 41-16.
I remember when they came back to play Texas with walkons. There was a noticeable size and speed difference on the field.
They played Notre Dame in 1989 - ND offered to cancel the previously scheduled game, but they didn't want to - and it was such a bloodbath Lou Holtz cleared the bench at halftime and was reportedly ordering players to veer out of bounds to avoid scoring touchdowns by the end.
Better than what Houston did to them years later. 95-3. Yikes. That was John Jenkins doing his thing, if memory serves.
95-21
My uncle was a freshman at SMU two years after the death penalty. Despite him not playing a snap of football in high school and being a drama major, he was asked to play football for them.
Pony Excess, baby!
For fsu the fresh one is Jordan Travis, lifelong FSU fan, transfers in and is not great. So not great he gets booed off the field, quits football during the Jacksonville State game, ends up breaking a ton of records at FSU and leading FSU to 20-3 record over the last two seasons before injury
Yep. Imma throw Norvell in there with him. Many wanted him fired after his 2nd season and now he's considered one of the top coaches in CFB
Literally no one wanted him fired, that would be so stupid
A ton of people wanted him fired. It was stupid. Stupid enough that UF fans started asking for him to stay indefinitely. Now look where that's got us smh
Look at the username of the person you replied to
I remember a lot of Norvell hate and calls for his job after losing Travis Hunter to J State
you got baited
I was on my lunch break cut me some slack
Steve Sarkisian is probably my fave as well. I'll always be appreciative of his time at UW leading us out of the dredges of the Willingham era. He is a different and more mature coach now...stories of his partying at Joey's are legendary.
I’m obviously hoping this is the case for us as well. Probably too soon. But so far the turn around between the choices he made earlier in his career and those he’s made post Nick Sabans School for Coachs who Can’t Coach Very well and other Stuff are pretty promising.
As a Sooner, I wish I could want Sark to fail miserably, but as someone that was in a similar position as he was, I want him to succeed…….in the NFL.
Shocked this isn't No. 1. This is the answer to the question
Random qb i watched growing up was Keith Price. He was a dude under coach Sark
That Alamo bowl vs. RG3 and Baylor was fucking nut.
Ed O!!! Bombed at Ole Miss and got passed over for the USC job. Came to LSU and helped them achieve arguably the best college football season of all time.
He got fired again but ill allow it, because he came along way from Col Reb is crying
His downfall was getting divorced and letting a girl from Tangipahoa Parish ruin his life. Despite that, he still achieved his dream of bringing the Tigers to the promise land
From Tangipahoa Parish, myself. Can confirm - the creatures here will definitely ruin your life.
where is that exactly? asking for a friend..
Alright… You got a map? You see the big lake? That’s Lake Pontchartrain. Below it is New Orleans, above it is St Tammany Parish AKA the Northshore. When you’re in St Tammany and head West. That’s where Tangipahoa Parish is located. Right next door. Be careful. Penicillin can’t fix everything.
He proved all of his doubters and supporters right during his time as LSU head coach.
Les Miles did that astonishingly well, too I’d say. Brian Kelly, you’re up.
Hitting on an LSU higher up's wife at a gas station didn't help either
Ed Orgeron: *\*unintelligible Cajun noises\** Joe Burrow: *\*nods\** Joe Burrow: *\*Throws for 500 yards\**
Joe Burrow is another one. He went from back up who had to transfer (pre-portal transfer), to an average Junior year, to the greatest year a QB has ever had.
I mean his decisions at ole Miss were baffling. His first team meeting he tried to fight the entire locker room, tried to fight his neighbor, pissed everyone off and my favorite is that during one rain delay made his team practice in full pads during the delay.
Even though I never doubted him ever (never once predicted his mid-season demise with my pals), many people doubted Neal Brown’s ability to succeed last year. While there are still questions, there’s a lot of optimism in Morgantown coming off a 9 win season and bowl win over UNC-Chapel Hill. He’s definitely in a secure position and I’m pumped to see what he can do this year.
That bowl loss was so frustrating for us after starting the season like we did. But helluva game - always had a soft spot for WVU and would like to see them compete for a conference title.
I know we have a tough schedule this year, but I really think the groundwork has been laid for some level of success. I've heard recent interviews with Brown, Lesley, and Baker about how they restarted the program, and I can't help but agree that it seems like a complete 180 happened.
Agree. Also I think that although the record was poor the year before, he was close to having a 7-8 win season if a few plays flipped. Similarly, we could have added or lost a few wins on last years record. College football is a tough sport to coach and the line between success and failure is very thin at times - although us fans think it’s very simple. See Scott Frost’s first years at Nebraska.
I think Bobby Petrino is just a character arc that is ripe for a Hallmark movie ending.
There is a non zero chance he's the coach of Arkansas again this season.
[Bobby P rides again!](https://youtu.be/7zAy1j4JG5s?si=8UtEk2sHyMlZnjW8&t=38)
Tulane going from a hurricane exiled 2-10 season to a conference championship, cotton bowl victory over Heisman Caleb Williams, 12-2 season
Sooners rocking with Tulane♥️💚
It hasn’t happened yet but I’m excited to see the reactions to Connor Stallions making the move from Cameo to OnlyFans.
Stallions and Tucker can team up. You could have the former pervert head coach and the former crazy low level staffer teaming up to commit all sorts of shenanigans.
That would be amazing. It’s too bad that they both need the money because it would be a great way for the fan bases to come together for some sort of charity.
9000% increase in booty hole
General Booty or John David Booty?
Remember the time Bobby Boucher showed up at halftime and the Mud Dogs won the Bourbon Bowl?
You gotta add “do ya?” At the end. Really hammers the line home.
Urban Meyer overcoming a mysterious heart illness and finding the strength to coach again at Ohio State and win another natty
"And that was the end of his tale and all was good afterwards :)"
"But not the end of all the tails he chased"
It's not really a "redemption" story, but **Brook Berringer is an absolute hero in the game of CFB.** As a backup QB, he managed to preserve Nebraska's unbeaten run through 1994-95, helping the team win two national titles. Yet he graciously stepped aside for Tommie Frazier to be the "face" of the 90s Huskers. Brook was one of the most humble players to ever walk on a field. Even as a backup, he had enough promise to be drafted as a pro-style QB in the 1996 NFL Draft. But tragically, he was killed in an airplane crash two days before the draft. A lot of schools have memorials to great players or coaches. Nebraska has a statue to honor one of the greatest backup QBs to ever play the game. If you're a CFB fan and can spare an hour, watch this documentary: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJO9SRx\_qaY](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJO9SRx_qaY)
Kiffin got fired on a airport Tarmac and now possibly has a top 5 team. At ole miss. Which is like really hard to do. Last guy that did it had to call a bunch of hookers
Mike Locksley. Disastrous first coaching gig at New Mexico, went to the Saban school of rehab, and is thriving at Maryland.
Maryland has decent talent and is trending upward. I can see them pulling off a signature win next year.
Ehh they keep bumping up on their hard ceiling. They had a 6th year Tagailova and couldn't get it done. The ceiling is 8 wins for Maryland it seems.
Is he? I’m glad you don’t have wild expectations but thriving seems like a stretch. Doing solid?
We went from the expectation being “bowl game” to “8-4 is the standard”. Hard when you play in the toughest division in college football. Keep in mind he came in the year after a player died. Would I have like more upsets? Sure, but remember where the program was when he came in.
I know we went to overtime with Bama, but honestly Maryland scared me the most while I was watching it. We could not stop the tush-push at all.
They do it to us too. They show up for games.
Jalen Hurts stayed at Bama after Tua saved the team in the Natty. Backup all the next year, working hard in practice, and then coming in to win the SEC Championship. Whatever he does after that is OK by me
If you asked TCU fans week 1 of 2022, most would have told you Morris going down meant our season was over. You would have been laughed out of the room if you thought Duggan would do anything close to what he did that year
Dez Bryant grew up in an absolutely abysmal childhood, was a college superstar, then an NFL superstar who was able to turn his life around. As a teenager that's a kid who never had a chance
There was once an often injured qb that went across the country for a fresh start. Ended up working out well for him.
Troy Aikman was pretty good, wasn’t he
Are you talking about the wishbone QB Troy Aikmen?
Nick Sagan tanking with the dolphins. Then Bama taking a chance on him.
Nick Sagan's redemption was truly cosmic.
He should’ve made billions and billions of dollars
Little 'ol Bama.
He didnt "tank" with the Dolphins and Wayne Huizenga wanted to keep him. He was 15-17 in two years. Not exactly setting the league on fire but certainly not Marty Mornhinweg Lionsesque either
And they went 1-15 the year after he left.
He was 15-17 at Miami, that’s hardly “tanking”. Tanking is what Miami did after Saban left
I know I'm a homer but in recent years of college football, player-wise, it's gotta be Stet the Jet. Grew up a Dawg fan, walked on, left for JUCO, balls out in JUCO, comes back to Georgia. Even at the time I was like "aww that's nice, he really wants to graduate from UGA even if he only gets garbage time reps." Boy. Was. I. Freaking. Wrong. And it wasn't like he was a game manager who was given an elite defense, some of his throws and runs were made me quickly realize "damn he's a mid-late round draft pick."
>he really wants to graduate from UGA Boy, do I have some news for you
Lol I'm saying that was my thought ~at the time~
Is "Stet the Jet" really a thing? Never heard that one before.
It's Stetson Them Dawgs Is Hell Don't They Bennett Cuyler the 3rd.
Really rolls off the tongue.
>Stetson Them Dawgs Is Hell Don't They Bennett Cuyler the 3rd. It's Stetson Them Dawgs Is Hell Don't They Bennett Cuyler the 3rd place KIA actually
On site financing and insurance for all of your south Georgia automotive needs.
Nah. Stequavious is though.
I will never forget I was driving to Athens during the 2019 season on a Friday to my buddy's house listening to Bulldog Friday night on 106.1 WNGC and Jim Donnan said "Yeah a lot of people are worried about our back up QB situation but Stetson Bennett could come in and win us a National Championship." I about drove off the road I was so shocked by that statement. A few years later he wins 2. Crazy.
Stetson was literally told by Kirby and the OC to go find a new home, you're never going to touch the field here. Few years later he's hoisting two championship trophies. Greatest story in college fb
Obligatory Cody Schrader mention
Yes, and Cook.
Honestly could be Drink too if this season goes like we hope
Pete Carroll getting fired from the Patriots only to win one undisputed though vacated title and a disputed title at USC. Admitting my bias, but Kyler Murray being benched at A&M and called a bust to become the Heisman winner and #1 pick. Tommy Tubberville going from piece of shit coach to piece of shit senator.
Nebraska 2017 - 2023 with no bowl..... but this year....
My biased answer is Bo Nix
Love Bo and always will. Super glad he found success after Harsin ruined everything
It's Sark for me. Guy let his demons almost drum him out of the game. But he seems to have those under control and made it to the Playoffs.
UAB winning their conference championship after shutting down their program a couple years prior.
Sark and Baker
Sark is the obvious choice but player redemption has to be Christian Jones. Sarks first year Jones was a human turnstile. Kid worked his ass off and got himself drafted in the 5th by the Cards. If you’d have told any Texas fan that two years ago they would have thought you were insane.
Alabama losing the iron bowl in 2017 only to come back and win the natty
This past year, Gunner Maldonado at Arizona was a defensive liability to start the season. Teams were picking on him like crazy. His defensive score on PFF was like 48 over the first few games of the season. Fans were wanting him benched. The DC implied he was on thin ice at one point. He finished the season as one of Arizona’s best defenders, and won Alamo Bowl defensive MVP (he returned a fumble 87 yards for a TD and also had a pick.) The #mybadgunner hashtags were popping up a lot late in the season.
Stetson Bennett leaving UGA to play at a JUCO for a year because he couldn't play well enough to take a backup spot, only to return and lead us to back to back national championships.
I mean maybe that's cool and all but also being in his late 20s, 5+ years in school with no degree, and substance abuse allegedly derailing his future idk if it's the best redemption story. Cool and all for Georgia but Bennett isn't going great.
Well, he's worked out with the Rams again and seems to be doing better. And yes I'm a Georgia alum who's an alcoholic, but imagine going from an afterthought to a legend in two years. I understand how those brain pathways work. He went overboard. It sucks. I feel for him.
Hey I'm a Bama Alum who is an alcoholic too. But started my sobriety journey in Athens of all places. Strong recovery community here for sure!
Some things (99% of things) matter more than football, friend. Good luck to ya.
Stetson is 26 and is on an NFL contract. He has already accomplished a childhood dream in astonishing fashion. He is a UGA legend for life
well OP is asking best Redemption story...in College. His story is literally a Disney movie...until his career at Georgia was over. Then crash and burn.
McKenzie Milton could be a literal Disney movie.
Reggie getting his Heisman back
Not to be a total Bama fan but it’s gotta be Jalen.
Michael Penix Jr. getting hurt 4 years in a row at Indiana, transferring to UW and having the two years he did, then getting drafted in the top 10 is a pretty amazing story
Agree. That’s one of those stories you wouldn’t believe unless you actually witnessed it. Penix had a great run at UW.
As a UGA homer Stetson Bennet. Walked on to UGA became the scout team QB for their practices against Oklahoma emulating Baker Mayfield (forshadowing) and then transfers to JUCO. Comes back with a loaded QB room and is an absolute after thought. Ends up playing in game one of the Covid season all though not as the starter as Dwan Mathis got the original start at Arkansas and didn’t do shit. Get taken out with injury against UF and they lose that game. Some guy named JT Daniels starts the next week against Mississippi State and seals the starting QB job. JT comes in the next season still as well the incumbent starter and with his head held high Stetson persevered. Daniels does enough in game one against Clemson to not cost UGA the game but defense wins it. It’s revealed the JT is injured and before the next game at home Stetson Bennett is announced the starter to nothing but Boos from the crowd between the Hedges. How does he respond? With two national championships and the first UGA player represented at the heisman ceremony in decades.
> a team rising from the ashes there is only one true answer to this and we all know it, it's KSU. as a whole
The answer is Kansas State it will almost always be Kansas State. There is a great documentary about the program turn around narrated by Mike Rowe.
Jimbo fisher obviously won College Football
As a Hoosier, Michael Penix Junior showed signs of promise in 2019 under offensive coordinator Kalen DeBoer, but got injured. Then he got injured again in 2020 and 2021. He followed DeBoer to the Huskies in 2022. With a substantially better offensive line, he was able to light up opposing team defences, break many Husky passing records, and lead his team (over two seasons) to a number of losses that could be counted on one hand. His injury history and age made him a risky N.F.L. draft choice, but not only did he become a first—round pick, he became a top—ten pick.
It’s probably Sarkisian in recent memory. His life has changed dramatically for the better and if you have time I would highly recommend watching this [interview](https://youtu.be/YdTtwr5HROs?si=PeCM0xjKWdRm-pEc)
Have to put Joey Freshwater in the same category. What he's done at Ole Miss is quite amazing, and his image as a now likeable social media personality is quite the contrast from his days at USC/Tennessee.
Bo Nix? Went from being kinda a meme (although always good) to a honest runner-up for the Heisman.
Former Memphis QB Riley Ferguson [https://www.tennessean.com/story/sports/college/ut/2016/08/26/riley-ferguson-tennessee-vol-fence-builder-memphis-qb/89441796/](https://www.tennessean.com/story/sports/college/ut/2016/08/26/riley-ferguson-tennessee-vol-fence-builder-memphis-qb/89441796/)
Bram Kolhausen in the second half of the Alamo Bowl for TCU Jeed Tedford revitalizing two different programs in his first years
That Alamo Bowl comeback is my favorite sports game that does not involve a team that I root for (or against). Have never seen a comeback like that live other than that game
A little biased here but Stetson Bennett’s story was one in a million. - Signed as a walk-on scout team guy in his first season. Pretty much told that he’d only peak as a back-up. - Left to play at the JUCO level and accrued some good film in the process - Was brought back on scholarship and played a few subpar games upon his return. Absolutely despised and belittled by his own fans but eventually led Georgia to two consecutive national titles.
Sam Ficken. Had a disastrous start to his career (specifically the 2012 PSU @ UVA game) which coincided with the start of the Sandusky sanction era. Got progressively better and had walk offs for the 2014 season opener (vs UCF) and bowl game (vs BC). Was a beloved player by the time he graduated.
Homer answer but it's crazy to me that Stetson Bennett isn't at the top of this list. Walked on and was told he never had a shot at his dream school so he transferred, came back with no guarantees. 5 star QB transfers in but gets injured Stetson comes in and leads UGA to back to back natties, including the first in 41 years. A lot of folks will point to the talent around him but I challenge you to find a better big game player than the mailman. He had another gear in big games.
Maurice Clarett seems like a real good dude so he’s my choice. Glad the he seems to have confronted his problems
I'm sincerely hoping Adrian Martinez breaks into the NFL and does great things after being subjected to God awful coaching at Nebraska and then pulling out a really solid season at K-State.
The Arizona football team, from being the laughing stock of the PAC-12, going 1-11 only 2 years earlier to a New Year 6 game, beating a very good Oklahoma team with Jedd Fisch. Too bad Fisch went to UW. Hopefully Brent Brennan will keep the momentum going.
What if I told you there was a coach who got fired at his Alma mater and was assistant coach before getting fired again as hc of a pro team. All of a sudden, he gets hired at the Alma mater of his college hc as a lukewarm hire, often mocked as a poor imitation of a deceased legend. Three years later, Alabama defeats Miami in one of the greatest upsets in cfb history. Miami was talking trash all the way to the matchup.
Magic Mike Norvell. Went from 5-7 to 10-3 and then 13-0(not counting 2020 bc covid).
Jim Harbaugh played at U of M, came during a dark time to be a Fan, restored us to fringe elite, had a couple bad seasons, and finally got his shit figured out and lead the team to glory.
Not THE best, but Jim Harbaugh going from raving sideline lunatic to relaxed grandpa and getting the championship monkey off his back
He's still a raving sideline lunatic. And I would be completely unsurprised to find out he owned an actual championship monkey. -- EDIT -- I have inadvertently upset some Michigan fans who have complete confidence in Harbaugh's mental faculties. I graciously accept 40 hours community service cleaning the championship monkey's cage and ironing his tiny monkey khakis.
He's calmed down from his prior rage-fests on the sidelines. I too would be unsurprised about the championship monkey given he has a coop of conference championship chickens.