Earlier today, a report emerged with big news for first-year Bulls head coach Alex Golesh and his USF football program as plans and funding for a long-awaited on-campus football stadium were approved with a planned opening of 2026.
We follow that great news up with some additional good news for the program, as the Bulls are #7 on our list of the most impressive new staffs assembled for 2023.
The previous spots on our list are occupied by Charlotte (#10), Western Michigan (#9), and Liberty (#8).
As we shared previously in this series, there's no exact formula for putting together a staff that is going to put a successful product on the field Saturdays in the fall. So generally speaking, coaches look for a mix of guys they have a prior relationship with, or have worked with coaches they have ties to and trust, or are excellent recruiters, have a ton of experience, have learned under some of the most respected coaches in the game, or retaining guys that have an intimate understanding of the roster.
Really, any mix of all those and so much more go into building a quality staff, and all while being able to do it with the salary pool allotted.
Golesh brings an interesting mix of coaches to Tampa, led by coaching veterans like Kevin Patrick and Todd Orlando and also includes some young and hungry guys that are getting their first crack at on-field assistants at the major college level after being trusted and loyal support staff members previously.
The early feedback from high school coaches seeing Golesh and his staff on the recruiting trail has been overwhelmingly positive.
COORDINATOR RECAP
Todd Orlando brings an immediately recognizable name to the defensive side of the ball for the Bulls.
A veteran defensive play caller, Orlando has most recently called the defenses at Texas, USC, and FAU and has previous coordinator experience at UConn, FIU, Utah State, and Houston in college football.
Golesh will lead the way on the offensive side of the ball, and new quarterbacks coach Joel Gordon is listed in his USF bio as the team's offensive coordinator (and FWIW is Pass Game Coordinator on the staff listing).
Gordon had been the pass game coordinator at Iowa State dating back to 2019, and mentored the Cyclones quarterbacks for 5 of his 7 seasons on Matt Campbell's staff.
Golesh and Gordon previously worked alongside each other four seasons in Ames, so seeing them work together to craft the USF offense, melding some stuff from Iowa State and some of Tennessee's unique deep choice concept stuff from last year's impressive turnaround with the Vols is going to be must-see for offensive enthusiasts.
BIGGEST HIRE
Before Golesh, former Clemson offensive coordinator Jeff Scott was brought in with high hopes to turn things around and put an exciting offensive product on the field in one of the nation's most fertile recruiting grounds. After finishes of 1-8, 2-10 and then a 1-8 start, Scott was gone and the search led to another offensive minded head coach in Golesh.
When back-to-back offensive coordinators are chosen to lead programs, I think the most pressure lies on that side of the ball to get things turned around, therefore, I would put the entire offensive staff here for the biggest hires of Golesh's initial staff.
Matt Merritt has been a part of some exciting offenses and has a diverse background, and I really liked the addition of former Minnesota assistant Clay Patterson, who will bring a veteran presence to the offensive side of the ball along with Gordon, who we highlighted earlier.
The offensive line will be coached by Tyler Hudanick, who started nearly 30 games at UCF before joining their staff in a quality control role (volunteer) and then was elevated to a graduate assistant role. Last year he was with Golesh as a graduate assistant with the Vols. While he brings some great experience, this marks his first on-field coaching position.
Set to coach the receivers is L'Damian Washington, who had an interesting fall last year and may just arrive at USF with something to prove.
Washington was thrust into the wide receivers coaching role just before the start of last fall following the Cale Gundy controversy, and he helped mold an offense that produced nearly 33 points per game and his receivers averaged of 8 yards per catch, including Marvin Mimms who was one of the best deep threats in the country.
After a full season in essentially an interim on-field role, Brent Venables ultimately decided to fill the role with a hire outside the program. Washington briefly accepted the receivers job and pass game coordinator role at Western Kentucky before ultimately landing with Golesh and the Bulls.
BIGGEST CHALLENGE
Golesh's staff will face a similar challenge that a lot of new Group of Five programs face, in getting their first-year on-field coaches prepared for the demands and adjustments of the job while also meshing with the veteran coaches who have been around premier Power Five programs.
I would also slide Todd Orlando in here.
Since a six-year run as the defensive coordinator at UConn from 199-2004, Orlando hasn't spent more than three seasons calling the defense somewhere with his three-years at Texas the longest he's been somewhere.
For USF to have success, I would argue that Orlando won't need to field top 25 defenses, but they will need to get just enough stops to let Golesh and his offense put enough points on the board for wins, and if he's able to do that, then be able to hold onto the 52 year old coach for 4+ years.
MOST UNDERRATED HIRE
Snagging an SEC staffer for a position on staff at USF makes this a relatively easy call.
Back in December, we shared highly regarded Tennessee DFO Andrew Warsaw, who is considered to be among the top DFOs in the country, was heading south to join Golesh.
With the title of associate athletic director / football chief of staff, Warsaw will bring over a decade of experience at the Power 5 and NFL levels to serve in a critical role for Golesh as a right hand man.
