Yesterday, a reader reached out asking if we were going to do the 2023 version of our article listing all the FBS schools that return their head coach, both coordinators, and starting quarterback from last season. A search of our archives found no such article, but the idea was so good we decided to do it anyway.
A study of all 133 FBS teams found that 28 return their four most important figures, roughly one-fifth of the subdivision.
Before we dive in, a few notes:
-- Bowling Green and Central Michigan both would've made this list, but their quarterbacks opted to transfer. Ball State's John Paddock left his scholarship to walk on at Illinois.
-- Eleven of the 28 schools are coaching staffs heading into Year 2 at their respective stops. If you're looking for teams to make a major leap from 2022 to '23, start there. Of course, some of those 11 (Washington, USC, LSU, New Mexico State) didn't wait around to take big steps in 2022.
-- Three head coaches returned both coordinators from Year 1 to Year 2, and now get their QB1s back heading into Year 3. Those three coaches saw improvements of five wins (Lance Leipold, Kansas), five wins (Kane Wommack, South Alabama) and three wins (Steve Sarkisian, Texas) from 2021 to '22.
-- Heading into Year 4 at Michigan State, Mel Tucker is still working with his original coordinators.
-- Utah has the most collective experience in the country. Kyle Whittingham will be in Year 18 as head coach; Andy Ludwig in Year 9 as OC (Year 5 of his second stint); Morgan Scalley in Year 8 as DC (he's been with the program all but one season dating back to 2001); and QB Cameron Rising in Year 3 as the starter and Year 6 as a college quarterback.
-- The Pac-12 should be very strong at the top. Defending champion Utah (10-4 in 2022) is joined by USC (11-3), Washington (11-2) and Oregon State (10-3).
-- Oregon State and Rice made this list and secured high-profile transfer quarterbacks.
-- Baylor and Michigan return one coordinator and their starting quarterback, and the coordinator they lost was replaced by someone from within the family. At Michigan, Jim Harbaugh promoted Sherrone Moore from co-offensive coordinator to the sole coordinator; at Baylor, Dave Aranda brought Matt Powledge back as defensive coordinator after a year at Oregon. While the schemes won't change, neither coach has been the man on his side of the ball, and the point of this exercise is to highlight experience and continuity.
One-hundred thirty-three teams will begin the 2023 race with an 0-0 record, but these 28 have a head start.
As always, stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.