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The "can't Miss" Hire Whose Failure Surprised You the Most

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NOVABuck45's picture
10/20/25 at 4:38p in the College Sports Forum
52 Comments

Just curious to hear thoughts on this, because with the coaching carousel in full swing, there's already talk of who the "can't miss" hires are.  And right now, there's a lot of momentum building for Lane Kiffin to UF as the "can't miss" move of the year.  If he can succeed at this level at Ole Miss, imagine what he can do within the same conference at a football school with more resources, more talent, and more upside!

But then, I've heard this story before.  And so I'm curious to hear people's thoughts on those can't-miss hires that everybody raved at the time that fell so flat.  

For me, Scott Frost to Nebraska comes to mind.  Butch Davis's failure at UNC really surprised me.  I thought Sark was going to dominate at USC -- not so much.  In basketball, I'm still stunned at how poorly Archie Miller did at Indiana.

Curious to hear about those cautionary tales of the can't-miss guy that just didn't materialize.  Because I guarantee somebody in this cycle hiring their can't-miss guy will be shopping for a new coach in 3-5 years.

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