re: Now that NCAAFB Coaching searches/hires are finished who had the best hire?

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1. Bronco Mendenhall, New Mexico
He's a winner, pure and simple. Mendenhall has been very successful at two stops, Brigham Young and Virginia, reaching bowl eligibility in every non-COVID-19 year of his coaching career outside of his debut season with the Cavaliers. Mendenhall is also a former New Mexico assistant under Rocky Long and brings deep familiarity with the program and the broader region. As one of the surest bets in coaching and a terrific ambassador for the program and athletics department, he's an absolute coup for the Lobos.

2. Willie Fritz, Houston
And speaking of home-run hires: Fritz brings to Houston an unimpeachable track record highlighted by a 23-4 mark across the past two seasons with one New Year's Six bowl victory against Southern California in the Cotton Bowl. Going all the way back to JUCO powerhouse Blinn College in the early 1990s, Fritz has put together inventive offenses that maximize talent. With the Cougars and in the Power Five, he'll have the chance to work with a higher caliber of athlete and make a run at the College Football Playoff.

3. Kalen DeBoer, Alabama
About the only question regarding DeBoer and Alabama is whether he can recruit at a level equal or beyond what Georgia, Ohio State and others are doing. There are no questions about his coaching acumen after turning leading Washington to the national championship game in just his second season. One factor outside of DeBoer's control is the shadow that Nick Saban will continue to cast over the program into the foreseeable future. That makes it almost imperative that he starts fast against a schedule that includes Georgia and road games against Wisconsin, Tennessee, LSU and Oklahoma.

4. Ken Niumatalolo, San Jose State
Niumatalolo is back for a second turn as a head coach after a disappointing final three seasons at Navy. While things clearly took a turn for the worse in Annapolis, Niumatalolo has still compiled a borderline Hall of Fame résumé and is one of the most accomplished new head coaches of this cycle. He won't run the option offense used with the Midshipmen, he said, and will likely take the offense in a more advanced direction after spending the past year at UCLA in an off-field role. The hire at coordinator will be important but Niumatalolo is a very solid fit at a program with a strong infrastructure.

5. Jon Sumrall, Tulane
While the track record is smaller compared to other names at the top of this list, Sumrall is one of the profession's rising stars after going 23-4 and winning a pair of Sun Belt championships in his two seasons at Troy. The former SEC assistant at Mississippi and Kentucky also spent three years as the co-defensive coordinator with the Green Wave. The program is on an upward trend after its recent success with Willie Fritz.

6. Pete Lembo, Buffalo
Lembo has won at every one of his stops across multiple levels of competition. Most importantly, he went 33-29 in five seasons at Ball State, another MAC program with limited resources that demands careful talent evaluation and player development to make ends meet. Since leaving the Cardinals after the 2015 season, Lembo has worked as an assistant at Maryland, Rice, Memphis and South Carolina. He's one of the top Group of Five hires of the cycle.

7. Curt Cignetti, Indiana
History says Cignetti won't do much at Indiana, historically one of the most difficult places to win in the Power Five. Three or four years down the line, he might be the latest to try and fail to turn the Hoosiers into a consistent winner. But chew on this: Cignetti has been a head coach across multiple levels since 2011 - Division II, the Championship Subdivision and the FBS - and has yet to post a losing season. Most recently, he led James Madison to an incredibly successful two-year transition to the FBS, going 19-4 overall and finishing first in the Sun Belt East in both seasons.

8. Jonathan Smith, Michigan State
Smith flew way under the radar at Oregon State until the past two seasons, when the Beavers seemed to spend more weeks than not in the US LBM AFCA Coaches Poll. His commitment to a physical offense and ability to develop players will fit extremely well at Michigan State, which has to steer clear of quick fixes through the portal and build a roster that can compete with best programs in the Big Ten.

9. Brent Brennan, Arizona
Brennan proved his credentials by turning San Jose State into one of the most consistent winners in the Mountain West. That experience will come in very handy at an Arizona program that is aimed in the right direction heading into the Big 12. With many of the top players on this year's team back on the roster instead of in the portal - notably quarterback Noah Fifita and receiver Tetairoa McMillan, Brennan has the talent to make some noise in his first year and avoid the multiple-year rebuilding project that kicked off his tenure with the Spartans.

10. Jedd Fisch, Washington
Fisch pulled off a borderline miracle in turning Arizona into one of the top teams in the Pac-12 in just three seasons. That earned him a big raise and a better job at Washington, a new member of the Big Ten. The experience with the Wildcats will come in handy as the Huskies try to reload against a tough schedule and with a roster shredded by losses to the NFL and transfer portal. The expectations for his first team may end up being too high, but Fisch has proven himself as a strong program builder.

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Jonathan Smith going to MSU.

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And for extra credit which school dodged a bullet by not hiring someone the media wanted them to hire in past 3 years? Example can be like Mel Tucker and LSU.

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