The Phillip Montgomery era at Tulsa is over.
Montgomery was fired Sunday after eight seasons in which he compiled a 43-53 record. The Golden Hurricane played in the AAC title game in 2020 and reached a bowl game in 2021, but they went 5-7 this season.
“I’m certainly disappointed that I won’t have the opportunity to continue leading this program,” Montgomery said in a statement.” For the past eight years, I’ve given the University of Tulsa, our players, and staff everything I have. I’m proud of the way we locked arms and battled through adversity at every turn. Ashli and I will forever be grateful for the relationships and memories created at Tulsa. Our son played here, our daughter cheered here, and I’ll always consider those times a blessing. I’m most thankful for the players and staff, past and present, who believed in our vision and gave their all for the team. They mean the world to me, and I’ll always be here for them.”
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Tulsa reached four bowl games under Montgomery, with a 10-3 record in his second season. But it dropped to 2-10 the following year. The 6-0 AAC record in the pandemic-altered 2020 season was a bright spot, and the program developed several NFL Draft picks like first-round selections Zaven Collins and Tyler Smith. But the Golden Hurricane had two winning seasons in his final six years.
So how good is the Tulsa job? What names could get in the mix? Here are some factors to keep in mind.
This is a unique school with limited resources
Tulsa’s enrollment is less than 4,000 students, the lowest in the Football Bowl Subdivision. That makes for a small alumni base and therefore a small donor base. It’s also a private school. Montgomery took a voluntary pay cut in 2018 to help with athletic department finances, and there was some thought that he might keep his job for another year due to buyout concerns. But Tulsa ultimately made a change.
His salary of around $1.8 million was near the bottom of the current AAC, but it will be well ahead of several new AAC programs. There are not many football-only facilities, and there isn’t an indoor practice facility. This job has to get by without the bells and whistles of many other programs.
And in a conference that is about to add three more Texas schools (and lose one), there will be more regional competition for players.
Philip Montgomery had three winning records in eight seasons. (Petre Thomas / USA Today)There has been success in recent history
Steve Kragthorpe won at least eight games three times in four years. Todd Graham won at least 10 games three times in four years. Bill Blankenship won 11 games in 2012. And Montgomery had a 10-win season. This isn’t a program that hasn’t experienced any success.
The Golden Hurricane have played in 12 bowl games since 2003. That should be the standard, and every coach in that period has won at a high level for at least one season. It’s possible to win here.
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Where does this rank among open jobs?
Among G5 schools, the other open jobs at the moment are FAU, Texas State, UAB and USF. This job probably ranks ahead of Texas State because of the money available to pay a coach and its conference, but the limited resources put it behind the other three. There will also surely be more open jobs as the cycle plays out.
So what names could get in the mix?
The list starts with Incarnate Word head coach G.J. Kinne, who played quarterback at Tulsa from 2008 to 2011. Kinne has made a splash in his first year as a head coach, as the San Antonio-based school is 10-1 and ranked in the top five of the FCS. The Cardinals lead the FCS in scoring at 52.9 points per game. Kinne took over a strong program from Eric Morris. After Morris took quarterback Cam Ward with him to Washington State, QB Lindsey Scott is putting up eye-popping numbers with 50 passing touchdowns in 11 games. Kinne began coaching in 2017 and spent last year as UCF’s co-offensive coordinator. He could have a few suitors in this cycle.
Arkansas defensive coordinator Barry Odom has been in the mix for a few head coaching jobs over the past few years. The Oklahoma native went 25-25 in four years at Missouri from 2016 to 2019, with two bowl games and only one losing season. Arkansas’ scoring defense improved from 124th the year before he arrived to 39th in his second season last year, though this year’s team regressed.
Texas wide receivers coach Brennan Marion is another former Tulsa player. He had two prolific seasons in 2007 and 2008, twice leading the nation in yards per catch. He’s moved up the coaching ranks and developed a unique “GoGo” offensive scheme, used as offensive coordinator at Howard and William & Mary. With Marion as Pitt’s wide receivers coach in 2021, Jordan Addison won the Biletnikoff Award as the nation’s top receiver. Marion just finished his first year at Texas.
Former Virginia Tech head coach Justin Fuente is an Oklahoma native with deep ties in the region and 10 years of head coaching experience. He built Memphis from one of the worst situations in the country into a conference champion in his third season. He won 19 games in his first two seasons at Virginia Tech, but things unraveled down the stretch. He finished with a 43-31 record in Blacksburg. Fuente has also been mentioned for the UAB job and some other potential openings.
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Former Texas Tech head coach Matt Wells was a Tulsa assistant from 2002 to 2006, and he spent this season as an analyst at Oklahoma. Wells has a 57-51 record as a coach, including 44-34 at Utah State with two 10-win seasons. He slowly improved at Texas Tech, from 4-8 to 4-6 to 5-3, but he was fired before the end of his third season.
Purdue wide receivers coach Garrick McGee is a Tulsa native who played at Oklahoma and Northeastern Oklahoma A&M. He went 5-19 as UAB’s head coach from 2012 to 2013, but that was a decade ago at a time when the program was on its last legs. He helped develop Lamar Jackson into a Heisman Trophy winner as Louisville’s offensive coordinator, and Purdue wide receiver Charlie Jones leads the Big Ten in receptions and receiving yards this year.
Sam Houston head coach K.C. Keeler won the spring 2021 FCS national championship and has five top-six finishes since 2014. But the Bearkats are moving up to the FBS next season to be a part of Conference USA. This year’s team went 5-4 in part because a large number of starters are redshirting with Sam Houston not able to compete in the FCS playoffs as a transitioning school. Keeler still needs a new contract for the FBS move. Tulsa could offer a lot more money in a conference with greater prestige.
Kansas State cornerbacks coach Van Malone was a Tulsa assistant from 2010 to 2011, followed by three years at Oklahoma State. The Texas naive has been at Kansas State since 2019, and this year’s Wildcats defense ranks 15th nationally in yards per pass allowed.
Ohio head coach Tim Albin has also been contacted about the job, a person with knowledge of the search told The Athletic’s Stewart Mandel. Albin is an Oklahoma native who played and coached in the state from 1985 to 1999. He spent three years as Northwestern Oklahoma State’s head coach, including a 13-0 record and NAIA championship in 1999. He’s been at Ohio since 2005, serving as the offensive coordinator until promotion to head coach ahead of the 2021 season. After a 3-9 debut, the Bobcats bounced back to 9-3 this season and will play for the MAC championship.
TCU defensive coordinator Joe Gillespie has played a pivotal role in TCU’s undefeated regular season and potential College Football Playoff run. The Stephenville, Texas, native spent 21 years at Stephenville High School, including the last eight years as head coach. From there, he spent six years at Tulsa, including three as defensive coordinator, before TCU hired him. The Horned Frogs shut down Texas this season and have consistently made halftime adjustments to bury opponents in the second half.
(Top photo: Petre Thomas / USA Today)
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