Liberty is weird. Hugh Freeze had them at about an 8 win floor. Freeze has six wins at Auburn, with three in conference, at a school with great recruiting. It looks like it’s easier to win at Liberty than here—maybe a lot easier.
I’m comfortable saying Chadwell is a better coach than Freeze, and Kiffin is a better coach than Freeze. That doesn’t mean that Chadwell would have a much better record HERE. It also doesn’t mean he’s a better coach than Key. Our offense is pretty good, and our defense is not, which is pretty similar to what we might get with Chadwell.
I was rooting for getting Chadwell here. We did get a pretty decent offense here, and it can get more interesting. What we need is more depth and better defense. I’m not sure Chadwell solves those problems.
Thought experiment: we hire Chadwell, and he’s better than Key. With him, let’s say we beat BG and BC but lose to Miami, so we’re one game better at this part of the season. Let’s say we score another touchdown against Clemson and Ole Miss, so we still lose big. What’s the vibe of the fan base then?
My bet is that half the board here would be saying he’s overrated.
If you swapped our schedule with Liberty’s, we’re probably 8-2 or 9-1, with at least one inexplicable loss.
On the other hand, If Chadwell coached our team, is he the kind of coach that removes the inexplicable loss from our record? Johnson had them against Middle Tennessee and Kansas. It seems like it’s a thing we do most years.