Rival Views: Which head coach made the most puzzling move?

Rivals.com National Recruiting Director Mike Farrell and National Recruiting Analyst Adam Gorney don’t always see eye to eye. In this edition of Rival Views, the two debate about which new head coach made the most puzzling decision.

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No coach made a more puzzling decision this offseson than Matt Rhule jumping to Baylor. I know he got a sweetheart deal compared to what he would have gotten at Temple, and it’s obvious he was ready to get out of Philadelphia. But Baylor? He has zero ties to the area, the sexual assault scandals will continue to follow and haunt the program and Baylor doesn’t have a rich tradition of winning to fall back on.

Many said Bill O’Brien was crazy for taking Penn State following its scandal. That was a huge risk, but the Nittany Lions have an amazing fan base, a community that supports the team blindly and a long tradition in a power conference. Baylor has none of that – certainly not to the extent of Penn State.

Rhule could have waited and jumped on a Power Five job next season where he wouldn’t be starting from scratch in recruiting.

Lane Kiffin has been a fantastic offensive coordinator for three seasons at Alabama and now he’s taking over a challenge at FAU. Reports also say that he’ll take a pretty significant pay cut to become a head coach again.

Kiffin has really reinvented his coaching career with the Crimson Tide and has shown more maturity than during debacles as head coach with the Oakland Raiders and then at Tennessee and USC.

This hire seems odd for many reasons - Kiffin could have probably gotten a higher-profile job after next season and can anyone really be a big-time winner at FAU among other things – but this move is all about Kiffin continuing to rebuild his career.

Kiffin needs to prove he has the ability to lead a program, not just call plays for the nation’s most dominant team. Running an entire team is completely different and to move up into a bigger job in the coming years, Kiffin has to prove he’s capable of doing it well.

He didn’t do it with his three head coaching stints. But his time at Alabama has started the process of rebuilding his reputation.

Maybe Kiffin has learned a ton from Alabama coach Nick Saban during his three years in Tuscaloosa. He’d be a fool to have not.

Like every year, there will be plenty of major jobs open after next season. One year at FAU, if things go well and Kiffin proves he’s capable of running a program without making it a mess, then he’d be an even more attractive candidate.

My guess: Kiffin rents in Boca Raton. He probably won’t be there long.