Three-Point Stance: Grading hires, Quinn Ewers, top assistants

Rivals National Columnist Mike Farrell is here ranking all the Power Five hires, talks how important Quinn Ewers is to Steve Sarkisian and names five assistant coaches who will be head coaches very soon.

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Now that the Power Five coaching carousel appears to have stopped at the head coach level, here's how I would grade all of the hires up to this point:

Mario Cristobal, Miami: A-plus — You can’t do better than this for Miami when it comes to a coach many wanted who can recruit the heck out of the Southeast. If this doesn’t work for the Hurricanes, I don’t know what will.

Brian Kelly, LSU: A-plus — The winningest coach at Notre Dame with a massive recruiting advantage in Louisiana and no academic worries. Yes, please.

Lincoln Riley, USC: A-plus — The Trojans needed a huge splash of a hire after years of boring and Riley is that home run. He will have recruits lining up and the Trojans will be in the playoff soon.

Brent Venables, Oklahoma: B - He’s a tremendous coach but the only thing I worry about is how Oklahoma has made its mark as an explosive offensive team so a defensive coach may struggle early.

Brent Pry, Virginia Tech: B — I like this hire because Pry has ties to Blacksburg and learned under Bud Foster. The Hokies needed a return to tradition and that's what they got.

Dan Lanning, Oregon: B — Another defensive coach and another solid hire, Lanning should do well out West but has big shoes to fill in recruiting.

Sonny Dykes, TCU: B — Following a legend isn’t easy but Dykes will bring more of an offensive reputation to the Horned Frogs, which is needed in the Big 12.

Marcus Freeman, Notre Dame: B-minus — My main concern is his lack of experience as a head coach and how lofty expectations will be following Kelly. He’s got a big job ahead of him.

Joey McGuire, Texas Tech: B-minus — He will help recruiting for sure in the state and that should lead to a more talented roster, so this should be a solid hire.

Kalen DeBoer, Washington: C-plus — This isn’t a splashy hire and the Huskies are still a long way from where Chris Petersen had them but DeBoer will sell offense.

Billy Napier, Florida: C-plus — My worry here? Napier has to rip Florida down to the foundation when it comes to recruiting and player assessment, and that takes time. And the Gators are not a patient program.

Mike Elko, Duke: C-plus — He’s a good fit here as he recruited at Notre Dame so he knows academics but a defensive coach at Duke could struggle following David Cutcliffe.

Tony Elliott, Virginia: C — I liked him for the Vols' opening a year ago but this year at Clemson I didn’t see a ton on offense that impressed me and UVa is a tougher job.

Jack Dickert, Washington State: C — It’s fine to promote from within but at a place that’s hard to recruit, this isn’t a big enough name.

Former Ohio State quarterback Quinn Ewers, as expected, announced Sunday that he would be transferring to Texas.

Ewers will make or break the Texas head coaching career of Steve Sarkisian. Yep. In this day and age, when head coaches are lasting three or four seasons at best if they struggle, Ewers is that important to Sarkisian following the program's 5-7 season in 2021.

The nation’s No. 1 overall prospect in the class of 2021, Ewers is an in-state star with rare arm strength and the ability to do Trevor Lawrence things early in his career. And, of course, the expectation is that he will have to start immediately next season.

It’s kind of all or nothing for Sarkisian with his new quarterback. Neither Hudson Card nor Casey Thompson showed that they were the Longhorns' quarterback of the future in 2021. If Ewers ends up being ineffective, will Sarkisian have an opportunity to start a fourth quarterback?

Mack Brown had a couple of misses at quarterback, namely Garrett Gilbert, but by the time Gilbert flamed out Brown had already won a national championship at Texas and played for another. Did Brown get lucky with Colt McCoy? Perhaps. But Sark won’t have that time or luck, and he certainly isn’t coming off a good season.

Ewers will either propel Sarkisian and Texas into the SEC with a Big 12 title game appearance or he’ll be solid, get drafted based off his measurables and Sark will be in the unemployment line. There's no middle ground.

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Finally, here’s a look at five assistant coaches who will get their turn as a Power Five head coach sooner than later.

Jeff Lebby - Lebby helped turn Ole Miss' offense into one of the best in the country over the past two seasons. Now, he's off to his alma mater Oklahoma as arguably Brent Venables' most important staff hires, but don't expect Lebby to stick around very long. His name was in the mix for a variety of head coaching openings this season and, if the Sooners' offense is strong again in 2022, he'll be in line for a big opening next year.

Bill O'Brien - The latest former head coach to take a turn at the Nick Saban rehabilitation program, O'Brien helped mold Bryce Young into a Heisman Trophy winner. Between O'Brien's time at Penn State and tenure with the Houston Texans, O'Brien is sure to get a lot of looks from Power Five programs.

Jim Leonhard - Leonhard turned down the opportunity to be the Packers' defensive coordinator last offseason to stick around in Madison, and once again was the mastermind behind one of college football's best defenses. The Badgers have ranked in the top 10 nationally every year under Leonhard. The biggest question for him is whether or not he wants to leave his home state and the school where he was a three-time All-American.

Josh Gattis - The Broyles Award winner this year, Gattis completely revamped Michigan's offense into one of the strongest rushing attacks in the country. A young guy with experience at a number of big-name programs, including Penn State and Alabama, Gattis is the kind of young, dynamic coach with a strong recruiting reputation that schools covet.

Alex Grinch - The new USC defensive coordinator has been in the mix for a litany of head coaching positions over the past couple of cycles but has been waiting to find the right opening. His experience at Washington State, Ohio State and Oklahoma, along with his recruiting prowess, will make him one of the most sought-after names next season.