The college football offseason is always filled with coaching changes (some excellent, some perplexing), but a hire made by UCF head coach George O’Leary really managed to stand out.
O’Leary was left with a vacancy on his coaching staff when defensive coordinator Tyson Summers left to join new head coach Mike Bobo at Colorado State in late December. Summers had spent the past three seasons with the Knights, serving as the team’s linebackers coach in 2012 and 2013 before taking over as defensive coordinator this past year.
The loss of Summers, who has been an excellent coach and recruiter for UCF, was a bit of a surprise, but not nearly as newsworthy as the man O’Leary chose as his successor: Chuck Bresnahan.
The selection of Bresnahan was a bit surprising for a variety of reasons, most notably the fact that he had been fired a month earlier by rival USF. While the hiring of Bresnahan by the Knights does add another layer to this blooming rivalry, it’s still a bit perplexing.
O’Leary and Bresnahan do have a little bit of history, as they both served on Bobby Ross’ coaching staff at Georgia Tech when the Yellow Jackets won a share of the national championship in 1990.
However, before joining Willie Taggart’s staff at South Florida in 2013, Bresnahan hadn’t coached at the collegiate level since 1993. Given that one of Summers’ greatest strengths was his recruiting ability, hiring a guy to replace him that hasn’t been within the college ranks for the better part of the last two decades seems a little questionable.
Over the last 20-plus years, Bresnahan has spent most of his time coaching in the NFL, including serving as defensive coordinator for the Cincinnati Bengals and the Oakland Raiders (on two separate occasions).
He first served as Oakland’s defensive coordinator from 2000 to 2003, during which the Raiders ranked 9th, 19th, 6th and 25th in points allowed and 15th, 14th, 11th and 30th in yards allowed. Bresnahan returned as defensive coordinator for one season in 2011, during which Oakland gave up the fourth-most points and yards in the league.
His tenure in Cincinnati lasted from 2005 to 2007, with the Bengals ranking 22nd, 17th and 24th in points allowed and 28th, 30th and 27th in yards allowed. Bresnahan also spent time coaching in the now-defunct United Football League.
Aside from a few seasons during the Raiders’ brief resurgence at the turn of the millennium, Bresnahan’s defenses haven’t typically fared well, which also calls into question why O’Leary would make this retread coaching hire.
However, there isn’t too much for UCF fans to worry about, as the Knights defense has almost always been solid during O’Leary’s tenure, regardless of the coordinator. Though it will be interesting to see if Bresnahan stays on whenever O’Leary does decide to call it a career.
If nothing else, Bresnahan’s move up Interstate 4 will add a little extra something when the Knights and the Bulls square off on Thanksgiving weekend.
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