3-Point Stance: Hottest Portal Teams, Biggest 2023 Expectations, Underrated Coaches

Coaches with the Highest Expectations for 2023

— Ready for some high expectations? These coaches are going to know pressure next season. This isn’t a hot seat thing, it’s just eyes of the world on them expecting great things which are unlikely to happen.

1. Deion Sanders, Colorado

I'm not sure there's ever been more hype around the hiring of a head coach than what we've seen over the past couple weeks in Boulder. But that hype brings massive expectations, and the Buffs' roster is in shambles. Don't be shocked when they're 4-8 and some of the shine has worn off.

2. Jeff Brohm, Louisville

People who assume that the prodigal son is going to return home and magically get double-digit wins out of this team are sorely mistaken. There are serious issues with the offensive line that won't be fixed overnight, as well as a defense that has a lot of holes to fill.

3. Sonny Dykes, TCU

What Dykes and the Frogs have done this year is nothing short of miraculous. Making it to the CFP as the first non-Oklahoma Big XII team and looking dominant in the process was something that almost no one was expecting to happen. But with success comes expectations, and next year's team won’t be as loaded. It's hard enough to catch lightning in a bottle once. Twice might be too much to ask for.

4. Brian Kelly, LSU

The Tigers came on very strong down the stretch, and they'll be expected to be even better in 2023 as they fully embrace Brian Kelly's system. But they caught Alabama on a down year and it's going to be a very tall task to defeat the Tide in consecutive seasons. And let’s not forget the SEC West has to be better as this was one of the worst years for the division in ages.

5. Josh Heupel, Tennessee

Much like Sonny Dykes, Heupel will have a ton of pieces to replace from a historic offense in Knoxville. But now that Volunteers fans have gotten a taste for success, they are thirsty for a lot more even though they are still a couple of seasons away from truly being able to compete with Georgia in the SEC East.

Most Underrated Coaches

— And while the above coaches deal with the nightmare of expectations, these coaches just keep winning in silence.

1, Jonathan Smith, Oregon State

This man deserves every penny he's getting from his recent extension. People forget just how bad a shape this program was in at the end of the Gary Andersen era and he's managed to get the Beavers on the precipice of double-digit wins for the first time in a decade. And it's not a fluke - he's not grabbing a ton of kids out of the portal à la Mel Tucker and hoping it all works out. 

2. Willie Fritz, Tulane

Tulane football hadn't been relevant since Shaun King was taking snaps for the Green Wave back in the 1990's, and Fritz has them playing in a New Year's Six game after winning a very difficult AAC. The former Georgia Southern coach has also proven that old dogs can still learn new tricks, as he's adapted the old-school triple option attack he used in Statesboro and completely revamped it into one of the truly unique offenses in the game.

3. Chip Kelly, UCLA

I still don't quite understand why so many people in the national media are down on Kelly as a coach. He guided Dorian Thompson-Robinson to breaking nearly every single record Bruins passing record in the books, had the team ranked in the top 10 for a good while this season and has them in a great position on the recruiting trail. I'm not sure what there isn't to love about how things have gone so far in Westwood for him.

4. PJ Fleck, Minnesota

All he does is keep on winning. So even if they didn't win a division that was right there for the taking this year, this man can flat-out coach. He's done a great job of turning a Gophers team that was seemingly eternally mediocre and made them competitive year-in and year-out.

5. Joey McGuire, Texas Tech

I love this guy. He's such a perfect fit in Lubbock, and the results are there even earlier than expected. The Red Raiders finished fourth in the conference, beat Texas in an epic game, and are moving 100% in the right direction. McGuire is a coach's coach, and I've been saying all along just how strong his ties are to the Texas high school football coaching community and how that is going to pay dividends down the line. Well, turns out, it already is.