OPINION

By Matt Hayes

updated 5:28 p.m. ET March 11, 2008

We may never see another offseason of coaching turnover like this winter, when 18 schools changed coaches — and 11 were BCS schools.

Of the 11 changes at BCS schools, six were retreads: former BCS or NFL coaches.

"You don't take chances with revenue on the line," says one BCS athletic director.

Translation: One bad hire — or one bad reach — can set a program back years. Which, in turn, can send an athletic department deep into the red.

Then again, one great, unexpected find can lead to unthinkable heights.

Going into spring practice, here are five coaches worth the risk next winter — when yet another round of coaching turnover begins:

Bronco Mendenhall, BYU
The initial thought: Mendenhall could be in Provo for the rest of his career. He's the perfect fit. But look a little deeper. BYU is notoriously cheap when it comes to coaching salaries, and Mendenhall is the game's most undervalued and overlooked coach/motivator.

Those close to him say he's not a coaching lifer; he's not a guy who wants to grind away for 20 or more years. And, yes, they say he could be pried away from BYU. He's young, he's charismatic, and he thrives on challenges.

Oh yeah, he has won 28 games in three seasons after inheriting an utter mess on and off the field. And BYU is the toughest university to recruit for in the country.

Al Golden, Temple
Everyone — OK, everyone in Los Angeles — laughed when UCLA went after Golden. Forget about what has happened on the field at Temple, a Division I-A school with a Division II mentality.

Golden is an organizer, a meticulous maniac who many have compared to Giants coach Tom Coughlin. In the right situation — which is to say, anywhere but Temple — Golden will thrive.

Tim Murphy, Harvard
If things don't work out with Charlie Weis at Notre Dame — I think they will — don't be shocked if ND athletic director Kevin White goes after Murphy.

This isn't the same coach who struggled through some uneven seasons at Cincinnati in the early 1990s. This is a coach who has redefined offense in the Ivy League with his pass-oriented scheme, and a guy who graduates players because, well, there is no alternative.

One more thing: he's 9-5 vs. Yale, which, in case you haven't heard, is a damn big game. This past season, Yale went into The Game unbeaten and was giving up 11.1 points per game.

Harvard won 37-6 in New Haven. Any questions?

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Todd Graham, Tulsa
Graham should have had a BCS job last fall, but some athletic directors were scared off because he jumped from Rice after one season to return to Tulsa. In other words, it's hard to sell a coach who would have been in his third job in three years.

Make no mistake. It won't happen again this fall. As long as Tulsa takes another positive step — and there's nothing to indicate it won't — he's a lock for a BCS job. An intense, focused coach who relates to high school kids on the recruiting trail. Another Ron Zook.

Bobby Hauck, Montana
There have been a few off-field problems under Hauck, but there aren't many better Xs and Os guys in the lower divisions. Besides, what coach hasn't had to deal with off-field issues?

Coaching at Montana is kind of like coaching at Alabama: a ton of history and tradition to live up to, and a bitter in-state rival to deal with 365 days a year. Meanwhile, Hauck is 53-14 in five seasons. The only negative: His teams have lost three times in the first round of the NCAAs. Still, national runner-up (2004) and national semifinalist (2006) finishes balance that out.

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