20. Andy Enfield (SMU)
You could certainly say that Enfield was involved in one of the most surprising head coaching movies of the offseason, at least on the surface. He had made his name known for Florida Gulf Coast’s run to the Sweet Sixteen back in 2013 but had experienced limited success over the last eleven years at USC. Instead of continuing, perhaps as something of a lame duck in the year or years to come, Enfield departed for SMU.
The Mustangs actually made great progress last season, doubling their win total to 20 games in their final season in the AAC. They still made the decision to fire Rob Lanier and Enfield had significant work to do to salvage a winning roster. The result has been inspiring, as an SMU squad picked to finish 16th in their first season in the ACC currently owns a 5-3 league record and a legitimate path ahead to the NCAA Tournament.
Despite this quick success, Enfield’s team has struggled against superior opponents and you likely aren’t going to see him even taking home the ACC honors for top coach. Regardless, he made a proactive move after things got stale with the Trojans and is passing the early tests with a new-look roster. The next stage is securing this team’s future, as they’ll need to stockpile wins in the coming weeks if they want a sniff at the Big Dance.