Recent college football hires favor younger coaches with energy, strong recruiting history

Gophers athletic director Mark Coyle said he plans to move quickly hiring a new football coach.

A swift decision-making process could mean Coyle already has a candidate in mind and will not be swayed by the hiring trends seen throughout college football.

Recent hires favor younger candidates with a lot of energy and a great recruiting history. So naturally, this could be the makeup Coyle is looking for.

Major college football recent hires:

Willie Taggart
Age: 40
New job: Hired by Oregon on Dec. 7
Salary: $2.9 million
Taggart, a former quarterback at Western Kentucky, who spent 11 seasons coaching at his alma mater including three as head coach, is one of the rising stars in the college football coaching ranks. He most recently spent four seasons at South Florida, leading the Bulls to a 10-2 season before leaving for Oregon.

Tom Herman
Age: 41
New job: Hired by Texas on Dec. 27.
Salary: $5.25 million
Herman is another young rising star. He spent just two seasons as a head coach at Houston before being hired by Texas. He led the Cougars to a 13-1 record and finished ranked No. 8 in the nation in his first season. Houston was 9-3 this season. The offensive-minded coach has a strong track record of successfully recruiting the best players in Texas.

Lane Kiffin
Age: 41
New job: Hired by Florida Atlantic on Dec. 12
Salary: $1 million
Kiffin, a graduate of Bloomington Jefferson High School, has coaching experience at several of the most premiere college football programs in the country and at one-time was the youngest head coach in NFL history. He coached the Oakland Raiders, at Tennessee, Southern California and most recently the was the offensive coordinator at Alabama.

Matt Rhule
Age: 41
New job: Hired by Baylor on Dec. 6
Salary: Baylor, a private school, does not release salary details
Rhule is known for his work as a defensive coach, but has a well-rounded background coaching offense and special teams. His high-energy coaching style is credited for leading Temple to back-to-back 10-win seasons for the first time in program history. Rhule played college football at Penn State.

Luke Fickell
Age: 43
New job: Hired by Cincinnati on Dec. 10
Salary: $2.3 million
Fickell has spent most of his adult life at Ohio State and is known for his defensive expertise. After playing for the Buckeyes in the mid-90s, he has spent 16 seasons on the coaching staff including a stint as interim head coach in 2011. He was the co-defensive coordinator/linebackers coach and responsible for much of the team's recruiting under head coach Urban Meyer.

Jeff Brohm
Age: 45
New job: Hired by Purdue on Dec. 5
Salary: $3.3 million
Brohm, a former NFL quarterback, spent the past three seasons at Western Kentucky, leading the program to a 30-10 record, back-to-back conference championships, and three bowl game victories. His 14 years of coaching experience include two seasons in the Big Ten as the quarterbacks coach at Illinois from 2010-2011.

Tom Allen
Age: 46
New job: Hired/promoted by Indiana on Dec. 1
Salary: TBD
Allen was promoted to head coach after one season as the team's defensive coordinator. The Indiana native is a former high school football coach and is expected to have a strong pull in recruiting the best in-state talent. He was a nominee for the 2016 Broyles Award honoring the nation's top assistant coach.

Randy Edsall
Age: 58
New job: Hired by Connecticut on Dec. 28
Salary: $1 million
Edsall is returning to UConn for a second stint as the program's head coach. He led the Huskies for 12 seasons from 1999-2010 before leaving for the head coaching job at Maryland, where he was eventually fired in 2015. The veteran coach also has NFL experience, most recently with the Detroit Lions.