Former UNC and NFL wide receiver Ryan Switzer was announced as the interim head coach for Tulsa University in a surprising move for the mid-major program in Texas.
Switzer previously served as the wide receivers coach and recruiting coordinator for former Tulsa head coach Kevin Wilson and quickly garnered respect in the college coaching community for his recruiting chops. In fact, many outlets have tapped Switzer as an elite recruiter just a year and a half into his college coaching career.
Fans of college football remember Switzer fondly for his record-setting college career at the University of North Carolina where he was a two-time, first-team All-American for the Tar Heels. His specialty was his electric ability to return punts and kick-offs for which he was arguably considered the best return man in college football during his time in Chapel Hill.
After a very productive college career, Switzer was drafted in the 4th round to the Dallas Cowboys and bounced around the league playing for the Cowboys, Raiders, Steelers, and Browns amidst a 5-year NFL career. Switzer retired from the NFL in 2021 and took a year off from football before joining the Tulsa staff in 2023.
Even though Switzer has the interim tag, it would seem like he has a clear path to the full-time job with the ability to audition as the head coach in the last game of the season against FAU. However bad Tulsa’s struggles have been this year, FAU has probably had it worse than anyone. FAU recently fired their head coach as well and in the minds of many college football experts have the worst team in FBS.
Another factor in Switzer’s favor was his previous job as recruiting coordinator under Kevin Wilson. While recruiting website rankings should be taken with a grain of salt, under Switzer’s tenure as recruiting coordinator Tulsa jumped from last in the AAC to the second-best recruiting class in the conference in just two years' time under Switzer.
With an in-depth knowledge of the current roster, his elite ability to bring recruits in, and a cupcake matchup to audition with, it feels as though you could take it to the bank that Switzer will be tapped as the official head coach of the Tulsa program this offseason.
At just 30 years old, Switzer will be the youngest head coach of a Division 1 program when the Golden Hurricanes take the field this Saturday. Provided Tulsa takes the interim tag off this offseason, Switzer will be the youngest head coach in Division 1 history replacing Kenny Dillingham at Arizona State who was 32 when hired.
