Yea, Kriby's been a huge bust in Athens.
For every Kirby there's a Macelwian. And a Muschamp. Also a Strong, a Kiffin, and a Shannon.
Maybe those guys weren't "elite" per se, but each of them was respected as an assistant, and sucked it as a HC. Point is, being a great assistant doesn't have a lot to do with how good a HC you are.
And don't yell at me about Shannon, it wan't until after he sucked as a HC that people decided his defenses weren't that great.
This is utter and complete nonsense. Many coordinators go on to be great head coaches:
Jimmy Johnson
Bob Stoops
Mark Richt
Steve Spurrier
Pete Carroll
David Shaw
What's nonsense is the idea that head coaches are scary because they're offensive/defensive masterminds. That's what makes a great OC/DC, not HC.
What you want in a coach is management skill and charisma- the ability to motivate and make people want to be part of what you're doing. If you don't have that, the rest doesn't matter. Chip Kelly isn't going to win a NC because people don't like him that much. He'll have trouble getting along with boosters and attracting top kids. He'll do well, but I'm not worried about seeing him in the CFP. Same with Leech...put him at whatever school you want, he'll never win a NC.
This is a moving the goal posts and changing the argument post.
Simply there is no blue print to follow or mold that makes a successful coach or not at a specific place. You have offensive/defensive masterminds be successful.....you have CEO types be successful, you have guys who pay their dues at stepping stone programs, you have guys who make the jump directly from an assistant to big time programs. You have Type A and Type B personalities, you have players coaches and bully coaches.
You can come up with a list of successes and failures for every type of scenario.
PS: When that fluke play happened in the Auburn/Oregon National Title game that led to Auburn winning in the last minute.....was that because people didn't like Chip Kelly and he didn't get along with boosters. Nobody likes Saban and he can't get along with anyone....so why does that apply to Chip Kelly and not Saban?