A look at first-year college football coaches

Somewhere along the line, the annual shuffling of college football coaches started being referred to as the “coaching carousel.”

Actually, it can appear more like a game of musical chairs. You could also call it a swap meet.

Mark Richt is out at Georgia, and in at Miami. Kirby Smart is no longer Nick Saban’s right-hand man at Alabama; he’s now in charge at Southeastern Conference rival Georgia.

And so it goes.

This fall, 15 major-college programs are being led by new-to-those-universities coaches.

Along with Miami, Georgia and USC, which now has Clay Helton at the helm, there were also changes at Baylor and South Carolina. Here’s a look at those situations and others from the Power Five conferences and a top independent:

Baylor: Jim Grobe

Art Briles led Baylor to a 32-7 record over the last three seasons, but was fired on May 25 for reasons that transcend football.

Briles left on the heels of an external investigation that revealed university-wide misconduct surrounding multiple sexual assault allegations against some football players. Grobe was hired as Baylor’s “acting head coach” after taking two seasons off; he previously coached at Ohio (1995–2000) and Wake Forest (2001–13).

Grobe’s current contract is just for 2016, and he’ll try to hedge an already tumultuous transition by keeping the program’s staff and overall schemes intact. With a lot to sort out off the field, the Bears return enough pieces to be competitive in the Big 12 Conference; the Bears were 6-3 in conference games last season.

“I’m not here to replace Art, I’m really here to try to help these kids get through this tough time,” Grobe said at his introductory news conference. “And I think that’s echoed in the willingness to keep the staff together, not bring in my own people, and not try to make a bunch of changes.”

South Carolina: Will Muschamp

It may be impossible to replace Steve Spurrier, but that’s the challenge Will Muschamp faces as he takes over in South Carolina.

Spurrier, who started with the Gamecocks in 2005, resigned on Oct. 13, 2015, with an 85-49 record with the program.

Muschamp was Auburn’s defensive coordinator at the time, and this will be his second head coaching gig. He led Florida for four seasons. Before that, he was the hottest commodity among major college assistants, as the offensive coordinator at Texas.

South Carolina finished 3-9 last season, graduated a premier player on each side of the ball — including Rams wide receiver Pharoh Cooper — and could start freshman Brandon McIlwain at quarterback. So Muschamp has his work cut out for him.

“As I told the players, change is inevitable in life and growth is optional,” Muschamp said at his introductory news conference. “We’re going to do things a certain way. There’s only one Coach Spurrier, let’s be honest. I’m going to be Will Muschamp.”

Miami: Mark Richt

After 15 seasons and two Southeastern Conference titles with Georgia, Mark Richt left the Bulldogs after he and the school reached a “mutual agreement.”

Richt later indicated that it wasn’t his choice, but it led him one state south to coach Miami, where as a player he once backed up NFL Hall of Fame quarterback Jim Kelly.

Richt takes over for Larry Scott, who took over for Al Golden after he was fired in the wake of a 4-3 start to 2015. Miami returns a few talented playmakers, and has an experienced quarterback in Brad Kaaya. But a handful of question marks on defense should bar the Hurricanes from contention for an Atlantic Coast Conference championship for at least one more season.

“Last time I was more scared; I’ve never been a head coach and I’m doing a fake-it-till-I-make-it kind of thing,” Richt said when he started at Georgia. “This time around … I do have a very clear vision of what I think it’s going to take, what I want to get done and how I want it to get done.”

Georgia: Kirby Smart

Kirby Smart’s ties to Georgia run deep. He was a defensive back for the Bulldogs from 1995-98, an administrative assistant in 1999 and the running backs coachin 2005.

Now he is in charge, replacing Richt with a goal to win more than 10 games for the first time since 2012.

Smart will have to shore up the Bulldogs’ front seven on defense, and hope a handful of unproven playmakers shine should running back Nick Chubb sputter in his return from a serious knee injury.

Asked if he was under pressure taking over at his alma mater, Smart said, “No greater pressure than I put on myself, I can promise you that. That’s the way it should be.”

The rest of the shuffle:

Brigham Young (9-4 last season)

In: Kalani Sitake. Out: Bronco Mendenhall.

Reason for the change: Mendenhall left to be the coach at Virginia.

Illinois (5-7)

In: Lovie Smith. Out: Bill Cubit.

Reason: Performance

Iowa State (3-9)

In: Matt Campbell. Out: Paul Rhoads.

Reason: Performance

Maryland (3-9)

In: D.J. Durkin. Out: Randy Edsall/Mike Locksley.

Reason: Edsall was fired after a 2-4 start, and Locksley was not retained after serving as interim coach.

Minnesota (6-7)

In: Tracy Claeys. Out: Jerry Kill.

Reason: Kill had to step down because of health problems; Claeys was hired after serving as interim coach in 2015.

Missouri (5-7)

In: Barry Odom. Out: Gary Pinkel.

Reason: Pinkel resigned at the end of the 2015 season because of health reasons.

Rutgers (4-8)

In: Chris Ash. Out: Kyle Flood.

Reason: Performance. (Flood was also suspended for three games in 2015 after an internal investigation of potential rules violations and a handful of off-field incidents involving his players.)

Syracuse (4-8)

In: Dino Babers. Out: Scott Shafer.

Reason: Performance

USC (8-6)

In: Clay Helton. Out: Steve Sarkisian

Reason: Performance and personal issues; Helton was retained after two stints as interim coach.

Virginia (4-8)

In: Bronco Mendenhall. Out: Mike London.

Reason: Performance

Virginia Tech (7-6)

In: Justin Fuente. Out: Frank Beamer

Reason: Retirement

jesse.dougherty@latimes.com

Twitter: @dougherty_jesse