One of the beauties of college football is the pairing of former players who were legends coaching for their respective alma maters. While some of those legends have now retired, there are still a handful of former stars that are still head coaches for their old teams.
There are obviously more than just a handful of former players coaching for their former programs, but only a few were actually considered star players during their playing days. For the athletic directors, these were relatively easy hires knowing that the fans would likely rally around a former star running the program.