Coaches on the Hot Seat

Around and around the coaching carousel spins, each rotation providing a change to the coaching landscape.  It’s time to take a look at coaches on the proverbial hot seat.  I’ll start with the top 5 coaches in “Boiling Water”; the one’s whose necks are on the line and need to get it done now, followed by the top 5 coaches sitting in “Caribbean Water”.   Basking in the tepid water, these coaches have until next year to prove their worth, but the sharks are circling…

“Boiling Water”

1.     Frank Spaziani – Boston College

Can you guess this year’s BC spring game attendance?  I’ll help you narrow it down, it didn’t break a thousand.  A grand total of 200, yes 200!  Lack of fan support stems from a lack of winning and what has BC not done lately?  Win.  What the hell happened to Boston College?  Now, they were never a perennial powerhouse, but the team was a consistent 8-9 win team.  Before Spaziani took the program to the league basement, BC averaged 10 wins a season in the three years prior to his hiring.  Two of those seasons they played for the conference championship!  Even if BC turns it around and gets bowl eligible, I don’t know if that’s enough to save his job.

2.     Robb Akey - Idaho

You would think with a record of 19-43 Robb Akey would sit atop the hot seat throne, but the lack of historic football success makes his bowl appearance in the 2009 season relevant in fans’ minds.  But, despite leading the Vandals to their second bowl appearance all-time, you can’t continue to post losing conference records in the WAC and expect to keep a job.

3.     Mike Riley – Oregon State

Oregon State may come up with a few upsets here and there, but they are consistently a mid-tier team, unable to take the next step into conference dominance.  Unfortunately, that’s not the case out in Eugene.  With the emergence of Oregon as an annual national championship contender, the pressure is on in Corvallis to start producing trips to “The Granddaddy of Them All.”   I’m sure if you ask anyone around Coravllis, the “Civil War” is the biggest game on the schedule every year and a 3-6 record is one way to lose your job.

4.     Jeff Tedford – Cal

Much like Mike Riley, Jeff Tedford doesn’t seem to be able to get Cal to the next level.  There comes a time when programs need to step back and say “Yeah, you did great things for us, but we need to go in a different direction.”  I think that time has come for Mr. Tedford.  The Bears may have won a share of the conference title (that didn’t even bring a Rose Bowl trip), but the program has continued to dip since that title, and with top 25 recruiting classes the last three years, if Cal can’t contend for the conference title now, when will they?  If football success isn’t reason enough to cut the cord, maybe the financial situation of the state of California is.

5.     Tommy Tuberville – Texas Tech

It’s ridiculous to think that a coach with only two years at a program can already be on the hot seat, but that’s the situation we live in today.  If it wasn’t for the success of his predecessor, Mike Leach, and the resentment that fans feel about how Leach was fired, maybe we wouldn’t be discussing Tommy.  But unfortunately, that’s not the case.  He’s a proven winner with an historic career at Auburn, but you can’t rely on past success.  Texas Tech is 13-12 under Tuberville with all 12 loses coming in Big-12 play.  That’s not exactly a recipe for conference title contention.  With all of the injuries occurring last year, it would be easy to dismiss last year’s results if he can produce a winning season this year.   If not?  Tommy may be looking at retirement.

“Caribbean Water”

1.     Derek Dooley – Tennessee

It was a surprising hire from the start.  Dooley didn’t even have a winning record at Louisiana Tech, but for some reason Tennessee went with him.  I don’t know what dirt he had on the AD at the time, but that must have been a hell of a story!  Anyway… Dooley is 4-12 in conference play and with the expectations as high as they are in Tennessee, there’s not a chance they’ll let that continue.   Only two assistant coaches remain from last year’s staff, so the administration may overlook a bad season and chalk it up to rebuilding, but don’t expect this “grace” period to last next year as well.

2.     David Cutliffe – Duke

A coach from Duke on the hot seat?  Shocker!  Expectations were high at Duke when Cutliffe arrived.   He came into a program that has continually been mocked since Spurier left, and with his success at Ole Miss and with Peyton Manning, things were finally looking up.  Unfortunately, that hasn’t quite panned out.  No one argues Duke has become more competitive, but like many on this list, the team just can’t seem to take it to the next level.  I think he has two more seasons left, but it should surprise no one to see him dismissed after this season.

3.     Randy Edsall – Maryland

All I can say about Randy Edsall is holy shit!  Could you have a worse year?  Can he be fired based on those uniforms alone?  No?  Damn, alright.  Well then, what in the hell is going on in that locker room?  He’s driven away 24 players, including the ACC’s 2010 Rookie of the Year, who is on a graduate loan for a year at “one-and-done U” Wisconsin.  With that said, it’s not entirely clear if these departures are because he’s a dick or he’s cleaning up the program.  Both cases have been reported and I won’t venture to guess what’s true.  Regardless of the reason, the fact remains 24 players have left since he took over.  And that was only the off the field stuff!  Maryland was 2-10 in his first season, after inheriting a team that finished 9-4 and ranked in both the AP and Coaches top 25 polls in 2010.  After a great recruiting class this year and the potential to bring in more local talent, Maryland can forgive a bad season this year, but odds are he needs to produce next year or local writers will get their wish.

4.     Will Muschamp – Florida

Despite the picture painted in the Sporting News article on Urban Meyer, fans have to be missing the SEC East dominance and national championship contention.  From all accounts, it appears that Will Muschamp has had a hell of a time trying to instill a culture of accountability and respect.  Meyer left a team that lacked any discipline and team unity.   Instilling these in principles in kids that have been told they are the next best thing can’t be easy and will take time.  Regardless, fans will only be so patient and with class after class of top 25 recruiting, championships need to start happening now.

5.     Mack Brown – Texas

It pains me to put Mack Brown on this list, but it’s about time we realize a change may be necessary in Austin.  Brown has the longest tenure of any of the coaches on here and he is almost a lock for the Hall of Fame, but a breath of fresh air never hurt.  There are few places that eat and breathe football the way Texas does, and two more disappointing seasons will send the fans out with pitchforks.  With archrival Oklahoma continuing to field top 10 teams and local rival TCU joining the conference, Texas needs to get back on track.  Not surprisingly, Texas has continued their death grip on one of the most fertile recruiting spots in the nation – the state of Texas – and the Texas brand carries weight all across the nation as well, so I expect to see Texas bounce back and Mack to retire on his own terms.