The proverbial hot seat we hear about each year means several different things. A coach can be on the hot seat when he desperately needs to start winning, but will probably won't be fired at the end of the season. Then there are the coaches on the hot seat because of other circumstances surrounding his program. Which brings me to my first coach.
Rich Rodriguez, Michigan- Things haven't fared well for Rich Rod and Michigan haven't they? When Rich Rod was hired at Michigan I knew this was a bad fit for both sides. Rich Rod is a southerner trying to run a spread offense at a northern school with a tradition of running a pro style offense. So right off the bat Rich Rod was off to a bad start. After two years at Michigan, Rich Rod hasn't posted a winning record and hasn't taken Michigan to a bowl game. The latest straw that was broken was that Michigan was found guilty of breaking off-season workout violations. Needless to say Rich Rod needs to win this season and it would be even better if he lead Michigan to a victory over Ohio State in Columbus. He'll need to win at least 7 games and reach a bowl game to save his job.
Dan Hawkins, Colorado- If it wasn't for budget problems, Colorado might have entered this year with a new coach. Things just haven't worked out for Hawkins since he left Boise State for Colorado. And things look even worse with Chris Peterson leading Boise State to two BCS games in four years. Since Colorado is transitioning from the Big 12 to the Pac-10, Hawkins is just around to treed water for this year and will probably be dusting off his resume next year.
Lane Kiffin, USC- Kiffin is on the hot seat simply because he isn't new AD's Pat Haden's guy and his track record at Tennessee of picking up minor NCAA violations. Haden sent a message to everyone by giving back Reggie Bush's Heisman trophy that he won't stand for any rule breaking under his tenure. Even the slightest slip up by Kiffin and he could be on his way out of USC.
Ron Zook, Illinois- The Zooker has always been known as a hell of a recruiter and a so-so coach. That hasn't changed at Illinois. Zook brought in a great recruiting class before the 2007 season, lead Illinois to the Rose Bowl, and were promptly beaten like a drum by USC. Since then Illinois hasn't returned to a bowl game or even been relevant. Baring a disastrous season Illinois isn't going to eat Zook's contract and I'm sure I'll be talking about him next season.
Tom O'Brien, NC State- After a successful stint at Boston College, Tom O'Brien has failed at North Carolina State. In four season at NC State, O'Brien hasn't had a winning season and has only been to one bowl game(a loss). O'Brien might not be fired after the end of the season, but he needs to start winning now or he might be out of a job.
Paul Wulff, Washington State- Wulff walked into a bad situation two years ago when he accepted the Washington State job. Arrests and injuries have decimated Washington State to the point they were auditioning people off the streets last year for their quarterback spot. With that said, no one expected the Cougars to be this awful on both offense and defense. The Cougar defense gave up 25 points or more in all eleven games last year while the offense failed to score 21 or more points in ten games. Wulff will be given this year to show there is life in the program, but he'll be on a very short leash.
I don't know how you could do a coaches on the hot seat list and miss Ralph Friedgen.
ReplyDelete@Kt: I almost put Friedgen on the list, but he has a coach in waiting and is more of a lame duck than someone on the hot seat.
ReplyDeleteFridge and his successor in waiting might get the boot after this season because the Terps hired a new AD to replace Debbie "I like these guys" Yow.
ReplyDelete