SI has put pressure on these Top Ten Coaches to WIN BIG or get Burned Up on 2017 season Hot Seat. Some may be gone by October. Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State, will gain chances of Notre Dame Recruits if Kelly falters by Fall. UTenn DC Shoop could replace Jones at UTenn. WVU's Holgrosen could be a target for A&M or Texas Tech if that happens Coach ROD heads back to WVU and could be out at UA by October. Graham may be out even if he wins 8 games. I can see Matt Canada, Joe Moorhead and Bob Shoop taking one these jobs in 2017-18.
1. Hugh Freeze, Ole Miss
2. Brian Kelly, Notre Dame
3. Rich Rodriguez, Arizona
It’s year six for Rodriguez at Arizona, and after he quickly built the program back up in 2012–14, things have taken a downturn the past two years. The Wildcats peaked in 2014, going 10–4 and 7–2 in conference play and winning the Pac-12 South. Since then, they’ve won a total of 10 games. A three-win season like the one they had in 2016 simply won’t cut it, and it doesn’t help that the athletic director who hired Rodriguez, Greg Byrne, left Arizona earlier this year for Alabama. Rodriguez has a $9 million buyout clause after this season, which is a relatively steep price for a program like Arizona. Still should the Wildcats repeat their one-win mark in Pac-12 play or only marginally improve upon it, it’s easy to see Rodriguez being let go. And with a tough schedule coming—one of Arizona’s three non-conference games is against Houston, and the Pac-12 slate won’t yield any sure wins—the situation don’t look too rosy in Tucson.
4. Kevin Sumlin, Texas A&M
5. Todd Graham, Arizona State
This season will be Graham’s sixth in Tempe, which is about the time a coach either digs in or heads on his way. In this case, there’s been enough inconsistency to wonder if changes aren’t coming. Last fall, the Sun Devils went 5–7, following up a 6–7 campaign in 2015. Two losing years in a row isn’t what anyone expected from Graham after he won eight, 10 and 10 games in his first three years on the job. That could turn 2017 into a make-or-break year. The Sun Devils won just two conference games a season ago, against Cal and UCLA, both of whom finished with disappointing years. And in their seven Pac-12 losses, the Sun Devils fell by an average of 19.7 points. None of this bodes well for Graham, a renowned defensive coach whose defense allowed an average of 39.8 points last year, good for fifth-most in the FBS.
6. Jim Mora, UCLA
7. Dave Doeren, NC State
Doeren was one coach who was spared firing at the end of 2016 after much speculation that he might get the boot. That translates into a short rope in 2017.Since taking over at NC State in 2013, Doeren has yet to win more than eight games in a season, and that came in 2014, an eternity ago in college football terms. A 3–9 mark in his debut season did little in endear him to fans, and there’s been no statement season since. The Wolfpack did finish 2016 with a big victory over in-state rival North Carolina on the road, after which NC State’s athletic director endorsed Doeren. He’ll have the administration’s support going into the fall, but he’ll likely need a winning season to keep it. In the ACC’s tougher Atlantic division, that won’t be easy.
8. Butch Jones, Tennessee
9. Kliff Kingsbury, Texas Tech
10. Doc Holliday, Marshall
LINK:
https://www.si.com/college-football/2017/06/21/coaches-hot-seat-most-pressure
1. Hugh Freeze, Ole Miss
2. Brian Kelly, Notre Dame
3. Rich Rodriguez, Arizona
It’s year six for Rodriguez at Arizona, and after he quickly built the program back up in 2012–14, things have taken a downturn the past two years. The Wildcats peaked in 2014, going 10–4 and 7–2 in conference play and winning the Pac-12 South. Since then, they’ve won a total of 10 games. A three-win season like the one they had in 2016 simply won’t cut it, and it doesn’t help that the athletic director who hired Rodriguez, Greg Byrne, left Arizona earlier this year for Alabama. Rodriguez has a $9 million buyout clause after this season, which is a relatively steep price for a program like Arizona. Still should the Wildcats repeat their one-win mark in Pac-12 play or only marginally improve upon it, it’s easy to see Rodriguez being let go. And with a tough schedule coming—one of Arizona’s three non-conference games is against Houston, and the Pac-12 slate won’t yield any sure wins—the situation don’t look too rosy in Tucson.
4. Kevin Sumlin, Texas A&M
5. Todd Graham, Arizona State
This season will be Graham’s sixth in Tempe, which is about the time a coach either digs in or heads on his way. In this case, there’s been enough inconsistency to wonder if changes aren’t coming. Last fall, the Sun Devils went 5–7, following up a 6–7 campaign in 2015. Two losing years in a row isn’t what anyone expected from Graham after he won eight, 10 and 10 games in his first three years on the job. That could turn 2017 into a make-or-break year. The Sun Devils won just two conference games a season ago, against Cal and UCLA, both of whom finished with disappointing years. And in their seven Pac-12 losses, the Sun Devils fell by an average of 19.7 points. None of this bodes well for Graham, a renowned defensive coach whose defense allowed an average of 39.8 points last year, good for fifth-most in the FBS.
6. Jim Mora, UCLA
7. Dave Doeren, NC State
Doeren was one coach who was spared firing at the end of 2016 after much speculation that he might get the boot. That translates into a short rope in 2017.Since taking over at NC State in 2013, Doeren has yet to win more than eight games in a season, and that came in 2014, an eternity ago in college football terms. A 3–9 mark in his debut season did little in endear him to fans, and there’s been no statement season since. The Wolfpack did finish 2016 with a big victory over in-state rival North Carolina on the road, after which NC State’s athletic director endorsed Doeren. He’ll have the administration’s support going into the fall, but he’ll likely need a winning season to keep it. In the ACC’s tougher Atlantic division, that won’t be easy.
8. Butch Jones, Tennessee
9. Kliff Kingsbury, Texas Tech
10. Doc Holliday, Marshall
LINK:
https://www.si.com/college-football/2017/06/21/coaches-hot-seat-most-pressure
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