Now that the first month of the college football campaign, and the first casualty has just taken place (adios, Charlie Weis) it’s a good time to take a look at coaches on the hot seat. I’ve always felt it’s worth keeping an eye on those that fit this category. While not by any means being cut and dried, it’s not at all unusual to see some towel tossing being done by these teams. One more variable to factor into the weekly mix. I’ll probably do a more extended rundown sometime soon, but here’s my current top five.
1. Brady Hoke, Michigan: This is getting pretty ugly. I’m not sure what happened here. I thought Hoke was dynamite at Ball State, and likewise at San Diego State. But it’s sure not working at Ann Arbor, and Hoke is looking like a lame duck right now. The Shane Morris concussion incident might accelerate the process.
2. Will Muschamp, Florida: The Gators are 2-1, and the only loss was at Alabama, so there’s still time for Muschamp to possibly get off the griddle. I’d say it’s fair to classify this Saturday’s game at Tennessee as a must win, or the wheels could absolutely fall off in Gainesville.
3. Norm Chow, Hawaii: Problems galore with this program that go way beyond the head coach. But Chow is 68, and the team is pretty bad. So are the crowds. How poor is the attendance? You can actually hear individual fans yelling out what they think will be the play call prior to the snaps. That’s not good. I would put the chances of Chow being back for 2015 at close to 0%.
4. Dana Holgorsen, West Virginia: The Mountaineers are better than they were last season, but 7-6 followed by 4-8 for a program used to winning much more than that sure isn’t good. In spite of what would be an enormous buyout with three years still to go on the contract beyond the current campaign, I don’t see Holgorsen lasting much longer if there aren’t more W’s.
5. Kevin Wilson, Indiana: Great win by the Hoosiers against Missouri a couple weeks back, but that’s more than offset with the bad loss to Bowling Green and last week’s thumping at the hands of Big 10 newcomer Maryland. It’s pretty much bowl or bust for Wilson and bust is the clear favorite right now.
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