College Football: Hotseat Coaches

This time, I will look at the coaches on the hot seat with one twist; no obvious choices will be on the list. That eliminates Willingham (Washington), Stoops (Arizona, Robinson (Syracuse), Ferentz (Iowa), Paterno (Penn St.), and Bowden (Florida St.). The thought here is that most people can see a few guys getting the axe from a mile away but many more always do get fired. While not trying to predict who will get fired, I am trying to spotlight who could be in some big trouble with an average season like the ones that got Karl Dorrell (UCLA) and Chan Gailey (Georgia Tech) fired last season and are nearly certain to be gone with a disaster season.

ACC - Tommy Bowden (Clemson)
Clemson tends to lose games when favored only to save Bowden's job at the end or they tend to be awful early and then good late. What happens if Clemson loses to Alabama early, ends up at 5-3 in the ACC losing a tiebreaker for the division title, then loses to South Carolina? Bowden either polishes the resume or enters next year on a seat as hot as Willingham is on at Washington right now.

Big East - Steve Kragthorpe (Louisville)
If Louisville crashes again this season, Kragthorpe could be in trouble. The normal three years that most coaches get may not apply here since Kragthorpe took over a program coming off a number two finish and Orange Bowl win. Getting back to a bowl will be enough, but 5-7 (which I don't see happening) could be big trouble. Dave Wannstadt is another who could be in some trouble with another average season, particularly with the preseason hype.

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Big Ten - Tim Brewster (Minnesota)
He's probably a year away from getting the axe, but he seems a lot like Ed Orgeron who just got the axe at Ole Miss. Brewster can recruit and coach, but he can't run the program like the head coach needs to do to win games. He should be safe, but 1-11 would test the administration's patience.

Big 12 - Mike Gundy (Oklahoma St.)
We know he's a man and he's still 40 (for a few more days). Unfortunately for him, T. Boone Pickens is the boss and he's getting old and wants to win now. Another 6-6 season with a middling bowl game could cause some problems since T. Boone wants to win national championships before he dies. While T. Boone likely won't get his wish, he may get a few more coaches fired before he dies at some point in the next 20 years

Pac-10 - Jeff Tedford (Cal)
Let's be realistic here: Tedford isn't going anywhere no matter how bad he does. I put him here because he is more likely to go than anyone else who I can pick. Willingham and Stoops are the choices here, but they are too obvious.

SEC - Sylvester Croom (Mississippi St.)
Is it fair that he could even be considered on this list? No, but such is the lunacy that occasionally reigns in the SEC. If Mississippi St. thinks they can get a proven huge name coach and Croom slides back to 5-7 this season, anything is possible. Would it be right? No, but it is possible.