Coaching Lowlights Countdown of the Year

10 Prayer for New Mexico – Mike Locksley and his exploits of inane coaching stupidity would be number 1, if I hadn't already done an entire Lowlight post on his existence as the New Mexico coach. Go read it here.

9 The existence of Randy Edsall, head coach of Maryland – Edsall was coming off a BCS berth with UConn and took over a 9-4 team with a preseason all-conference quarterback. Of course he ran it not just into the ground, but so far into the ground that two more years of this along with the excessive attrition caused by his form of discipline could move him into Locksley territory (at least on the field). Of course the Terps got what they deserved since they fired an alumni who was coach of the year and replaced him with a poor man's version of the same coach. They got what they deserved because they had the coach who looks like he is going to turn Vanderbilt into a real contender under contract as coach in waiting and couldn't wait to get rid of him. And they also got what they deserved because they interviewed Locksley for the job (seriously they did) because of his recruiting ties to the Washington D.C. Area.

8 You trusted your defense? Why? - The final score reads like a basketball score. Northern Illinois 63, Toledo 60. That doesn't tell the whole story. In this game, Toledo scored with 4:16 to go to take a 60-56 lead. Northern Illinois then drove to the Toledo 27 yard line in only two plays. At that point, what would you do? Your options are have faith in you defense to get a stop even though it had allowed 56 points in the game already or let Northern Illinois score and take your chances driving for either a tying field goal or a winning touchdown with about two minutes on the clock. If you chose the first option, you are Tim Beckman. You picked wrong. Northern Illinois scored with 19 seconds left and not even the turbocharged offenses found in this game were capable of pulling that off.

7 Ron Zook doesn't know the score - Against Indiana, Ron Zook had his team go for two. no problem there except the score was 20-13. Going for two and failing left it a one-score game. Going for two and getting it would be a relatively meaningless nine point lead. Of course that's not all though. After the game, the press asked Zook about it and he said he went for two because he thought his team was down by five. WHAT??? All you had to do Zook was look at the scoreboard. And to think, this is when things were going well of Illinois. The win in this game when his team blew Indiana out later on was number six in a 6-0 start, the best Illini start since 1951. It was Zook's final win as Illinois coach.

6 Whoever is coaching the Wisconsin secondary – It was bad enough to lose on a Hail Mary against Michigan St. when the defense forgot the first rule of Hail Mary defense: KNOCK IT DOWN.

Then came an even more mind blowing offense: allowing Braxton Miller to beat you with his arm. Even worse, the winning pass was in the air for about an hour and still nobody managed to get there.

5 Charlie Weis, Kansas head coach – LOL.

4 Derek Dooley, King of the Orange Pants – Dooley had tons of injury problems this season. He also struggled to deal with the media or have his team play hard in the face of all the injuries. He enters next season on the hotseat because of that. But he still has his orange pants.

3 Week after week, it was always the same – Texas A&M coach Mike Sherman (make that former coach) came from the NFL. And his NFL roots caused all sorts of issues. Most notably, NFL coaches are conservative with the lead. It's just how they are bred in the pros (UCLA fans take note in your complaints about Dan Guerrero). This year, that bacckfired on Mike Sherman. Week after week, A&M would get a big lead. And week after week, Sherman would get conservative with his play calling. And week after week, teams would come roaring back against a defense that had no secondary to speak of (for much of the season, A&M led the nation in sacks while somehow being the worst pass defense in the nation, meaning anytime the quarterback got a throw off, there was about a 50/50 chance of it being a 30 yard gain). After seeing offenseless Texas do it in the final meeting between the schools, the A&M administration had enough. Now they have a coach that, if nothing else, will continue to keep throwing the ball around with the lead to protect his bad pass defense (something Kevin Sumlin should be all too familiar with after the last few years at Houston).

2 RAGE FACE -

You would be angry too if your offense did what Brian Kelly's Notre Dame offense did the first few weeks of the season.

1 You iced your own kicker, Really?!? - Gary Pinkel, come on down. You iced your kicker when he had a chance to win the game (on the final play). Your overtime loss to Arizona St. because of this was well deserved. Given that statistically, icing the kicker does no good, I don't understand why more coaches don't go stand next to the official and then let the play happen. Of course that doesn't apply to your own coach. I also believe that your own coach needs to let you kick. When the kicker is lined up and hears his own coach called timeout, I think he thinks in his head WTF? Then he ices himself and misses (see also Dallas Cowboys). In addition to this debacle from way back in September, Pinkel could easily make this list for getting suspended for Missouri's home finale by getting a DUI arrest during the season. He probably would be on the list for that had Missouri not managed to come through and win anyway.

Reviewing the fired (and "resigned") head coaches of this offseason

It Coaching week here at Aubievegas, looking at all of the failures, successes and challenges faced by college football head coaches as they were fired, hired or coaching this season. Today we kickoff with the fired crew (in order of prominence).

Joe Paterno – Penn St.

What was his biggest failure?

Not doing more with the Jerry Sandusky case.

When did it start to go wrong?

When Sandusky was arrested, just a few days before Paterno was fired.

Legacy on the job

One of the greatest coaches ever. His legacy will be stained by the Sandusky scandal (at least on a national level), just as Woody Hayes' legacy at Ohio St. was stained for punching an opposing player. Locally within Happy Valley, Paterno will be beloved after he passes away whenever that is (and it sadly seems to be coming soon based on recent reports about his health) as the football program rebuilds.

Jim Tressell – Ohio St.

What was his biggest failure?

Not realizing the cover p is always worse than the crime.

When did it start to go wrong?

When the tattoo five were suspended last season, but not for the Sugar Bowl.

Legacy on the job

A legend in Columbus, but a pariah everywhere else. There had been whispers about his program for many years, even going back to his FCS days at Youngstown St. (who ended up on probation after he left). His national title will always be an Ohio St. high point though.

Butch Davis – North Carolina

What was his biggest failure?

Giving his friend John Blake a little too much leeway within the coaching staff.

When did it start to go wrong?

When much of the team was suspended for the opener against LSU in 2010.

Legacy on the job

An incredible recruiter prone to some major judgment lapses. Other than Blake, remember that Davis recruited the Miami National Title team in 2001, but didn't stick around to coach it because he went to the dead end Cleveland Browns job.

Dennis Erickson – Arizona St.

What was his biggest failure?

A total lack of discipline even when his teams won. This pattern started with Miami in the late 1980s after Jimmy Johnson and continued through his stints at Oregon St. and Arizona St.

When did it start to go wrong?

3^rd and 29 against UCLA late in the game. Before that play, the thought Erickson would end up fired would have been laughable. Then UCLA somehow converted and won the game and the Sun Devils went completely in the tank.

Legacy on the job

An undisciplined leader that had a great eye for talent early in his career that waned later on, especially at Arizona St.

Mike Sherman – Texas A&M

What was his biggest failure?

Blowing huge leads in the second half, part because of conditioning and part because of an ingrained conservative NFL mindset.

When did it start to go wrong?

Lowing a huge lead at home against Oklahoma St. On that day, the Aggies showed talent to be a national title contender but ended up 6-6.

Legacy on the job

Another in the long line of NFL retread failures. Sherman even had the token year 3 breakthrough that all the others have had, going 9-4 last season before the wheels come off again this season.

Rick Neuheisel - UCLA

What was his biggest failure?

Trying to be like USC, Nevada or any other program on any given day.

When did it start to go wrong?

Week 2 of year one. The Bruins had shockingly upset Tennessee the week before to move into the national rankings. They then faced a road trip to BYU, who they had split two games with the year before under Karl Dorrell. One 59-0 beatdown later and an era of routs in big games was on.

Legacy on the job

Puzzling. Neuheisel said all the right things and seemed to be a perfect fit. That said, he inherited strong teams that got even stronger his first two years at Washington and Colorado before falling off. Here, he didn't inherited a strong team and was never able to build.

Houston Nutt – Ole Miss

What was his biggest failure?

Bad recruiting and a mismanaging of the press that goes back to his days at Arkansas.

When did it start to go wrong?

Most would say the loss to Jacksonville St. in 2010. Not me. It was the loss to Auburn in 2009 that ensured Ole Miss would never reach any of the prestated goals as a top 10 team in the preseason.

Legacy on the job

A strong coach of linemen and running backs that always struggled to recruit and couldn't develop a quarterback to save his life. Milked a lot out of his career given those limitations.

Ron Zook - Illinois

What was his biggest failure?

Being Ron Zook. Seriously. This hire was the Charlie Weis to Kansas hire when Illinois announced it and Zook was pretty much always on the hotseat from very early on.

When did it start to go wrong?

The 2008 opener. The Illini were coming off a surprise trip to the Rose Bowl and opened in St. Louis against a top 5 Missouri team. They ended that game with a quarterback controversy and another blowout defeat to Missouri (this had happened the three previous years too). By season's end, there was no bowl game and Zook was right back on the hotseat.

Legacy on the job

A survivor whose great skills on the recruiting and an occasional burst of intellectual brilliance allowed him to maintain a much longer career than anyone could have possibly expected when Illinois hired him.

Mike Stoops - Arizona

What was his biggest failure?

Having the gall to have a rebuilding year when starting against the toughest schedule in college football over the opening few weeks after finishing with the same ridiculous schedule the year before.

When did it start to go wrong?

Getting blown out by Stanford in 2010 to start the downward spiral.

Legacy on the job

Did a great job of rebuilding the program, but his sideline rage was too much to overcome with many boosters as soon as the winning slowed a bit.

Paul Wulff – Washington St.

What was his biggest failure?

??? Not much he could do. It appears now he was the obvious stopgap coach to bridge from the failed Bill Doba era to a fresh start.

When did it start to go wrong?

Immediately. Wulff was slapped with limited recruiting visits for his role in recruiting violations at FCS Eastern Washington before he coached a game. Then the blowouts came. And came. And continued.

Legacy on the job

An overmatched coach who walked into a nearly impossible situation and got destroyed regularly because of it.

Turner Gill - Kansas

What was his biggest failure?

Walking into a talentless situation with an impatient fanbase that didn't realize the situation was talentless.

When did it start to go wrong?

Immediately. Game one last season was a horrifying loss to an FCS team and it never really got much better.

Legacy on the job

In over his head at the Big 12 level at this point in his career.

Non-BCS coaches after the jump

College Football Coaching Hotseat – Nearly everyone has their chance...nearly everyone

1 Bill Stewart, West Virginia – Considering he has already been fired (effective as a forced resignation at the end of the season), Stewart is automatically at the top of the list. Normally I would disqualify him and say he is beyond saving and toast. Then comes the reports from various places that coach-in-waiting/offensive coordinator Dana Holgerson's alcohol issues may have been leaked by either Stewart or his wife. Ugh. With his contract now on hold pending the investigation by West Virginia, Stewart now may not make the season. And thus another coach-in-waiting situation is botched (just like almost all of them have been).

2 Mike Locksley, New Mexico – For those who haven't followed my coverage of Locksley, I have taken a perverse interest in comically chronicling the failings of Locksley. Considering the 2-22 record may not even be in the top three reasons he is this high on the list (the lawsuits, assaults and general inability to deal with the media in a civilized manner come to mind), it is amazing he still has a job. Of course that may have something to do with the $1.5 million buyout in his contract. Wait a minute. He renegotiated his buyout down to half of that in the off-season. Is he stupid? He sits on one of the hottest seats in college coaching and he lowers his buyout making it easier to fire him (a near formality given the horrible quality of his teams so far). Somehow, moves like this don't surprise me coming from this guy. He is a loose cannon with anger management issues trying to recruit players in an unfamiliar area. Evidently, smarts were not among his traits (being a salesmen is considering New Mexico's still strong recruiting and Illinois really strong recruiting while he was there).

3 Paul Wulff, Washington St. - Another beyond reclamation situation given a reprieve by the current budget crisis in this country. In three seasons, he currently sits on five wins and some of the most grisly blowouts in Pac-10 history. About the only negative thing he hasn't managed is a winless season. He even managed NCAA violations (found at his previous stop as head coach of FCS Eastern Washington). Sometimes I wonder what it takes to get fired at some schools?

4 Rick Neuheisel, UCLA – Slick Rick came into UCLA talking of taking the city back from USC. Well, the Trojans have been sunk by probation, bad talent evaluation at the end of the Pete Carroll era and crazy Lane Kiffin. Meanwhile, UCLA has two wins over bad Tennessee teams, a bowl win over Temple and a biblical plague of quarterback and offensive line injuries to show for their attempts to retake Los Angeles. It's not cutting it. Neuheisel needs to find some semblance of an offense (quarterback or not) or this thing is going to end quite soon.

5 Houston Nutt, Ole Miss – Mr. Nutt did a good job his first two seasons at Ole Miss. Sadly for him, he got no good press for it and then lost to an FCS team to start last season. Now, he is coming off a losing season at a delusional school that not that long ago fired its coach after one 4-7 season the year after 10-3 and a string of five winning seasons. 6-6 won't save you here Houston and that appears to be the best you will do.

6 Mark Richt, Georgia – Richt survives despite being on the Phil Fulmer/Tommy Tuberville career path because the wheels haven't totally fallen off. There hasn't been a no bowl season and annual expectations still start them in the top 25 every year. Considering the disappointment here (failed to reach preseason expectations three years in a row), finishing in the top 25 this year is paramount to Richt saving his job. To do that, he needs to avoid the dreaded 0-2 start against Boise St. and South Carolina.

7 Bob Toledo, Tulane – Only survives in this spot because its Tulane and they can't get anything going post-Katrina. Toledo was a bad retread hire in the first place, but at least he has gotten plenty of time to try and turn it around. Even with that, we got the ultimate sign this isn't going well in March: offensive coordinator Dan Dodd left to become a high school coach in California. Toledo will likely be joining him in California soon.

8 Dennis Erickson, Arizona St. - A great first season in 2007 bought Erickson some time. Time is now up after three straight bowl-less seasons at a big-time underachiever. The defense has been good for two years and the offense returns nearly everybody. In a wide open Pac-12 South, the time to make a move is now. The Sun Devils don't necessarily have to win the division, but 8-4 or 9-3 is a minimum with the roster they have.

9 Neil Callaway, UAB – Should have been fired already considering the 15-33 record. Callaway needs to find an offense. In Conference USA, having a decent offense seems to keep bad coaches around for awhile (see Mike Price at UTEP).

10 Ron English, Eastern Michigan – Considering his record is equal to Locksley, its no surprise that English is on this list. Of course, he inherited a much worse situation and is well-liked by players and media with no off-field issues to speak of giving him a little more leeway. He doesn't even need a bowl game to keep his job, just continued improvement considering he went 0-12 and then 2-10. A jumpr to 4-8 should be enough to get a fourth year.

Others who have a toasty seat – Jeff Tedford (Cal), Mack Brown (Texas), Mike Price (UTEP), DeWayne Walker (New Mexico St.),Steve Fairchild (Colorado St.).

College Basketball Coaching Change Evaluation – West

Most of the jobs in college basketball have been filled (all but one in the major conferences and that one at Miami appears close to being filled). With the hiring mostly done, its time to evaluate the hires starting in the West. Each school will get two grades here. The first is either for the school and their decision to terminate the previous coach or for the coach if he left for a better job on his own. The second is the grade for the new hire. For purposes of this exercise, the West is any school in a league primarily situated in the Pacific or Mountain timezone irregardless of where the school actually is (hence why Louisiana Tech will be found here).

Cal State Bakersfield – Didn't renew the contract of Keith Brown after six seasons (68-105)

Grade for termination: F – Bakersfield is an independent. Independents never win in college basketball at this point and independents certainly don't win this soon after transitioning to Division I. Considering Brown was over .500 his first two seasons before moving to Division I and he has no conference affiliation, he had no chance. This job looks like a coach killer at this point.

Grade for new hire: A+ - The new coach is former National Coach of the Year Rod Barnes who got Mississippi to the Sweet 16 in 2001 when he won the Naismith Coaching Award. While he has been down of late and recently not retained by CAA bottom dweller Georgia St., anytime an independent program can get a coach with that kind of resume, it is a home run.

Eastern Washington – Didn't renew the contract of Kirk Earlywine after four seasons (42-78)

Grade for termination: B- – Earlywine probably deserved another year, but he has run the ship aground in his tenure at Eastern Washington. Before he got there the Eagles were a solid .500 team with a recent NCAA Tournament appearance. Since then, they have been awful.

Grade for new hire: B – The new coach is Jim Hayford, formerly the head coach at Whitworth University. Whitworth has been very good under Hayford with five straight NCAA Tournament appearances and a winning percentage just short of 80%. The only question here is recruiting as Hayford will have to recruit at a Division I level and many coaches making transitions like this one have failed miserably at that task over the years in both football and basketball.

Fresno St. - Steve Cleveland “resigned” and was reassigned to another position in the athletic department after six seasons (92-98).

Grade for termination: D – I know the record wasn't great, but Cleveland inherited a program on probation and cleaned it up. Considering that, he deserved to finish out the remaining two years on his contract to see if he could build a winner.

Grade for new hire: B+ - The new coach is Texas assistant Rodney Terry. Terry should do well in his new position. He is coming from a strong program where nearly everyone has a reputation as a strong recruiter. The small dings on the grade are for his lack of head coaching experience and the fact that he comes from Texas where the Longhorns have been underachieving considering the talent level for some time now.

Louisiana Tech – Fired coach Kerry Rupp after four seasons (57-69)

Grade for termination: D – Rupp and Tech had an awful year last season, but they are just one year removed from a 24 win season that ended in the CBI postseason tournament. Considering the pending implosion of the WAC, stability was likely a better option.

Grade for new hire: F – I don't care about recruiting reputation which new coach Michael White has. I want some results and White doesn't have them considering he has been an assistant at Ole Miss who hasn't been in the NCAA Tournament since the early 2000s. This is truly a terrible hire, especially since Louisiana Tech emphasized its Southern location but plays in a western league. This move makes a little more sense if Louisiana Tech heads to the Sun Belt as some expect them to do, but even that only gets this hire to a D- if they're lucky.

Pepperdine – Tom Asbury retired as Pepperdine coach after three seasons (28-68)

Grade for termination: N/A – Asbury was Pepperdine's coach during one of its best runs in the last 80s and early 90s. He came back to stabilize the program that had fallen apart before passing the reins to top assistant and former Pepperdine player Marty Wilson.

Grade for new hire: A – While this doesn't seem like it should be an A, the Pepperdine program has collapsed after a great run that included 11 NCAA Tournaments between 1976 and 2002. Wilson is a former player and served as an assistant Tony Fuller and Lorenzo Romar in the mid-90s and knows what it takes to build a winner again at this school.

UC Davis – Gary Stewart stepped down after eight seasons (88-148)

Grade for termination: N/A – Stewart stepped down on his own and was not forced out like Cleveland at Fresno St.

Grade for new hire: N/A, likely not good – UC Davis still has not hired a new coach. This is a bad sign considering the vacancy has existed since before the Final Four started and many, many coaching deals for both head coaches and assistants happen there.

UNLV – Lon Kruger left UNLV after seven years to take the head coaching job at Oklahoma (161-71)

Grade for Kruger's decision: B – The money was extreme ($2.2 million a year for a guys who made one Final Four in his career and is a bit of a serial job-hopper is insane) making Kruger feel like he had to go. That may or may not have been the case with UNLV on solid footing because of his rebuilding job.

Grade for new hire: A- - The new coach is former UNLV player and assistant and BYU assistant Dave Rice. This hire is all about recruiting and it will be good. Rice may or may not be able to coach, but he will deliver players and they will likely be better than what Kruger was bringing in. If he is as good of a gameday coach as Kruger, this will be a homerun. If not, the program still likely won't slip. Either Rice or Reggie Theus would have been very good hires.

Utah – Fired coach Jim Boylen after four seasons (69-60)

Grade for firing: C – Would be lower if not for the transition to the Pac-12 that is coming. Boylen deserved more than four years to rebuild this program, especially with the 24 win season and NCAA Tournament berth in year two. At the same, there was a sense Boylen couldn't hack it and going into the Pac-12, a tougher league top to bottom than the Mountain West wasn't going to help matters.

Grade for new hire: A+ - The new coach is former Montana and Milwaukee Bucks head coach Larry Krystkowiak. Krystkowiak had great success going to the NCAA Tournament in both of his years at Montana before jumping to Milwaukee. He left Montana on solid ground and he should be able to recruit to Utah without too much of a problem, especially with the new Pac-12 affiliation. Easily the biggest home hire of the coaching season.

Wyoming – Fired Heath Schroyer after four seasons (49-68)

Grade for firing: B – Schroyer quite obviously was never going to win at Wyoming The ding is for doing it mid season. Considering Wyoming was going to have to wait no matter when they fired the coach, it wouldn't have hurt anything to wait until after the Mountain West Tournament.

Grade for new hire: D+ - The new coach is former Wyoming coach Larry Shyatt. The last time he was here, Shyatt coached for one season and then left for Clemson. Considering that, I don't know why they would want him back considering the program improved once he left under successor Steve McClain before stagnating (in fact, McClain led the Cowboys to their only NCAA tournament appearance since 1988 in 2002). Also, once Shyatt got to Clemson (taking over for Rick Barnes), he promptly ran the thing off a cliff getting fired after five seasons of mostly losing and leaving a long rebuilding process for successor Oliver Purnell. The only things going for him are that he coached at Wyoming once before (though in a different era considering the Mountain West didn't yet exist) and he has been serving as an assistant at Florida under Billy Donovan. Nonetheless, he seems better suited to that assistant role than a head coaching role.

Urban Meyer is out at Florida, this time for good

Meyer resigned today after six years today.

Where does Florida go from here?

Possible candidates

Dan Mullen, HC Mississippi St. - Mullen seems to be a popular chioce in the immediate aftermath considering his role as the offensive coordinator under Meyer. Is he the best choice? Probably not. Florida is the best job in the country. The Gators can go after nearly anyone and will do their due diligence. Remember that while Meyer was the big hot coach at when he was hired at Florida, he came from Utah at a time when many Florida fans wanted the available Steve Spurrier to return as coach. All that is to say that while Mullen would be popular in Gainesville, he may not be the best guy for the job.

Charlie Strong, HC Louisville – A longer shot than Mullen. Strong was the former defensive coordinator at Florida and he has only one year of head coaching experience. Only a serious candidate if the Gators want someone connected to Meyer and Mullen doesn't take the job.

Bob Stoops, HC Oklahoma – The Gators have at least inquired about Stoops availability the last two times the job has opened. While I don't think he will move, the Gators will likely ask again.

Chip Kelly, HC Oregon – Here is the kind of off the radar hire that Meyer was. The problem is the timing here. Kelly won't be available until after the January 10 national championship game. Recruiting would suffer greatly.

Chris Petersen, HC Boise St. - Petersen might get a call. The question is whether he is willing to listen. If Petersen wants to win a national title, he jumps. If he wants to be Joe Paterno or Bobby Bowden, he stays at Boise St.

NFL Coaches – There are no NFL names likely to surface here. It just won't happen. AD Jeremy Foley is smart enough to know that most NFL coaches don't do real well in college football without any recent college coaching experience.

Brady Hoke, HC San Diego St. - Hoke has taken a similar path to Meyer. He is a Midwestern guy who cut his teeth rebuilding in the MAC. After that he headed out to the Mountain West in what was looked at as a lateral move and won. If Foley wants the same pedigree he got with Meyer in a young up and comer, he could do very well with Hoke.

What is next for Meyer?

A few years off and then I think a return to coaching when his kids are done with college. Four or five years from now, I could Meyer picking up and starting again, likely at a big national power. He original dream job at Notre Dame could open at about that time as could Ohio St. in his native Ohio. For now, Meyer will pursue other interests and, for that matter, it may not include broadcasting.