The Honeymoon’s Over: 20 College Coaches Who Have Fallen On Hard Times In 2009

Besides the office custodian, your average college football coach has the toughest and most thankless job in the nation (and their duties are often strikingly similar).

When you're winning, you're a genius, and when you're losing, you're a schlub. And when you lose a lot, we put you on something called a “hot seat,” where you can only get off by winning again.

Oh, and you get 12, maybe 13, chances to counteract that per year.

Here's 20 coaches who could've used a little more luck in 2009. These guys range from the temporarily unserviceable to the dreadfully abysmal, but each has fallen on hard times in their own specific, excruciating way.

Let's take a look!

Bill Lynch, Indiana

Lynch's Indiana team has shown progress since last year's debacle, and in fact, is a few plays from being bowl eligible. And that should be enough to save the man.

But the greatest sin of all may have been allowing the Iowa Hawkeyes back into the game after leading 24-14 (and 21-7, prior to Tyler Sash's 96-yard pick six) at Kinnick Stadium this past week.

Winning that game and upsetting the Hawkeyes on national TV would have etched Lynch's name in Hoosier history. Instead, he has to face all the criticism for letting another shot at a bowl game slip through his fingers.

Firing Lynch wouldn't do much, and the Indiana AD has reaffirmed his support for the fiery coach, but I have it on inside information that among Hoosier alumni, football fans wouldn't mind seeing an upheaval from top to bottom.

Mark Richt, Georgia

Mark Richt is a great guy. Anybody that knows anything knows that.

But for Georgia fans hungry for a shot at another SEC title to go with their 2005 trophy, niceties may not be enough.

Richt's Bulldogs are coming off of their second straight uncompetitive loss to the Florida Gators in the World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party. This comes a week after a blowout loss to Tennessee and a couple weeks after a crushing loss to LSU on some blown calls.

Richt, the longest tenured coach in the SEC, is in danger of losing his football team to the ever-changing carousel known as the SEC.

He probably gets a pass for this year simply because of all the talent the Bulldogs had to replace after the departures of Matthew Stafford and Knowshon Moreno, unless the Bulldogs faithful turn particularly gruesome.

If he can pull out of the nosedive and win out against Auburn, Kentucky, and Georgia Tech, that would go a long way to making sure he survives his toughest year since 2006.

In that year, the Bulldogs were 6-4 with losses to Tennessee and Florida, but managed to rally and win out. So he's done it before; let's see if he can do it again.

Frank Beamer, Virginia Tech

I wrote a piece on coaches everyone should want for a big game, and included Frank Beamer because of the equalizing ability of Beamerball.

And then somebody asked in the comments, what big games has Frank Beamer actually won?

And I thought, they're right! What big games has Beamer won? Aside from the sluggish Orange Bowl win over Cincinnati last year, Virginia Tech has come up short in big non-conference games against USC in 2004, Auburn and Florida State in 2005, LSU in 2007, and Alabama this year.

But it's the failure of the Hokies to develop Tyrod Taylor that is the most glaring weakness. The Hokies preach consistency, and it's true this staff has been together a long time, but they haven't shown the ability to develop a quarterback beyond the most basic expectations of game management.

And worst of all, the Hokies are losing the games they should be winning, the first sign of slippage in a long dynasty. That ugly loss to UNC, (0-3 in the ACC until last week) at Ryan Field knocked the wind out of Virginia Tech and out of the national picture.

Beamer's in no immediate danger, but watch for the heat to turn up if the talent remains underdeveloped and the Hokies continue to regress next year.

Bob Stoops, Oklahoma

A lot of it isn't Stoops' fault; injuries to Sam Bradford and Jermaine Gresham and unfulfillable expectations have plagued the Sooners all year.

But the criticism surrounding Big Game Bob, who has lost five straight BCS bowl games and two straight Red River Shootouts, is that he has lost his big game edge.

Stoops' success somewhat hinges on redshirt freshman QB Landry Jones, and so far, Jones hasn't disappointed. The redshirt freshman has stepped up admirably for the Sooners despite the tough losses and looks to pick up the slack left by Bradford's departure as long as he continues his development this year and in future seasons.

For the time being, the more Stoops can show that the Sooners have a bright future, the less likely Big Game Bob faces more heat in the offseason.

Pete Carroll, USC

Boy, "Fallen on hard times" is a relative term, isn't it?

Despite his unflappable record in bowl games and his only-recent loss of a Pac-10 stranglehold, Pete Carroll isn't in any danger of losing his job.

But he is in danger of failing to live up to the high standards he's set for the USC program.

The 47-20 blowout his Trojans suffered to the Oregon Ducks was the worst loss in his tenure, the first by double digits since Notre Dame beat USC 27-16 in 2001, Carroll's first year.

One year of not losing to a Pac-10 also-ran will go a long way towards dispelling the talk.

But for all the fun-loving, slip-n'-slide utilizing practice time, Carroll's teams still need to get it done every week, regardless of the opponent, or Winning Forever will have lost its meaning.

Jim Tressel, Ohio State

I'm a Michigan fan, but I'm not gonna get carried away. I know Jim Tressel isn't going anywhere as the Buckeyes head coach.

He's a phenomenal recruiter and he's owned Michigan in the rivalry game six out of the last seven years, with a likely shot at going for a sixth straight win this month.

But the 'Vest has fallen out of favor as a playcaller, to be sure. Opposing teams have continually made mention of how predictable the Buckeyes offensive attack was in big games.

Additionally, Tressel's failure to develop Terrelle Pryor into something resembling a passer will likely cost him his playcalling duties once this season ends, barring an enormous uptick in pass efficiency from the former five-star in Ohio State's remaining games at Penn State, against Iowa, and at Michigan.

Ohio State's search for a new offensive coordinator could actually make for a great offseason story, and present an opportunity for the Buckeyes to infuse new blood into the conference.

Might I suggest Rich Rodriguez?

Bobby Bowden, Florida State

Talk about a coach overstaying his welcome. Bobby Bowden's teams have slipped into the lukewarm bath of mediocrity as the decade wore on, with the worst year easily happening now.

The Seminoles are a sub .500 team in the ACC with painful losses to Georgia Tech, South Florida, Miami, and Boston College.

Bowden and his wife have had to publicly address calls for his retirement, and the emails have been flying concerning how long coach-in-waiting Jimbo Fisher will be willing to wait to ascend to the head position.

Bowden has already declared he is on board for another year, which could make for a painful offseason unless the Seminoles can pull out of the nosedive and win out against the other ACC also-rans.

Getting to a bowl is now the priority—guess we'll get to the awkward retirement talk when Bowden is ready.

Ron Zook, Illinois

Ah, Ron Zook. The noodle-necked architect of the "spread-fail" offense is 2-6 in his fifth year with the Illini, and has failed to live up to high expectations as a head coach since taking the Illini to the Rose Bowl in 2007.

The knock on Zook has always been that he can't develop talent, but no other season has borne this unfortunate scenario out more disastrously than this year, when fourth-year senior Juice Williams and All-Big Ten wide receiver Arrelious Benn have been badly stifled by Big Ten defenses (except, of course, Michigan's).

Zook still has a shot at a bowl game for the Illini, but that would require upsetting CIncinnati on the road. Not bloody likely for the Zookmaster, who, despite the AD's vote of confidence, will have to face more questions than he has answers for if the Illini miss out on postseason play once again.

Greg McMackin, Hawaii

Greg McMackin jumped onto the Hawaii football program at the wrong time.

June Jones' wildly successful tenure as head coach, including the first trip to a BCS bowl for the Rainbow Warriors, left some pretty big shoes for McMackin to fill once Jones left for Southern Methodist.

But McMackin certainly didn't help his cause when he referred to a Notre Dame pregame tradition as a "faggot dance" (and then asked reporters not to report that he'd used that term) in press conferences following the Hawaii Bowl.

The slur cost him a 7 percent pay cut, 30 days without pay, and a target on his back.

Now, with Hawaii's uncompetitive sleepwalk through the WAC conference, the Warriors, at 2-6, might be looking for someone else to don the lei next year.

Rick Neuheisel, UCLA

How long will the Rick Neuheisel experiment at UCLA last?

That answer depends a lot on this year's USC game. This is, by far, the best opportunity the Bruins have to stake a definitive claim to the LA area and get some recruiting momentum going for a UCLA team that has been foundering for an identity since the late ’90s.

Beating the Trojans would be a huge step towards repairing the 0-5 Pac-10 record UCLA has run up since their deceptive 3-0 start. Neuheisel isn't in any real danger as coach, since his tenure is intended to be long term.

But it would significantly aid the hotbed of Southern California recruiting, and put some mustard back in the crosstown rivalry, if UCLA could pull off a big upset.

And hell, maybe the Bruins will make a bowl game. You've gotta dream big.

Rich Rodriguez, Michigan

Simply put, the Wolverines have to reach a bowl to guarantee Rodriguez doesn't face another unpleasant offseason.

This week's loss to the Illini raised the unpleasant possibility that the Wolverines, at 5-4, may not win another game, falling short of bowl eligibility if they can't beat Purdue, Wisconsin or Ohio State.

After the lovefest in September that followed the Wolverines 4-0 start, this would be devastating for the team and for Rodriguez, whose spread n' shred system has yet to prove its viability in Big Ten play.

University President Mary Sue Coleman has already come forth dispelling rumors that Rodriguez is on a three-year test schedule, citing the example of U-M men's basketball coach Tommy Amaker, who failed to make the NCAA tournament despite six years' worth of chances.

Another win, and at least a close game against the Buckeyes, would take the heat off his seat and the target off his back and bode well for the future of his young, impressive, but vulnerable team.

Al Groh, Virginia

The pieces were in place for another stupendous second-half performance for the Virginia Cavaliers, who have bounced back from horrendous opening records to compete for ACC Coastal titles the past three years.

After three straight losses to open the season, including to 1-AA William and Mary, the Cavs rattled off three straight wins, including a 47-7 stomping of Indiana, and appeared to summon the nerve for another comeback.

Instead, an uncompetitive home loss to Georgia Tech and another home loss to Duke have put the Cavs in the bottom tier of the ACC, and Groh is feeling the flames once again, without any guarantee of a bowl game to fend off the naysayers.

I expect this to be the one guaranteed casualty heading into the offseason. After all, the emotional travails have to take their toll at some point.

Dan Hawkins, Colorado

One of my favorite bloggers likened Dan Hawkins 20+ minute soliloquy/press conference following the loss to Kansas State to the last, desperately optimistic rationalizations that come at the end of a relationship, and that about sums up the feelings in Colorado.

This is especially true now that the Buffs have dropped their third conference game to Missouri and are staring a sub .500 record squarely in its snaggletoothed face.

The only thing preventing Dan Hawkins from hearing, "There's the door, sir," is the fact that the CU administration is too bloody broke to pay Hawkins his buyout money, a sad and extremely vulnerable position indeed if the rhetoric turns ugly.

Colorado fans have to hope that this, this, is the last season that the Buffs pay off the actual and existential baggage that still stems from the recruiting foibles of the Gary Barnett era.

If not, that's a long, broke road of mediocrity that winds all the way through the Rocky Mountains and never really ends up ahead.

Steve Kragthorpe, Louisville

Despite inheriting a team of already-questionable merit, Steve Kragthorpe's (I've always wanted to call him Craig Stevethorpe) two years at Louisville have been epically bad.

The Cardinals have lost two straight to rival Kentucky, suffered massive attrition among scholarship players, and haven't done much to earn that expensive new stadium.

They will likely miss a bowl this year after not getting an invite in 2007 and falling below .500 in 2008. They are 0-3 in conference play, 3-5 overall, with the Pitt and West Virginia games still to go.

And when it gets to the point where you're cracking wise about the man who will likely succeed you, you've reached some kind of acceptance, haven't you?

Ralph Friedgen, Maryland

Take all the information about Virginia, switch the “loss to a 1-AA team” to “win over a 1-AA team that required overtime,” add a few trips to the Old Country Buffet, and you have Ralph Friedgen's situation at Maryland.

An atrocious opening schedule with the aforementioned near-miss against James Madison, the blowout loss to Cal, a loss to Middle Tennessee, and three straight losses to ACC foes to go down 2-6 will likely signal the death knell for Friedgen, who has drawn diminishing returns as head coach since his successful first season in 2001, when the Terrapins made the Orange Bowl.

In an unusual twist, Friedgen's successor, offensive coordinator James Franklin, has already been named, a move most administrations pull to keep talented guys around for as long as possible without fear of defection. If Friedgen requires forcing out, that could complicate matters with Franklin as well.

Touchy situation here. I can see Friedgen stepping down after the season barring a late, tremendous rally that puts the Terrapins at six wins and bowl eligibility.

Paul Wulff, Washington State

It's hard to picture Washington State firing Paul Wulff less than two years into his tenure, but the onfield results have been pretty appalling for the Cougars.

They went 2-10 in Wulff's first year, with their lone Pac-10 win over similarly winless Washington in the Apple Bowl, and they played so flat against Notre Dame last week that it's hard to picture them nationally relevant in the recent future or in the revived Pac-10 conference.

A blowout at the hands of the Huskies would signal severe regression and raise the volume on calls for a change. The Washington State Cougars weren't always a moribund unit, and the taste for success could cost Wulff if he can't turn things around in time for next year.

Mike Sherman, Texas A&M

Mike Sherman can breathe a little easy. His Aggies have bounced back from their rough start, including a 62-14 manhandling by Kansas State, to post two good Big 12 wins over Texas Tech and Iowa State.

Another win can make them bowl eligible, the proverbial promised land for an Aggie team that went 4-8 last year. But the real meat lies in a competitive game against the Longhorns in College Station.

The annual Thanksgiving match-up is better than a bowl game for a lot of Aggie fans, and if Sherman's team can be competitive, it will be proof of a dramatic turnaround, and the calls for his head will greatly subside. If not, a bowl game is small comfort in one of the toughest recruiting spots in the country.

Mike Sanford, UNLV

As a fellow Bleacher Report writer has documented, UNLV fans are tired of the fifth straight year of empty promises.

The Rebels are fresh off a total blanking at the hands of the TCU Horned Frogs at home. In Mike Sanford's fifth year, the coach is 13-40. The athletic director has stated his intention to “watch every game very closely.”

That's the first sign of certain doom, and for a coach who has failed to deliver in his fifth year, it's about time someone started paying attention.

Tommy West, Memphis

Memphis will likely miss the postseason again after their crushing loss to East Carolina last week, and that about guarantees Tommy West's head will roll in the offseason.

West's sub .500 record with Memphis includes missing out on a bowl game in 2006, limping to 7-6 in 2007 and losing in the St. Petersburg Bowl last year to finish 6-7.

What's more, Memphis hasn't seriously competed in Conference USA play since the departure of DeAngelo Williams to the NFL.

According to the ever-churning rumor mill, West's days are numbered. They would have to win out just to sniff the postseason, and with dates at Tennessee, Houston and Tulsa, that's just not likely.

Rich Ellerson, Army

Rich Ellerson was hired as a quick fix for the Army football program after some bad years under Stan Brock and Bobby Ross.

But the team has struggled to make progress in Ellerson's first year, and is currently 3-5 with nasty losses to Iowa State, Tulane and Temple.

The triple option hasn't caught on as well as it has with Army's nemesis, Navy. Thus, the true test will be the Army-Navy game, which Army hasn't won since 2001.

Unless Ellerson can pull a rabbit out of a hat, he might fall victim to the Army administration's notable lack of patience with current coaches, and that would only set Army back further.

Let's hope he hangs on, for the good of the country.

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