College Football Teams Under the Most Pressure This Offseason
With seven months to go before the season, it might seem that no college football team is under immediate pressure.
But that, of course, is false.
Certain teams have tall tasks ahead of them this offseason and need to hit certain benchmarks during spring and fall camp. Their achievements won't count in the win and loss column—at least not directly—but they could alter the direction of the programs.
The teams on this list are walking on thin ice and can't afford a rocky offseason. Because next year is so important, they must answer pressing questions and avoid making the wrong kind of news (i.e., they can't contend for the 2015 Fulmer Cup).
Most of these teams face quarterback controversies, which is not a coincidence. Tutoring a quarterback is one of (a) the most important things a team can do in general and (b) the major things teams get done in the offseason. Now is when development occurs.
Sound off below, and let us know which teams you would add
Miami Hurricanes
1 of 6
Season Recap
Miami outplayed its record for most of the season and hung close with Florida State in November. But it squandered a first-half lead against the Seminoles—a recurring event for ACC teams last season—and never recaptured its rhythm, ending the year on a four-game losing streak and finishing below .500 for just the second time since 1978.
After-Season Recap
Head coach Al Golden went from sort of on the hot seat to severely on the hot seat. Hurricanes legend Michael Irvin stepped in and told fans to "calm their [expletives] down," per Susan Miller Degnan of the Miami Herald, but that hardly fanned the flames.
It got worse when Miami stumbled through the end of the recruiting cycle and finished No. 27 on the 247Sports composite team rankings. Its average over the previous three classes was No. 12.
Why They're Under Pressure
Historically, Miami is one of the proudest programs in America. Under Golden, it has been terribly mediocre. The Canes started 7-0 in 2013 but have since gone 8-11. Unless they're cutting their ACC schedule with an NFL schedule, that record should never exist.
Miami needs to gets its act together in spring and fall camp. That goes for the players and the coaches. To keep his job, Golden needs at least…let's say nine or 10 wins next season. He can't let quarterback Brad Kaaya run into a sophomore wall a la Christian Hackenberg.
Almost as important, Golden must keep intact the 2016 recruiting class, which currently ranks No. 1 in the country. Those 18 committed players will hear a boatload of negative recruiting this summer, but Golden must make sure they don't waver.
Michigan Wolverines
2 of 6
Season Recap
Head coach Brady Hoke needed a bounce-back year to save his job. Instead, 2014 became an exercise in Murphy's Law.
The wheels first came loose in September, when Michigan lost 31-0 at Notre Dame, failing to score for the first time since 1984. But the nadir came when Hoke kept a clearly concussed Shane Morris on the field against Minnesota, setting off a chain reaction that ended with Dave Brandon resigning as athletic director.
In the end, Michigan finished 5-7 and missed a bowl game for the third time in seven seasons (and the first time since firing Rich Rodriguez).
After-Season Recap
Interim AD Jim Hackett fired Hoke on Dec. 2, three days after the regular-season finale. The ensuing coaching search went nowhere for a while, though it couldn't proceed until Michigan's primary (only) target, Jim Harbaugh, settled his fate with the San Francisco 49ers.
Harbaugh split from the Niners on Dec. 29 and signed with his alma mater one day later. Within weeks he assembled an impressive-looking coaching staff, cobbled together a solid (albeit 14-player) recruiting class and has already started trolling Ohio State/accidentally quoting Rick Ross on Twitter. Not a bad first few months.
Why They're Under Pressure
Harbaugh is being hailed as a messiah. The prodigal son has returned, and because of how well Hoke stocked the cupboards, this can't be a multi-year rebuilding project. Michigan fans expect to win, and predictions such as this from Brad Edwards of ESPN.com, who slated the Wolverines to make the Rose Bowl, are kindling to that fire.
More than anything, Harbaugh and offensive coordinator Jedd Fisch must make the offense look competent in spring camp. Either Morris, Wilton Speight or Alex Malzone must play like a viable quarterback, otherwise 4-star recruit Zach Gentry, who doesn't arrive until fall, will enter under way, way, way too much pressure.
The offense can't flounder so badly that a true freshman quarterback seems desirable. It needs to show signs of life.
Florida Gators
3 of 6
Season Recap
Florida started 2-0 and appeared to have turned a corner under new offensive coordinator Kurt Roper. It played Alabama to a 21-21 draw through 39 minutes, too. But the Crimson Tide pulled away in the final 20 minutes, and from there the season started to spiral.
The ultimate low came against Missouri in October. Florida hosted the Tigers for homecoming and held their offense to 119 yards on 23 plays…and yet somehow still managed to lose 42-13. Missouri scored two special teams and two defensive touchdowns in the win.
From there, head coach Will Muschamp was a dead man walking. He was fired on Nov. 16, one day after losing a winnable game against South Carolina, but was allowed to finish out the year as head coach.
The Gators finished 7-5 and failed to win eight games for the third time in Muschamp's four seasons. Before that, they had won seven or fewer games just once since 1990 (Steve Spurrier's first year at UF).
After-Season Recap
Athletic director Jeremy Foley ran a close-to-his-vest coaching search, but his cover was blown when night crawlers caught him having dinner at Jim McElwain's house in Colorado. Foley hired McElwain away from Colorado State and made him the new head coach.
McElwain got to work on the recruiting trail, but Muschamp's move to Auburn, where he was hired as the new defensive coordinator, became an obstacle. The Gators closed strong on national signing day but still finished outside the top 20 on the composite team rankings.
Why They're Under Pressure
Like Michigan, Florida needs to get its offense going. Ironically, its new offensive coordinator, Doug Nussmeier, held the same position for the Wolverines last season. Before that, though, he succeeded McElwain under Nick Saban at Alabama.
The Gators lost three offensive players (running back Matt Jones and linemen D.J. Humphries and Tyler Moore) as early entries to the NFL draft, which is rare for an unit that finished No. 96 in yards per game. How do they replace those missing pieces? And how will Treon Harris and Will Grier develop in the system at quarterback?
Those questions need answers pronto.
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Oklahoma Sooners
4 of 6
Season Recap
Oklahoma began the year ranked No. 4 in the country and backed that up with a 4-0 start. But heartbreaking losses against TCU and Kansas State ended its playoff chances, laying the groundwork for a blowout loss against Baylor, a third heartbreaking loss against Oklahoma State and another blowout loss against Clemson.
The other four teams in the Associated Press preseason top five (Florida State, Alabama, Oregon and Ohio State) all made the playoff. Oklahoma finished the season unranked.
After-Season Recap
Coaches started leaving left and right. Co-offensive coordinators Jay Norvell and Josh Heupel were fired, and newly promoted co-defensive coordinator Jerry Montgomery, previously the defensive line coach, left a month after his promotion for the Green Bay Packers.
Fortunately, the Sooners made a pair of impressive hires to replace them. First they poached Lincoln Riley from East Carolina, naming him their new offensive coordinator and recommitting to the air raid offense, and then they hired Kerry Crooks, one of the best defensive backs coaches in the country, from Notre Dame.
"We had so much success with [the air raid] through the years," head coach Bob Stoops told Jenni Carlson of The Oklahoman. "…I had a strong feeling and commitment that I wanted to be back in it."
Why They're Under Pressure
It's one thing to commit to the air raid. It's another thing to run it. Are we sure Oklahoma has the proper personnel?
Specifically, are we sure it has a quarterback. Baker Mayfield transferred from Texas Tech, so he's familiar with air raid concepts, but there's a reason Davis Webb stole his job in 2013. And Trevor Knight was one of the biggest all-around busts of last season.
How does the roster take to Riley's offense? How does Riley's offense adapt to the roster? How does Stoops rebound from one of the most humiliating losses of his career (the Clemson game). Especially after punting to Tyreek Hill, that was the last thing he needed.
Texas Longhorns
5 of 6
Season Recap
Head coach Charlie Strong had an eventful first season. He installed a new order of discipline, which obviously takes more than a year, and found success with a three-game winning streak in November. But at Texas, going 6-7 will always be unacceptable.
Also unacceptable: the sad state of Texas' offense. The Longhorns scored seven or fewer points four times and 10 points against TCU. They gained 59 total yards against Arkansas in the Texas Bowl, nine shy of the fewest in school history (a mark set in 1943).
After-Season Recap
Things are trending up in Austin. One of the biggest questions about Strong when he came over from Louisville was whether he would "fit" on the recruiting trail, but he proved he could recruit the state of Texas (and the state of Florida) en route to signing a top-10 class. This is the most raw talent he has ever had to work with as a head coach.
Why They're Under Pressure
They need to find a quarterback, and they need to find one fast. Redshirt freshman Jerrod Heard is the presumed favorite, but 2014 starter Tyrone Swoopes remains an option. Either way, one of those two has to emerge after Zach Gentry flipped to Michigan.
More than that, though, Strong must continue installing his "five core values" and continue getting his team to buy in. The wave of dismissals that greeted his arrival are in the distant past, and by the end of the season, Longhorns players seemed as gooey about Strong and his staff as Louisville players seemed from 2010 to 2013.
They have to keep this train moving forward.
Utah Utes
6 of 6
Season Recap
Utah won nine games for the first time since joining the Pac-12 in 2011. Before that it won nine-plus games in four straight seasons (including a 13-0 campaign in 2008) as a member of the Mountain West.
Things ended on a high note, too, as the Utes beat Colorado State 45-10 in the Las Vegas Bowl. They entered that game as underdogs, which made it even sweeter to beat up on an old MWC foe.
After-Season Recap
In a matter of weeks, the high note of beating Colorado State gave way to a low note. Defensive coordinator Kalani Sitake left for Oregon State and offensive coordinator Dave Christensen left for Texas A&M, leaving behind a quiet trail of tension in Salt Lake City.
Gordon Monson of The Salt Lake Tribune reported in December that head coach Kyle Whittingham and athletic director Chris Hill were clashing over assistant coach compensation (among other things). Monson predicted Whittingham would leave the program, and even though he didn't, and has since actually signed an extension, the awkwardness created by that report still lingers.
Why They're Under Pressure
Utah needs to get its house in order. Is Whittingham happy to be there? Were the players disenchanted with what they read about this offseason? Can the new staff hit the ground running?
After three years adjusting to life in a power conference, the Utes looked ready to return to their old winning ways. And in many ways, they still do. But they have to keep the Jenga tower standing.
One more incident might bring it to the ground.
Note: All recruiting info refers to the 247Sports composite rankings
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