College Football Coaches on the Hot Seat Entering 2016 Summer
College football coaching is a lucrative but stressful profession. According to a recent USA Today survey, 34 FBS head coaches made at least $3 million in 2015, led by Alabama’s Nick Saban at $6.93 million. The jobs are highly sought-after, but they’re hard to hang on to. Given the ever-increasing amounts of money flooding into the sport via television contracts and booster donations, winning is all that matters.
No program will put up with a coach who consistently puts together losing seasons, ratcheting up the pressure on struggling programs. This fall, a number of coaches face ever-increasing heat under their seats.
Here’s a look at eight head coaches who are on the hot seat as we prepare for the 2016 season. These coaches have seen decreasing results on the field or are dealing with off-field issues. Either way, they’ve got to be feeling the pressure this fall.
Darrell Hazell, Purdue
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Darrell Hazell arrived at Purdue with a brief but flashy resume. He led Kent State to its first bowl game since 1972 with a 11-3 record and MAC East title in 2012, which was enough for Boilermakers officials to bite.
Since then, however, it just hasn’t worked for Hazell in the Big Ten. In three seasons at Purdue, he is 6-30, including an ugly 2-22 league record. The Boilermakers have yet to win more than three games in a season under his watch and finished 2-10 last fall. They’ve defeated exactly two Power Five programs under Hazell (Illinois and Nebraska) and three FCS programs.
Hazell received the dreaded "vote of confidence" from his bosses last fall, per Mike Carmin of the Indianapolis Star, and barring drastic improvement, this could be his last stand in West Lafayette.
Dana Holgorsen, West Virginia
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As debuts go, it’s hard to do better than Dana Holgorsen did at West Virginia. Elevated into the head coaching role before the 2011 season, Holgo led the Mountaineers to a 10-3 record and Big East title, punctuating the year with an epic 70-33 blowout of Clemson in the Orange Bowl.
Repeating that magic has proved difficult for West Virginia since moving into the Big 12 for the 2012 season. The Mountaineers are just 26-25 over the last four seasons, 15-21 in league play and have just one winning record in Big 12 play (5-4 in 2014).
The Big 12 is a tougher league than the former Big East, but passionate West Virginia fans want more than seven or eight wins per season. Holgorsen has only two years left on his contract and received a public vote of confidence from new athletic director Shane Lyons last December. Holgorsen told ESPN.com's Travis Haney that he feels confident about his job.
"I don’t think about it. I don’t worry about it. I’m going to do what I do every day, which is wake up and coach ball. It isn’t a story in here. It isn’t a story with the team. It’s business as usual. I think this program is as healthy as it’s ever been. We’ve been improving consistently since Geno [Smith], Tavon [Austin] and those guys left [in 2012]. We feel like we’ll win more games next year than this past year.
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If the Mountaineers can’t find consistent success against the league’s upper echelon, Lyons just might find someone who can.
Gus Malzahn, Auburn
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Gus Malzahn’s first season at Auburn was one incredible run. The Tigers scored miraculous last-second victories over Georgia and Alabama, made the BCS National Championship Game and finished 12-2. Now, however, there are considerable questions about whether Auburn can repeat that success under his watch.
Over the last two seasons, Auburn is just 15-11 and 6-10 in SEC play. Last fall, the Tigers squeaked into the Birmingham Bowl at 7-6, including an overtime win over FCS foe Jacksonville State. Those results simply aren’t good enough on the Plains.
Malzahn’s staff has seen significant turnover. Only four assistants remain from the 2013 staff, and Will Muschamp, expected to turn around Auburn’s defense, left after one season to become South Carolina’s head coach.
Jeremy Johnson, Sean White and John Franklin III competed this spring to become the starting quarterback. Auburn didn’t have a capable starter last fall, and unless one emerges this year, 2016 could be another season of discontent under Malzahn’s watch.
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Mike MacIntyre, Colorado
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For Colorado, the days of Bill McCartney and Gary Barnett seem like a long, long time ago. The Buffaloes have struggled to remain relevant on college football’s modern landscape, and a move to the Pac-12 hasn’t helped.
Colorado hasn’t had a winning season since 2005, hasn’t made a bowl game since 2007 and has won a total of five league games in five years in the Pac-12. Hiring Mike MacIntyre away from San Jose State hasn’t helped, either.
In three seasons at Colorado, MacIntyre is 10-27 overall and 2-25 in Pac-12 play. 2016 could be difficult as well. Experienced quarterback Sefo Liufau could miss the season with a Lisfranc foot injury. Texas Tech graduate transfer Davis Webb had committed to the Buffs, but spurned them for Cal instead.
How much slack does MacIntyre have with his bosses? We could find out this fall.
Mike Riley, Nebraska
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It might seem odd to put a coach entering his second season at a program on the hot seat, but that’s how bad Mike Riley’s first season was at Nebraska. When Riley was hired from Oregon State, it appeared to be an odd choice. He was 12-13 in his last two seasons and had a 58-63 record in Pac-12 play.
His first year in Lincoln did little to allay those concerns. The Cornhuskers were awful at crunch time, losing five games by five points or fewer and finishing 5-7 in the regular season. An NCAA exemption due to a lack of eligible six-win teams earned them a Foster Farms Bowl bid, and they defeated UCLA to finish on a high.
However, Nebraska fans don’t have much patience. The Huskers have only two losing seasons since 1962, and Bill Callahan was fired after his second such season in four years in 2007. Riley returns a solid nucleus led by talented but erratic quarterback Tommy Armstrong Jr., and if the Huskers are better in close games, the record should improve. However, the pressure is on as 2016 approaches.
Charlie Strong, Texas
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Texas fans have high expectations for their program, and with good reason. The Longhorns boast one of college football’s most storied, richest programs thanks to a strong tradition and the deal with ESPN to create the Longhorn Network.
Former head coach Mack Brown steered the program into steady decline following a 2010 national runner-up finish, and Strong was hired to reverse it with tough love and roster turnover. So far, however, his efforts haven’t paid off with wins. Texas is just 11-14 with a pair of losing seasons under Strong.
By comparison, Strong lost just 15 games in four seasons as Louisville's head coach. His results in Austin aren’t good enough for Strong or his new fans. He knows it, too, hiring Tulsa offensive coordinator Sterlin Gilbert to install the Air Raid offense and inject some life into a too-slow scheme.
Texas paid Strong $5.1 million last year. The Longhorns are rich, but they won’t keep cutting checks like that without better results.
Kevin Sumlin, Texas A&M
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Like many college football coaches, Kevin Sumlin has a pet catchphrase that he uses for big events (like a key recruiting commitment) on Twitter. Sumlin punctuates big moments with a "yes sir!" Ask Texas A&M fans if they still want Sumlin as their coach, though, and they’d likely be far less affirmative.
Sumlin had an excellent debut season at A&M, riding Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Johnny Manziel to an 11-2 record that included a win at Alabama and a final Top Five ranking.
However, that appears to be the peak for both A&M and Manziel. Since Johnny Football left for the NFL, the Aggies are just 16-10 and 7-9 in SEC play (finishing sixth and fifth in the SEC West in 2014 and 2015, respectively). Sumlin made $5 million last fall—seventh-best nationally—but certainly hasn’t earned his salary.
This offseason saw talented quarterbacks Kyle Allen and Kyler Murray transfer away from the program and Sumlin part ways with offensive coordinator Jake Spavital. A&M hopes that Oklahoma graduate transfer Trevor Knight can be the answer at quarterback. Otherwise, the heat will only increase under Sumlin’s feet.
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