NCAA Tournament Bracket: 10 Bubble Coaches Who Need Tournament Berth to Save Job

The 2011 NCAA tournament is almost here and the word of the week is “bubble.”
 
Many power-conference teams' seasons will come down to how they fare in this week’s conference tournaments.
 
Will that early-season loss to a team with a RPI in the 200s come back to haunt you?
 
Does the atrocious record away from your friendly confines leave you with zero big wins on the road?
 
How many decent teams have you beaten, by the way?

The bubble is not a fun place to be for coaches who are fighting to keep their jobs. A turnover here or a missed shot there and you are back to coaching in the OVC.
 
But a bank-shot at the buzzer can not only keep your job…but get you an extension as well.
 
Here are 10 coaches who need to go dancing to ensure they have a job next season.

10. Lorenzo Romar: Washington

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SAN JOSE, CA - MARCH 20: Guard Isaiah Thomas #2 and head coach Lorenzo Romar of the Washington Huskies celebrate after their 82-64 win over the New Mexico Lobos in the second round of the 2010 NCAA men's basketball tournament at HP Pavilion on March 20,

The future looked so bright after last season’s unexpected Sweet 16 appearance.
 
But now the Huskies find themselves floating on the bubble with a less-than-stellar resume.
 
Having an 11-7 record in the Big East is great…but not in the Pac-10, where there are only two teams that are locks for the tournament.
 
Their only top-50 wins were against UCLA and Arizona, and the best non-conference win is Long Beach State.
 
Romar has led his team to the NCAA Men's Basketball Championship five of his nine years…but having a second-rate season like this while having a player like Isaiah Thomas is inexcusable.
 
Romar has struggled to keep his team focused this season, and it might be enough to axe him if the Huskies flame out in the first round of their conference tournament.

9. Steve Donahue: Boston College

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SYRACUSE, NY - MARCH 25: Head coach Steve Donahue of the Cornell Big Red reacts against the Kentucky Wildcats during the east regional semifinal of the 2010 NCAA men's basketball tournament at the Carrier Dome on March 25, 2010 in Syracuse, New York. (P

The 19-11 Eagles only have one top-50 RPI win (Texas A&M) and that was back in November.
 
They picked up a huge victory against fellow bubble team Virginia Tech last week, but still have to win two ACC tournament games to realistically think their going to get a bid.
 
A year ago, coach Donahue was leading Cornell to a miraculous Sweet 16 appearance—now he is struggling to stay relevant in the ACC.
 
While he likely wouldn’t get fired after one season, his BC tenure would be off to a very bumpy start.

8. Mark Fox: Georgia

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LEXINGTON, KY - JANUARY 29: Mark Fox the Head Coach of the Georgia Bulldogs gives instructions to his team during the SEC game against the Kentucky Wildcats at Rupp Arena on January 29, 2011 in Lexington, Kentucky. Kentucky won 66-60. (Photo by Andy Lyon

Fox started off his tenure at Georgia with an uninspired 14-17 record.
 
This season he has the Bulldogs on the cusp of a bid…but by no means are they feeling comfortable about their situation. They have beaten 11 teams with sub-150 RPIs and only posses quality wins over Kentucky and Tennessee.
 
The Bulldogs have to win a SEC tourney game to feel better—two to feel safe.
 
But if they fall flat on their collective faces…the mediocre progress of Fox may not be enough for him to save his job.

7. Mick Cronin: Cincinnati

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NEW YORK - MARCH 09: Head coach Mick Cronin of the Cincinnati Bearcats looks on from the bench against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights during the first round game of the Big East Basketball Tournament at Madison Square Garden on March 9, 2010 in New York, Ne

The Bearcats have struggled ever since Bob Huggins was fired in 2005. Cronin has been in charge for five years now and looks to finally be dancing.
 
This was the make-or-break year for Cronin and wins over Georgetown (times two), Marquette, Xavier and St. John’s should be enough to get the ‘Cats dancing again.
 
His record of 55-64 before this season made his chair hot for the entire season. Cronin has done a noteworthy job of keeping his team fresh with a large rotation of solid role players that make the Bearcats a dangerous out if they make the tourney.

6. Anthony Grant: Alabama

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NASHVILLE, TN - MARCH 12: Head coach Anthony Grant of the Alabama Crimson Tide reacts as he coaches against the Kentucky Wildcats during the quarterfinals of the SEC Men's Basketball Tournament at the Bridgestone Arena on March 12, 2010 in Nashville, Ten

The former VCU head honcho hasn’t quite found the same success he had in the CAA.
 
‘Bama followed up one subpar season with a slightly better one. After finishing 6-10 in the middle-of-the-road SEC, Alabama has had a terrific turnaround in the SEC to the tune of 12-4.
 
But the Crimson Tide still have a ton of work to do. Early-season losses to Seton Hall, Iowa and Providence are still a major hurdle for Grant’s team.

Alabama has yet to make a splash in the Grant era, and it remains to be seen how patient the athletic department will be.

5. Kevin O’Neill: USC

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EUGENE, OR - JANUARY 13: Head coach Kevin O'Neill of the USC Trojans has some words with an official during the second half of the game against the Oregon Ducks at Matthew Knight Arena on January 13, 2011 in Eugene, Oregon. Oregon won the game 68-62. The

The Trojans have once again fallen into Pac-10 irrelevancy. That’s what happens when you lose to Rider, Bradley, TCU, Oregon St. and Oregon twice.
 
O’Neill’s Trojans have suffered horrible early-season losses for the second year in a row. Last year, USC lost to Loyola Marymount and Nebraska.
 
At 18-13 with an RPI at 69, the Trojans have to do some serious work to get into the tourney. O’Neill has infused absolutely zero excitement into the program and a second consecutive year without making the tournament should clue the higher-ups at USC that he is not the right guy for this job.

4. Bruce Pearl: Tennessee

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LEXINGTON, KY - FEBRUARY 08: Bruce Pearl the Head Coach of the Tennessee Volunteers gives instructions to his team during the SEC game against the Kentucky Wildcats at Rupp Arena on February 8, 2011 in Lexington, Kentucky. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Ima

Pearl has had plenty of success with the Volunteers. He has made the tourney in each of his first five seasons at the helm, including an Elite Eight appearance last season.
 
But the 2010-2011 season has been a disaster for the program.
 
It started off with Pearl being suspended for the first eight conference games of the season due to a head-scratching recruiting violation that a coach of Pearl’s stature should’t have.
 
Now his preseason top-25 team has 13 losses and an 8-8 conference record in the subpar SEC.
 
If the Vols blow it in the first round of the conference tourney…it may give the athletic department the excuse it's been looking for to fire the infamous body painter.

3. Bruce Weber: Illinois

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CHAMPAIGN, IL - FEBRUARY 13: Head coach Bruce Weber of the Illinois Fighting Illini argues with a call during the game against the Purdue Boilermakers at Assembly Hall on February 13, 2011 in Champaign, Illinois. Purdue defeated Illinois 81-70. (Photo by

We live in a what-have-you-done-for-me-lately society, and Weber may be the latest victim.

He took his team all the way to the championship game in 2005. He made the NCAA tournament in each of his first four seasons at the helm.

But check out his team since all of the Fighting Illini recruits have been his own:

2007-2008: 16-19 (5-13) No postseason

2008-2009: 24-10 (11-7) Upset in first round of NCAA tournament

2009-2010: 21-15 (10-8) NIT Quarterfinals

2010-201-:19-12 (9-9) ???

Does this sound like progress to you?

Weber needs another tourney bid to ensure the Illini faithful don't start a nationwide coaching search for his replacement.

Losing to teams like Illinois-Chicago and Indiana sure doesn't help his cause.

2. John Beilein: Michigan

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INDIANAPOLIS - MARCH 12: Head coach John Beilein of the Michigan Wolverines watches action during the game against the Ohio State Buckeyes in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Men's Basketball Tournament at Conseco Fieldhouse on March 12, 2010 in Indianap

How patient are the Wolverine faithful? The best wins of the season were two over exceedingly disappointing Michigan State and a home victory over Harvard.
 
Not exactly impressive.
 
They are in the bubble conversation strictly because of the 8-3 record in their last 11 games.
 
During Beilein’s four-year tenure, the Wolverines have only amassed a 65-65 record with a single tournament berth.
 
One former West Virginia coach has already been fired this season after continuing mediocrity…will Beilein follow in the steps of Rich Rodriguez?

1. Seth Greenberg: Virginia Tech

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GREENSBORO, NC - MARCH 12: Seth Greenberg, head coach of the Virginia Tech Hokies on the sidelines against the University of Miami Hurricanes in their quarterfinal game in the 2010 ACC Men's Basketball Tournament at the Greensboro Coliseum on March 12, 2

This is it for Greenberg.
 
The Hokies are seemingly always one of the last teams to be left out of the dance. His team is one of the main reasons the field expanded to 68 teams this season.
 
Everything looked peachy after beating No. 1-ranked Duke.
 
But after dropping consecutive games to Clemson and Boston College, once again Virginia Tech finds itself square on the bubble. When does the V-Tech athletic director finally say enough is enough?
 
Greenberg has been the coach since 2003 and has a grand total of ONE tournament appearance to show for it. He has a 60-61 career record in the ACC and is dangerously close to yet another NIT bid.
 
The head-coaching seat at V-Tech is red hot right now, and the next week will determine the future of the Hokie basketball program for years to come.