College Football Predictions 2011: Mack Brown and 5 BCS Coaches on the Hot Seat

Perhaps no type of coach in the world of sports has more responsibilities than the head football coach of an elite collegiate program. With that responsibility comes plenty of accolades when things are going well. When things aren’t going so well, however, these coaches can quickly find themselves on the hot seat.

In the NFL, the organization can always choose to fire the general manager or change the on-field personnel if things aren’t working out. With recruiting, college coaches essentially serve as both the head coach and the general manager. Also, you can’t exactly release student athletes if their performance isn’t up to par.

With that said, college football coaches often become the ultimate scapegoats. Regardless of what type of talent was present when they took over, coaches often have to take the fall for the faults of their predecessor without ample time to put their stamp on the program.

That isn’t to say that some college football coaches are truly the reason why a particular program is being held back. Whatever the case, there is no shortage of big-name coaches who are potentially on the chopping block should the 2011 season not be a successful one.

Here are the top five BCS conference coaches in danger of losing their jobs at season’s end.

Paul Wulff (Washington State)

No BCS-conference team has struggled more and been a bigger disappointment than the Washington State Cougars over the past few seasons. A once proud program that has appeared in four Rose Bowls over its history, Washington State has essentially turned into the laughingstock of college football.

The Cougars haven’t had a winning record since 2003, a year which marked their third consecutive 10-win season. The past three seasons have been particularly awful as Washington State has accumulated a putrid record of 5-32 which equates to a winning percentage of just .135. The one constant for the program over those three seasons has been head coach Paul Wulff.

Wulff previously coached FCS powerhouse Eastern Washington, but perhaps it’s no coincidence that they didn’t become a true powerhouse until after his departure. Wulff had just one losing season in eight years as the head coach at Eastern Washington, but he never achieved postseason success as the team only ever got as far as the Division I FCS Quarterfinal.

Unfortunately for Washington State, Wulff’s track record of regular season success at the FCS level hasn’t translated to the FBS. There doesn’t seem to be much talent on the horizon, so it’s very difficult to imagine the Cougars improving significantly on their 2-10 record from last season. Luckily for the Wulff, a .500 record would likely be enough to save his job, but that almost seems like an impossibility at this point.

Rick Neuheisel (UCLA)

Entering his fourth season as head coach of the UCLA Bruins, Rick Neuheisel will likely lose his job if his team achieves any less than a bowl appearance this season. Thanks to Neuheisel’s success at Washington, including a Rose Bowl win in 2000, there were high hopes with respect to what he could do at UCLA.

Things haven’t gone as planned, however, as Neuheisel as compiled a record of just 15-22 over his three years as UCLA’s head man. Under Neuheisel the Bruins have yet to finish better than eighth in the Pac-10 Conference. The addition of Colorado and Utah to form the newly-minted Pac-12 likely won’t make things any easier for Neuheisel and co.

UCLA has experienced just one winning season and bowl appearance during Neuheisel’s tenure; a 7-6 record and win in the EagleBank Bowl in 2009. Most publications have predicted the Bruins to finish somewhere around ninth or tenth in the conference this season.

The loss of defensive stalwarts like Akeem Ayers and Rahim Moore to the NFL certainly won’t make things any easier for UCLA this season. Unless the Bruins are able to surprise in a big way, Neuheisel will find himself on the unemployment following the season in all likelihood. It shouldn’t be long before he catches on as quarterbacks coach for another college team or an NFL team, though.

Jeff Tedford (California)

Continuing the trend of Pac-12 coaches on the hot seat, it appears as though California’s Jeff Tedford’s job could be in jeopardy. Tedford has certainly been successful over his nine years at Cal, compiling an overall record of 72-42. The Golden Bears have also been to seven bowl games under Tedford, winning five of them.

While Tedford’s teams have generally always been good, they haven’t been national title contenders. Cal won 10 games in both 2004 and 2006, but the program has never achieved a postseason ranking higher than ninth under Tedford. Things didn’t get any better last season as the Bears went just 5-7, finished eighth in the Pac-10 and failed to make a bowl game for the first time since Tedford’s inaugural season at Cal in 2002.

Tedford is well-known for his penchant for developing NFL-caliber quarterbacks, including Super Bowl champion Aaron Rodgers. The well seems to have run dry in recent years, however, as the Golden Bears have been without a dominant figure at the position since Rodgers’ departure.

The Pac-12 Conference doesn’t seem to be particularly deep this year as most of the talent resides at the top of the conference in the form of Oregon, Stanford, USC and Arizona State. The rest of the conference would seem to be a crapshoot, so Tedford does stand a chance of keeping his job. It’s difficult to say what Tedford must do to secure himself, but record over .500 and a bowl win should do it.

Houston Nutt (Mississippi)

After a very successful tenure at Arkansas, Houston Nutt jumped ship to one of the Razorbacks’ SEC rivals, the Ole Miss Rebels. Nutt enjoyed two very good seasons upon arriving in Oxford, leading the Rebels to back-to-back 9-4 seasons and Cotton Bowl wins in 2008 and 2009 respectively.

As good as his first two seasons were, 2010 was equally awful for Nutt. Ole Miss struggled to find an ample replacement for quarterback Jevan Snead last season, and the results reflected that. Not only did the Rebels go just 4-8, but they were 1-7 in an incredibly tough SEC. The Rebels’ performance within the conference has been a problem during Nutt’s time at Ole Miss.

Even though the Rebels went 18-8 cumulatively over Nutt’s first two seasons, they were just 9-7 in the SEC and are now 10-14 in SEC games under Nutt. In another conference Nutt may not be in any danger of getting axed, but the SEC is very unforgiving and tends to chew up and spit out the weaker teams. With LSU and Alabama expected to be national title contenders and dark horses like South Carolina and Arkansas also around, Ole Miss could be in for a rough season.

It is widely believed that Ole Miss will finish last in the SEC West this season, and it could very well finish last in the entire conference. Another disastrous season would likely erase all the good things Nutt did over his first two seasons and force him out of town. The Rebels may not be as bad as their record reflects this season, but an incredibly tough SEC schedule will probably signal the end for Nutt.

Mack Brown (Texas)

The history of college football is littered with iconic coaches, and while not many exist today, Texas’ Mack Brown is certainly one of them. Brown has achieved unprecedented success as the Longhorns’ head coach, compiling a 133-34 record over 13 seasons, including a sterling 82-21 record in the Big 12 Conference

With that in mind, it’s difficult to imagine that Brown could be in danger of losing his job, but a lackluster 2010 season has placed him firmly on the hot seat. Prior to last season, the Longhorns had never finished worse than second in the Big 12 South, had never won fewer than nine games, had never missed a bowl bid and had never lost more than three conference games in a season.

All that changed last season, however, as Texas went just 5-7, including 2-6 in Big 12 play, and finished sixth in the Big 12 South. There is no question that 2010 was a rebuilding year for the Longhorns, as they struggled to compensate for the loss of quarterback Colt McCoy to the NFL. In addition to McCoy, Texas has lost an incredible amount of talent to the NFL over the past few seasons, many of whom have left school early.

Regardless of Texas’ recruiting pipeline, it’s ridiculous to suggest that they should be immune to a tough season once in a blue moon. Brown led Texas to nine straight 10-win seasons from 2001 to 2009, including a perfect 13-0 season and National Championship in 2005.

The Longhorns are also just two years removed from a loss to Alabama in the National Championship Game. Brown deserves a longer grace period, but if he doesn’t turn things around quickly, as strange as it may seem, he may be Texas’ coach no longer.