College Football 2011: 10 Coaches Out the Door with Another Bad Loss

College football's annual coaching carousel and hot seats usually do not boot out the first victim until late in the season. However, 2011 brought a firing right before the season in North Carolina (Butch Davis) and four weeks into September with New Mexico (Mike Locksley).

The sins that usually lead to immediate firings are twofold: lack of performance on the field and additional problems off the field. Locksley was a perfect example of this, with a 2-26 record in just over two seasons and off-field problems highlighted by a DUI charge against a New Mexico recruit in a car owned by Coach Locksley.

A coach can sometimes survive a few bad seasons, and a coach can sometimes survive a small set of off-field problems, but not both. There do not appear to be any other coaches with the deadly duo of "fire immediately" circumstances, but there are plenty of coaches struggling to keep their fanbases happy with the results on the field.

Here's a list of 10 coaches who cannot sleep easy at night because one more bad loss could be the final factor towards a firing at the end of the year.  They are ordered from those with mildly warm seats to those with the hottest seats of all.

10. Mark Richt, Georgia

Mark Richt may appear to be a strange choice after 10 great seasons in Athens, but the results have dropped off the past three years, from 10-3 in 2008 to 8-5 in 2009 and 6-7 in 2010.

Furthermore, Richt played up the first two games of this season—a national showcase opener against Boise State and a big SEC East game against South Carolina. Then the Bulldogs went out and proved exactly why they have fallen from national relevance in losing both of those games.

The seat could not have been hotter after Week 2 of the season, but the seat has cooled significantly thanks to better play against USC and three consecutive wins. The schedule is relatively easy, and South Carolina has already dropped one conference game, which opens the door for Georgia to make the SEC championship game.

If that happens, then perhaps the heat will be off once more. However, one more embarrassing loss in the regular season or even a blowout in the SEC championship game could be the final straw.

9. Joe Paterno, Penn State

Once a coach reaches legend status, such as Bobby Bowden or Joe Paterno, breaking the bond between coach and school is usually messy. With Paterno looking at another contract year this year, now is not the time to look outdated and confused with a quarterback situation.

Yet that is precisely what has happened with Matt McGloin and Rob Bolden. Although neither quarterback has taken the job by the reins, Paterno refuses to make one of them the starter, which forces the offense to stay in an ineffective funk.

Penn State had a brief resurgence in 2008 and 2009 but has fallen back on mediocrity. With Wisconsin running away with the Leaders division, it would not be surprising if another bad loss cancels any hope of a renewed contract for college football's all-time wins leader.

8. DeWayne Walker, New Mexico State

The whole state of New Mexico is struggling mightily in football. One third-year head coach is already gone in Locksley, and his counterpart DeWayne Walker may also be on the way out after his third season.

Walker has only achieved seven wins thus far at Las Cruces, but four of those have come against New Mexico and Prairie View A&M. Defeating an intrastate rival may be worth something in most other states, but not in New Mexico.

The Aggies need to win more than one conference game in the WAC for Walker to avoid walking papers at the end of the year. A road win at Minnesota is a good step, but New Mexico State cannot wait any longer with New Mexico already making a move to improve itself next year.

7. Larry Porter, Memphis

Larry Porter is only in his second season at Memphis, but the incredible drop-off in offensive and defensive production continues to warm the seat under Porter. The Tigers rank in the bottom 10 teams nationally in offensive points per game and defensive points per game.

Since Porter took over, the Tigers have been outscored by over 24 points per game. The bad losses just continue to rack up, with only two mostly meaningless wins so far in Porter's tenure.

College football coaches usually receive at least three years to turn a program around, but the signs are not good in Memphis. If some improvement does not emerge by the end of the season, Porter will be finished after only two campaigns.

6. Joker Phillips, Kentucky

Another second-year coach finds himself sitting on the hot seat in Lexington, as the Joker Phillips era is not off to a great start. One would not expect that Kentucky football coaches would receive much heat for struggling in the loaded SEC, but Big Blue fans loved previous coach Rich Brooks and do not want to step back down to the basement of the conference.

Phillips was able to generate an improved offense over the Brooks era, but his defense has not come together as expected with 10 starters returning from a season ago. Consecutive blowout losses to Florida and LSU along with a surprising loss against rival Louisville make it highly unlikely that UK will go bowling this winter.

Kentucky fans were becoming accustomed to being competitive enough to make bowl games after five straight bowl seasons from 2006-2010. Phillips may not get the benefit of the doubt thanks to the success of his predecessor. With one (or two) more blowout losses in conference play, Phillips may be removed from his duties.

5. Frank Spaziani, Boston College

Tom O'Brien built the Eagles program to continuous success in the ACC, and Jeff Jagodzinski kept the roll going for his two seasons at the helm, but the wins have dropped off under Spaziani. What looked like the easy part of the schedule has resulted in a terrible 1-4 start.

Although Northwestern, Duke and Wake Forest will not be known for their defensive prowess, all have held the Eagles to 19 points or fewer. Spaziani looks lost trying to run a college offense and is working with his second offensive coordinator in three years, which is usually a telltale sign that the head man is about to go.

With five road games in the final seven and no clearly winnable games left, Boston College may be headed to its first losing season in over a decade. Assuming the final record has double-digit losses, Spaziani will have too many bad losses to keep his job.

4. Mike Stoops, Arizona

Mike Stoops has roamed the sidelines in Tucson for eight seasons, yet he has struggled to climb beyond the seven- to eight-win plateau from the past four seasons. Stoops is a fiery presence who does not seem to be able to motivate his players to overcome the best opponents in the biggest games.

After starting 7-1 a season ago, the schedule became tougher with teams like Oregon and Stanford, and Arizona finished with five straight losses. Now a front-loaded schedule has led to a 1-4 start for the Wildcats, which does not bode well for the future of Stoops.

There are a ton of must-wins on the back half of the schedule if Stoops is to keep his job and keep the three-year bowl streak alive. Arizona cannot afford a loss to other scuffling teams like Oregon State, UCLA or Colorado.

3. Houston Nutt, Mississippi

The honeymoon is over in Oxford, as Houston Nutt has not been able to keep up the success of his first two seasons now that the program is full of his recruits.

Nutt was known for a solid offense at Arkansas, but the Rebels are punchless (bottom 25 nationally in passing yards, rushing yards and points per game) this year despite having nine returning starters on that side of the ball.

Nutt's struggles have even begun to cause cries for the firing of Mississippi athletic director Pete Boone, who has stood behind his coach through these tough times. Boone can only answer so many questions before he will be forced to make a move or risk losing his own job.

Unless the Rebels find a way to upset some of the tough teams left on their schedule (Alabama, LSU, Arkansas, Auburn), Nutt will likely be finished after four seasons. Considering how poor the Rebels offense is this year, it appears unlikely that Mississippi will stay competitive with any of those opponents.

2. Luke Fickell, Ohio State

Provided the tough circumstances of numerous player suspended for up to or over half the season and a conference looking to take down the six-time defending champion, it is not surprising that Fickell has struggled in his interim coaching job for this season.

However, the depths to which the Buckeyes have fallen on offense are simply not acceptable by Ohio State standards.

With Michigan approaching the Top 10 in rankings and looking much better immediately with new coach Brady Hoke, the pressure is on Fickell and the Buckeyes to live up to the ridiculously high standard set by Jim Tressel. If Fickell suffers another loss like he has in hopeless games at Miami and against Michigan State, there is no way Ohio State will hire him for the long term.

This is disappointing for a talented young coach, but certain signs point to why he is not ready to be a head coach: weird timeout management, ultra-conservative offense and no fighting spirit shown on the sidelines. With one more bad loss or any loss to Michigan, Fickell will be one-and-done.

1. Rick Neuheisel, UCLA

No seat is hotter in the country than Rick Neuheisel's at UCLA. Neuheisel brought hopes of a revitalized offense to Los Angeles four years ago when he brought in mastermind offensive coordinator Norm Chow, but those hopes have evaporated.

Once again, the telltale sign of fired coordinators a season ago appears to foretell the imminent doom of Neuheisel at UCLA. After what appeared to be a tide-turning win at Texas last September, the Bruins have only managed four wins since then (two against Oregon State).

UCLA managed respectable records despite poor offenses thanks to a rock-solid defense for many years. The defense worsened to 30 points per game surrendered last year, and that number has ballooned to 34 points per game this year. With a weak offense and an unsteady defense, Neuheisel will likely be headed for another bad loss or two that will signal the end of an era at his alma mater.

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With that, the list is complete. Coaches always have an opportunity to play themselves off this list with some good performances, and I wish them all the best of luck in turning things around.

However, this business is about winning and losing, and 60 coaches must necessarily suffer losses every week. Thus, the hot seat is a permanent fixture in college football, and we will continue to have it covered for you. Thanks for reading!