CFW Preseason 2023 – The Coaches on the Hot Seat
West Virginia’s Neal Brown may be
sitting on the hottest seat in the country
One analyst said, “Neal Brown isn’t on the hot seat. He’s just waiting to get fired.” Sixteen other coaches aren’t far behind. Their behinds are hot too. All will be struggling to avoid the pink slip. Meanwhile, the coaches of Florida, Miami and Oklahoma are in a unique and similar situation.
Coaches on the Hot Seat – 2023
Unfortunately for some head coaches, they are entering the season teetering on the edge. It’s only a question of whether they hang on or fall off. Those that hang on will survive to coach another year or more. Those that fall off will be looking for a new job at or before the end of the 2023 season.
These teetering coaches are on the hot seat and some seats are hotter than others. It’s a difficult time for the coaches. As the season begins, they are under a lot of pressure. For some, the pressure will only get worse. Their seats will get hotter.
Among the Power Five conferences, the Big Ten and Big 12 lead the way with three coaches each on the hot seat. Indiana’s Tom Allen may have the hottest seat in the Big Ten. Allen is feeling a lot of heat. He is 30-40 after 6 years and 2023 doesn’t look good for the Hoosiers. To make matters worse, Indiana opens against Ohio State. A win over the Buckeyes could save Allen’s job. But figure the odds.
No doubt Allen has the hottest seat in the Big Ten. Two other coaches are sitting on mildly hot seats – Michigan State’s Mel Tucker and Maryland’s Mike Locksley. After three seasons, Tucker is 18-14 and Locksley is 21-28 after five years. Tucker is trending down, while Locksley is showing some improvement.
Question mark warm seat in the Big Ten: Rutgers’ Greg Schiano – 12-22 after three seasons.
The Big 12 Conference, like the Big Ten, has three coaches on the hot seat. One of the three is on the hottest seat in the country. He is West Virginia’s Neal Brown. Brown is 22-25 after four years in Morgantown. To make matters worse for Brown, WVU is picked to finish dead last in the Big 12 this season. It’s pretty safe to say that the Mountaineers will have a new coach in 2024.
Ironically, another coach on the hot seat in the Big 12 is former West Virginia coach and current Houston coach Dana Holgorsen. After four years with the Cougars, Holgorsen is 27-20. That’s a winning record, but those four years were in the AAC. This season, Houston steps up to the Big 12. Bad news for Holgorsen. The Cougars are picked to finish right above West Virginia – next to last.
The third and final hot seat coach in the Big 12 is Steve Sarkisian of Texas. Sarkisian has only been at Texas for two seasons, but his record is 13-12. That doesn’t cut it in Austin. This year, Texas is picked to win the Big 12. Talk about pressure. Can Sarkisian live up to it?
The ACC has two coaches on the hot seat. They are Boston College’s Jeff Hafley and Dino Babers of Syracuse. Hafley is sitting at 15-20, after three seasons at BC. This year doesn’t look promising. Following seven seasons at Syracuse, Babers is 36-49. There is some hope for Babers, but not much.
Question mark warm seat in the ACC: NC State’s Dave Doeren. In 10 years, Doeren is 72-54, but he has never been able to get over the hump.
The only hot seat coach in the Pac-12 is California’s Justin Wilcox. In six years, Wilcox is 30-36 in Berkeley. It’s pretty safe to say Cal will have a new head coach next year.
And the only hot seat coach in the SEC is Missouri’s Ed Drinkwitz – 17-19 in three seasons. Drinkwitz has yet to have a winning season in Columbia. He’s been close, but no banana.
Question mark warm seat in the SEC: Texas A&M’s Jimbo Fisher. In five years, Fisher is 39-21. Last year’s 5-7 was hard to swallow in College Station. This year, the Aggies are picked to finish no better than third and as low as fifth in the SEC West. But Fisher’s buyout is monumental.
Most of the 17 hot seat coaches are in Power Five conferences – 10. There are seven hot seat coaches in the Group of Five conferences.
Three of those seven reside in the MAC. The MAC is known as the cradle of coaches and the graveyard of coaches. Many coaches who went on to greatness got their start in the MAC. Many other coaches who got their start in the MAC never got beyond the MAC.
Leading the list of hot seat coaches in the MAC is Ball State’s Mike Neu. In seven years, Neu is 33-48. Following Neu, Thomas Hammock of Northern Illinois and Bowling Green’s Scott Loeffler are feeling the heat. In four years, Hammock is 17-27 at NIU, while Loeffler is 13-29 in four years at Bowling Green.
Question mark warm seats in the MAC: Central Michigan’s Jim McElwain and Maimi’s Chuck Martin. In four years at CMU, McElwain is 24-21. In nine years at Miami, Martin is 45-59.
The remainder of the Group of Five conferences just have one coach each on the hot seat. In the AAC, that coach is Rice’s Mike Bloomgren. In five years, Bloomgren sits at 16-39 with the Owls. This most likely will be his last year at Rice.
Question mark warm seats in the AAC: East Carolina’s Mike Houston and Ryan Silverfield of Memphis. Houston is sitting at 22-24 in four years with East Carolina. Silverfield is 21-16 in four years at Memphis. The jury is out.
Conference USA’s coach on the hot seat is UTEP’s Dana Dimel. In five years, Dimel is a lackluster 17-40 at UTEP.
Question mark hot seat in C-USA: Middle Tennessee’s Rick Stockstill. Stockstill is a veteran at MTSU, but his record is barely above .500 – 109-103. His teams have mostly been mediocre.
The lone hot seat coach in the MWC is New Mexico’s Danny Gonzales. In three years, Gonzales is a miserable 7-24.
In the Sun Belt Conference, Georgia State’s Shawn Elliott is the sole hot seat coach. In six years, Elliott is 34-38.
Among the four Independents, there are no coaches on the hot seat.
Then there are three coaches who aren’t on the hot seat, yet, but they are definitely on the warm seat. All three are in similar situations. They debuted last year and are in their second year at their respective schools this season. There were high expectations for each of them last season. A lot was expected. But the high expectations ended in disappointment. I’m talking about Oklahoma’s Brent Venables, Miami’s Mario Cristobal and Florida’s Billy Napier.
After the 2021 season, following a very successful 23-year career (13 at Oklahoma and 10 at Clemson) as a defensive coordinator, Brent Venables took over the head coaching job at Oklahoma. As the 2022 season began, the Sooners were a consensus 9th in the preseason polls and the favorites to win the Big 12. When the season was over, Oklahoma (6-7) was nowhere to be found in the Top 25. The Sooners finished 7th in the Big 12 (3-6) and lost to West Virginia. And OU lost its bowl game.
After the 2021 season, Miami (Florida) lured Mario Cristobal away from Oregon to become the head coach of the Canes. What could be more ideal? It was the return of the native. Cristobal was born and raised in Miami and played football for the Canes. He was the native son. As the 2022 season began, Miami was a consensus 16th in the preseason polls. The Canes were favored to win the Coastal Division of the ACC and play for the conference championship. But when the season was over, Miami (5-7) was nowhere near the Top 25. The Canes finished 5th in the ACC Coastal Division (3-5). Miami lost at home to Middle Tennessee State. And the Canes failed to qualify for a bowl game.
After the 2021 season, following a detailed and lengthy search, Billy Napier was named the head coach at Florida. Napier was coming off a successful four seasons at Louisiana, where he coached the Ragin’ Cajuns to a 40-12 record. As the 2022 season began, Florida was a consensus 30th in the preseason polls. The Gators were considered a “dark horse” to win the SEC East, generally picked to finish 4th in the Division. Many picked Florida to finish 3rd in the SEC East. When the season was over, Florida (6-7) was nowhere near being a Top 30 team. The Gators did finish fourth, tied with two other schools, in the SEC East Division (3-5). But Florida lost to Vanderbilt. The scene became worse when Oregon State beat the Gators, 30-3, in the Las Vegas Bowl.
Yes, Venables, Cristobal and Napier are only on warm seats. If the Sooners, Canes and Gators don’t show significant improvement in 2023, Venables, Cristobal and Napier will be on a very hot seat when the 2024 season begins. Stay tuned!
Now you know the coaches on the hot seat. Tomorrow – August 17 – I’ll update you on the best quarterbacks at preseason.
Touchdown Tom
August 16, 2023
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