Which coaches are on the hottest seat and under the most pressure after Week 6 of the college football season?
– Contact/Follow @ColFootballNews & @PeteFiutak
We expand the Hot Seat Coach Rankings this week now that we’re deep into the season and the pressure is even tighter. First, the coaches that are on a true Win Or Else hot seat or they might soon get fired, and second is the list of coaches who have no fear of getting fired, but could really, really, really use a win.
Coaches On The Hot Seat: Win, Or Else
10. Charlie Strong, USF
He got the easy win he needed to have over UConn to chill things out a bit, but try this for a finishing kick … BYU, at Navy, at East Carolina, Temple, Cincinnati, Memphis and at UCF. There’s a shot USF is the underdog the rest of the way.
9. Chad Morris, Arkansas
0-10 – that’s what Morris is against SEC teams in just over a year as the head coach. A not-that-bad performance in the loss to Texas A&M might have helped, but at 2-3, his team desperately needs a win over Kentucky on the road this week. He still has Auburn, Alabama and LSU to deal with.
8. Clay Helton, USC
Going 3-2 to kick things off wasn’t all that bad considering the Trojans got by Utah, but this week against Notre Dame could be a make-or-break moment for his tenure. The Trojans can still go bowling with a loss, but that’s hardly where the bar is set.
7. Steve Addazio, Boston College
Seven-Win Steve has done a great job with the program over six-and-a-half years at the helm, but now he’s at 41-41 overall with a 3-3 start. The win over Virginia Tech to start the season is long gone, and now he gets NC State, at Clemson, at Syracuse, Florida State, at Notre Dame, at Pitt to close. He has to beat the Wolfpack at home with four of the last five games on the road.
6. Bobby Wilder, Old Dominion
The father of the program has been a survivor with three losing seasons in the last four. This year’s team has been a major disappointment going 1-4 without a win over an FBS team. Now the Monarchs have to go on the road for three of their next four games.
5. Bob Davie, New Mexico
There’s a problem when your team is losing by double-digits to San Jose State, even an improved one. There’s no consistency and not enough of an offensive punch. After two straight 3-9 seasons and a 2-3 start with the wins coming over Sam Houston State and New Mexico State, there can’t be a home loss to a reeling Colorado State team this week.
4. Doug Martin, New Mexico State
It’s one of the toughest places to build a consistent winner, but he’s had just one season with more three wins in his six seasons at the helm. This year he’s off to an 0-6 start, and it’s going to take something massive just to get back to anther three-win campaign.
3. Randy Edsall, UConn
The team really has improved after a brutal 2018, but the program hasn’t beaten an FBS team since mid-October of 2017. He has lost his last 13 conference games, and now has to go on the road to deal with Tulane after getting rocked by 26 at home by USF.
2. Lovie Smith, Illinois
Last year his Illini crushed Minnesota. This year they were blown out 40-17 after getting off to a decent start. What’s next? Michigan and then Wisconsin, but there’s still a shot to do something solid with winnable games against Purdue, Rutgers and Northwestern to go. No matter what, though, this looks like it’ll be a fourth-straight losing season under Smith.
1. Tony Sanchez, UNLV
It’s halfway through his fifth year – going 17-36 so far – and there isn’t any improvement. UNLV has yet to go bowling during his tenure, he has only won four games once, and this year his Rebels have yet to beat an FBS team. What’s next? Three road games in the next four with trips to Vanderbilt and Fresno State in the next two weeks. Not even the San Jose State game looks like a win now.
NEXT: 10 Coaches Who Won’t Get Fired, But Need A Win
Coaches On The Hot Seat: No Chance These Coaches Get Fired, But They Could Use A Big Win
10. Scott Frost, Nebraska
The Huskers are 4-2 and it’s going to take a total gack to not at least go bowling, but this thing just doesn’t look right. The offense is struggling, it’s been too much of a fight so far to get by bad teams, and it’s been a rough run despite the solid record.
However, beat Minnesota in Minneapolis, and the narrative changes fast with winnable games against Indiana and Purdue to follow. Frost is a win against the Gophers away from being right in the Big Ten West title hunt, and that’s everything . It’s time to get a big win.
9. Joe Moorhead, Mississippi State
Everything is more than fine … as long as State doesn’t whiff against Tennessee this week. His 3-2 Bulldogs will almost certainly get to six wins and a bowl game, and there’s no real shame in getting rocked by Auburn two weeks ago, but a losing season is in place if State drops this to the Vols. Lose, and with LSU and at Texas A&M up next – and with Alabama still to deal with – it’s uh-oh time.
8. Will Muschamp, South Carolina
The win over Kentucky two weeks ago eased things up in a big way. But now the Gamecocks get at trip to Georgia this week and Florida to follow. There’s still a date at Texas A&M to go along with the Clemson game, but for now, he needs a big win over a big team just to show that the program can do it. Splitting the games with the Bulldogs and Gators would do wonders.
7. Jeff Brohm, Purdue
There’s been no luck with injuries, but that wasn’t a problem in the opening day collapse against Nevada. After getting blown out by Penn State, Brohm is 2-7 in his last nine games with this season looking like it’s slipping into the abyss. Getting to six wins is still possible with Maryland, Illinois, Nebraska, Northwestern and Indiana all beatable, but that goes bye-bye if the Boilermakers lose to the Terps this week.
6. Pat Fitzgerald, Northwestern
He’s a made man and a Northwestern head coach for life if he so chooses, but this year’s team is a disaster. It’s competitive, but the O hasn’t scored more than 15 points against anyone but UNLV. At 1-4, bowl hopes are in big trouble for the defending Big Ten West champs with Ohio State and Iowa up next.
5. Mike Bloomgren, Rice
This was always going to be a massive rebuilding process, but after beating Prairie View A&M last year to open up his tenure, he’s gone 1-17 including an 0-6 start to this year. To be fair, the team is playing better, and the Owls were the underdogs in all six games, but losing at UTSA this weekend wouldn’t be okay.
4. Chip Kelly UCLA
The Washington State second half is just a wonderful mirage at this point. The Bruins just lost to Oregon State at home by 17 – that’s it. That was the one game on the schedule that looked like a possible win, and now it’s going to take something heroic to not go 1-11.
3. Thomas Hammock, Northern Illinois
The new NIU head coach hasn’t been able to get the defending MAC champs going. The defense hasn’t been all that bad, but the running game isn’t working, and the wins aren’t there in a 1-4 start. The Huskies have yet to beat an FBS team with the home loss to Ball State last weekend a problem. NIU has to go on the road for four of its next five games.
2. Jeremy Pruitt, Tennessee
It was fun for a quarter. The Vols were pushing Georgia for a little bit, and then things went very, very wrong. Okay, so Tennessee got rocked by the Bulldogs and Florida by a combined 77-17, and it has yet to beat an FBS team this season, but now comes the shot to finally beat someone its own size with Mississippi State coming to town. Lose, and with Alabama coming up next, this is going to get even uglier.
1. Manny Diaz, Miami
This was supposed to be a talented enough team to make a huge push for the Coastal title in a weak season for the ACC, but it’s going to be a fight just to go bowling. The Canes lost at home to Virginia Tech in a thriller with a great comeback that fell just short, but now at 2-3, they have a season-maker against Virginia this Friday night. Win, and with Georgia Tech to follow, everything turns around. Lose, and this Miami becomes one of 2019’s biggest disappointments.
