We have seen some movement on the coaching front once again with Louisville firing Bobby Petrino over the weekend, but that was hardly a surprising move even considering his buyout, as Louisville will owe some somewhere around $14 million before negotiating an actual term. Petrino was the third coach in FBS football to head out the door this season, joining Mike Jinks at Bowling Green and David Beaty at Kansas. Of the three, Beaty was the only coach allowed to ride out the rest of the season. Here are other coaches who could be in for some trouble in the next couple of weeks:
American Athletic Conference
Scottie Montgomery, East Carolina
There has been little actual talk on this front, but the Pirates have not won a conference game this season, and the overall record, and fan apathy, continues to be an issue. I would expect a move to be made here when the season concludes, as it appears that the administration is not keen to make an in season announcement.
Randy Edsell, U Conn
This hire has been an abject disaster since it was made, and the Huskies are tanking harder than East Carolina in league play. They still have to play each other, so one of these two teams will get at least one win in AAC play, but it appears that this move to bring Edsell back to Storrs has failed in every conceivable way.
Phillip Montgomery, Tulsa
I actually see Montgomery coming back for one more go in 2019, as he had just readjusted his contract over the summer. Still, back to back seasons where Tulsa could win just 2 games per year is not a reason to speculate in the positive about job security.
ACC
Bobby Petrino, Louisville
As everyone knows, Petrino was fired Sunday, effective immediately. It would seem that his instability on his staff, and his inability to transition from Lamar Jackson to anyone currently on the roster has finally caught up to him. Who would have known that his brother Paul would last longer at Idaho than Bobby did at Louisville.
Larry Fedora, North Carolina
I do not see Fedora surviving into 2019. The Tar Heels are just 1-8 overall, and are just 1-6 in ACC play. They allowed a potential win against Duke to escape them over the weekend, and that may have been the final straw for Fedora, who has not had a decent team since someone named Seth Littrell left his staff for North Texas. I absolutely mentioned that name on purpose.
Big 12
Kliff Kingsbury, Texas Tech
We had removed him from the list weeks ago, but here he is again. With a loss to Texas, the Red Raiders have slid back to 5-5 overall, and are now under .500 in Big 12 play at 3-4. These next two weeks will be absolutely huge for Kingsbury here, but if he finishes with a losing record in league play again, keeping him would be a long shot. If a move were to be made, expect both Neal Brown and the hottest name in carousel circles, Seth Littrell to be the top candidates here.
Bill Snyder, Kansas
Snyder is largely expected, on all fronts and from all sources, to be walking away in 2 weeks for good. I wrote on this last week, and nothing has changed here. The two hottest names attached to this job are Jim Leavitt and Chris Klieman.
Mike Gundy, Oklahoma State
He had to go for 2 instead of taking the game into OT against Oklahoma Saturday. I always go for the higher percentage option, which in this case, was OT. Gundy has an iffy relationship with T. Boone Pickens, as we all know, and the Cowboys are 2-6 in Big 12 play. That is a bad mix.
David Beaty, Kansas
We already know his fate, and we already know that Les Miles is in contact with Jeff Long. I love that angle as much as anything, but Jeff Long was on a private flight in and out of Dallas late last week. He could have been there for any reason, but that would indicate to me that he was there to have a quick meeting with Seth Littrell. Stay tuned on this one, as Todd Graham's name has filtered into the mix as well, as has DJ Durkin.
Big 10
Chris Ash, Rutgers
The Rutgers job has bottomed out. The only thing left to discuss is whether or not Ash is going to be the guy to turn it around from here or not. I would not be shocked to see him return in 2019 to give it one more go, but a change could also be in order shortly. There is heavy regret in the Big 10 for ever letting Rutgers in as a member in the first place, so there is a lot of pressure to get this thing turned around quickly.
Lovie Smith, Illinois
Smith is on his way out at Illinois, but the question is whether or not Illinois will spend the money to do it this winter, or next, when they could potentially save a couple of million bucks by waiting. Either way, it is impossible to see him here beyond 2019.
Matt Canada, Maryland (Interim)
Conference USA
Bobby Wilder, Old Dominion
His 3 wins have been huge this season, but the problem is that the Monarchs are far from consistent, or even good on a larger scale. He is well thought of on campus, and that may save him for one more season.
Mike Sanford, Jr., Western Kentucky
It has not been a long tenure for Sanford, but he has dismantled everything good about the program prior to his arrival in a very short period of time. That never works out well for a coach, and it will not work out for him. He has lost the fan base, and the administration is close behind.
Independents
Mark Whipple, U Mass
He is now suspended for a week without pay for making an inappropriate remark in regards to officiating in a loss. His overall record since returning to U Mass as coach is now 14-40. I would think that the writing is on the wall, and a change is likely after the season.
Kalani Sitake, BYU
The Cougars are just 5-5 this season, and should they fall flat in the last couple of weeks, a change could very well be made. Average to losing seasons do not fly in Provo, and attendance is well down during his tenure, which is another indicator about a change being made.
MAC
Chuck Martin, Miami (OH)
Miami U is 4-2 in MAC play, but they are just 4-6 overall, which means they need to win out to get bowl eligible without a waiver. That is a tough spot to be in, but one would have to think that the marker to stay employed this season was in getting to a bowl game. Anything else would be a major step back for Martin. Stay tuned.
Mike Jinks, Bowling Green
Carl Pelini, the interim here, has a shot to retain the job, but I don't think that would be the right move in replacing Jinks, who was fired last month. There are a lot of moving parts here that will start to clear up in 2 to 3 weeks. Stay tuned.
Mike Nue, Ball State
All indicators are that Ball State is not on the path to getting turned around under Neu. At 3-7 this season, there are few signs of development in the program, and that brighter days are soon ahead. He has had some time to get things going at a program that has known success not all that long ago. There is little buzz right now about this job, but smoke is starting to rise.
John Bonamego, Central Michigan
There are strong rumors swirling that he could be headed back to a ST coordinator job in the NFL when the season concludes with the Detroit Lions. This is a fluid situation where he has not succeeded at CMU, where the Chippewas are just 1-9 and are winless in MAC play.
Mountain West
Tony Sanchez, UNLV
There are differing schools of thought here with Sanchez, the camp that believes they have seen enough, and the camp that is looking to hold the administration hostage for donor dollars by keeping him around. I am firmly in the camp of having seen enough. No high school coach has succeeded in making the jump from high school to major college football since Paul Brown did it in 1940. It was a wild swing, but now they have to acknowledge the miss. There has been next to no development in this program for 4 years. A meeting is slated at the completion of the season between Sanchez and the administration. It ought to be interesting.
Brian Brennan, San Jose State
This hire earned my dreaded F grade when it was made, and I stick by that assessment today. After 2 seasons, it is apparent that Brennan was not ready for this job, and the program continues to flounder and sink under his watch. He probably gets another year due to cost saving measures, but he shouldn't.
Troy Calhoun, Air Force
The truth if the matter is that Air Force has become completely irrelevant as a football institution under the watch of Calhoun. Nobody talks about this program in any sense of fear or respect. His once bright star has dimmed to a speck. Depending on what the administration wants to do, my advice would be to start thinking about moving on, just to get a buzz back into the program again and give this thing a shot of adrenaline.
Mike Bobo, Colorado State
Again, I was never high on this hire to begin with, and I have seen little to nothing that has upgraded my assessment of Bobo as a head coach. He largely wasted his best years with his best talent, and the wheels have largely fallen off the wagon this season, and it has little to do with his health issue that plagued his start this season. He just simply is not a guy who I would put a lot of faith in at this point.
Bob Davie, New Mexico
It is largely expected that Davie will not be the coach at UNM in 2019. The issue is having money to find an able replacement that can make the Lobos respectable. Expectations are never high here, and all the replacement has to do is get the Lobos into the bowl picture. MWC titles would be a huge bonus.
PAC-12
Clay Helton, USC
Expectations were completely too high coming into the season, but the USC faithful are clinging to those expectations in order to slam Helton. Has he done a fantastic job? no. The main issue is that the Trojans were far too young on the 2 deep entering the season, and this fact was just tossed aside for no reason. He also has a QB who should be playing in high school right now. USC will be better, whether Helton is there or not, but I am hoping that cooler heads prevail in the meantime, because not all that has gone awry this season is on Helton.
Mike MacIntyre, Colorado
After their 5-0 start, Colorado has fallen completely off the rails in every sense of the phrase, and they were completely detached in a 31-7 loss to Washington State this weekend. There has been some grumbling about Mac dating back to last season, and this could be a time when a move could benefit the program in several ways.
SEC
Derek Mason, Vanderbilt
The Commodores are 4-6 overall, which will not get it done. They are 1-5 in SEC play. Vandy basically needs to win out the next 2 weeks for him to be entirely safe, as a bowl game would be in play. If he finishes 5-7, and 2-6 in SEC play, a change could very well come.
Gus Malzahn, Auburn
All indications are reading that he will be back next season, but if this season should be repeated in 2019, look out. I still will only believe he is back if we get through December and nothing has happened. Should Auburn somehow find a way to be upset by Liberty, followed by a loss to Alabama, I would think that next year becomes a myth.
Sun Belt
Everett Withers, Texas State
The Bobcats are just 3-7 overall this season, and are also 1-5 in SBC play. Should they lose out, a 3-9 finish would likely get Withers fired. Should they finish hot at 2-0, and end up 5-7, I can see him getting another year. He is firmly on a 2 week fence right now.
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