Coaching Hot Seat: Changes Are Coming

Week 6 is now in the books, and we are now getting a more clear view of what could be coming as far as potential coaching changes in the coming month on the FBS level. While some outlets are looking at an all-time low in coaching moves being made on the Power 5 level this off-season, several G5 schools are considering moves, with FCS coaches on the hot target list for some of those jobs. Here are some coaches who are facing the hottest of seats heading into week 7, and we will also look at a few coaches who may have saved themselves some heat moving forward:

Scottie Montgomery, East Carolina
The Pirates are 2-3 this season, but are off to an 0-2 start in AAC play. His overall record is currently 8-21, with a winning percentage of just.276. He is in year three, and has never won more than 3 games in a season. He has a shot to surpass that number this season, but will it be enough to consider retaining him? With 7 games remaining, the Pirates should be dogs in 6 of them.
There are a few names to consider here for future hires from the FCS level. Curt Cignetti, the coach at Elon and formerly the head coach of IUP in D2 is running strong with the Phoenix at 5-1, and he just beat James Madison, whose coach, Mike Houston, could also be solidly in the mix at ECU. One more name to consider would be Kennesaw State head coach Brian Bohannon.

Randy Edsell, U Conn
As much as Edsell is loved by some in Connecticut (for taking them to one BCS bowl diring his entire career there), his overall record is basically garbage. Edsell is under .500 in stops at both U Conn and Maryland for his career, and he was fired after 6 games at Maryland during the 2015 season. He is 4 -14 since returning to U Conn last season, and still has never signed that contract. Since the deal was never ratified, it may be time to clean up that mistake, and fire him before they owe him anything for doing so. The Huskies lone win in 2018 was against FCS member Rhode Island, and that was a shootout that the Huskies very well could have lost. Against FBS opponents, they have been blasted out of the building weekly, and it's quite difficult to see where any other wins may come from.
Cignetti could also find himself as a candidate here, as he has experience working in the northeast. Rhode Island coach Jim Fleming has had success as a head coach on the FCS level at Sacred Heart, and now at URI, but also has been a successful assistant on the FBS level as well. Rob Ambrose was a consideration at Towson before, and could be once again.

Phillip Montgomery, Tulsa
Montgomery is fading fast in his 4th season at Tulsa, as the Golden Hurricanes finished 10-3 in 2016, and are just 3-14 ever since, including a 1-4 record in 2018. Montgomery took a pay cut during the off-season to offset department financial losses, so he may be around heading into 2019, but if the team bottoms out, which they have been doing, he could find himself out the door.

Dino Babers, Syracuse
After a hot start, Syracuse has lost 2 straight, including last weekend's horrible loss to a bad Pitt club. Syracuse is a team teetering on falling to the wrong side of the line, and with a collapse possibly in front of them, it is still possible that the Orange could fall flat and miss another bowl spot. Babers is in his 3rd season at Syracuse, and has never won more than 4 games in a season at Syracuse after finishing 18-9 at Bowling Green. He had a successful run at Eastern Illinois prior to that, but he could very well be in over his head in the ACC. If the orange completely collapses going forward, and misses a bowl trip, which is possible, Babers will be in jeopardy.

Bobby Petrino, Louisville
Everyone is clamoring for the return of Jeff Brohm, who is not exactly off to the best start at Purdue this season. The problem here is that Petrino's buyout is ridiculous, with a number hovering between 12 and 14 million dollars, depending on who you ask. He likely does not get canned after this season, but he is getting closer to the line. Remember, he constantly under performed, even when he had Lamar Jackson at QB.

Larry Fedora, North Carolina
Fedora's blueprint to building a program was written by a kid in kindergarten, obviously. He left no foundation at Southern Miss when he bolted for this job, and then won with Butch Davis' players, and now he has stayed on too long, because he simply cannot win with his own. Fedora has had exactly one season with 10 or more wins at UNC (11 in 2015), and other than that has never won more than 8 games in any one season at Chapel Hill. He has had 2 losing seasons in 6 completed seasons, and is cruising for another losing season in 2018, which would be his 3rd in 7, and 4th in the last 6. He is 4-12 since the start of the 2017 season, and things are not getting better.

Paul Johnson, Georgia Tech
Johnson is one of the most inconsistent coaches in the nation, and has been for years. His triple option offense is a dinosaur on the FBS level, and once the Yellow Jackets get behind in a game, it's over. Tech is off to another sad start, and is 1-2 in ACC play. Tech is expected, at this point, to finish with a losing record, and sits at just 3-3. If they finish with a losing record, it would be his 3rd in 4 years. His overall record at Tech is 79-57, but the last 4 years has him at 20-22, and his bowl record is just 3-5, and Tech has not seen a ranking since 2015, when they ended the season at 3-9.

Kliff Kingsbury, Texas Tech
The Red Raiders are sitting at 3-2 and 1-1 in Big 12 play, meaning we could see the other shoe drop at any given moment. If Tech falls the wrong way, again, it would absolutely be the end for Kingsbury in Lubbock. He is now just 33-35 in his 6th season, and his last "winning" record came in 2015 at just 7-6. His first season (8-5) was a high water mark for his career here, as he has never won more than 8 games, nor as many as 8, since that point. He has 4 losing seasons, and if Tech were to finish with such a mark again, this would be his 5th.
Names that insiders around Tech keep on mentioning are Neal Brown of Troy and Seth Littrell of North Texas, as Brown has experience working on the staff at Tech. Littrell was a high school legend as head coach before revamping the program at UNT. One more name to keep an eye on would be Ryan Day at Ohio State, if Ohio State could not retain him.

Mike Gundy, Oklahoma State
There has never been a lot of overwhelming love between Gundy and benefactor T. Boone Pickens. Oklahoma State has lost to Iowa State once again, which cause severe angina with Pickens, and they also lost to Texas Tech earlier this season. If Pickens wanted to make a move, he certainly has the cash to do so both with the buyout and with the potential hire. Stay tuned.

David Beaty, Kansas
Beaty was simply a bad hire to start with who was destined to fail at Kansas. We all know that. Jeff Long will not commit to a move until the end of the season. We also know that. Beaty is as done as done gets at Kansas, and now it's all down to the act itself, which could come at any time. Kansas is back to being horrible, with an 0-3 mark in Big 12 play. Beaty is 5-37 at Kansas, and has never won more than 2 games in a season, as he is now in his 4th year on the job. He has a winning percentage of .119. It's over.
Brown and Littrell are hot names around this job as they are in Lubbock if Tech made a change there. Kansas had better cheer like hell for the Red Raiders to go on a run, because that gives them first pick in that "draft". Jason Candle is another name looking to move up, and he will listen if Kansas calls. Other names that would listen could be as follows: Mike Norvell, Memphis; Luke Fickell, Cincinnati; Lance Leipold, Buffalo; Matt Wells, Utah State; Jeff Tedford, Fresno State; Mike Leach, Washington State; Jim Leavitt, Oregon DC; Kyle Whittingham, Utah. Even Mark Mangino is pondering a return to a head job next season. Of course, there is always Les Miles in the picture as well.

Bill Snyder, Kansas State
I know that I am committing blasphemy here, but things are not rosy in the Little Apple in 2018. For the first time, Snyder is loing his grip on the program that he built, and there is open dissension with the staff, particularly over the choices at QB. Snyder probably should have retired after last season, as many expected him to do, but his ego is getting the best of him now, and at 0-3 in Big 12 play, it's clear he has lost his touch. He will hold out to get his son named as successor, but there is no way Kansas State should allow that to happen. He will end up holding on too long, and he will go out like Paterno, and that would be a shame.

Chris Ash, Rutgers
Rutgers is a terrible football program, and short of a brief run, mostly under Greg Schiano, they have historically been a horrible program. Ash walked into a dumpster fire when he took this job, but it may have been a job that he should have said no to. He is now just 7-23 overall in his 3rd season, and while firing him may not accomplish much, it would show that at least the administration wants to try. Joining the Big 10 was the worst thing this program ever could have done.

Mark Dantonio, Michigan State
A couple of seasons ago, this would have been unthinkable, but not so much anymore. The program is slipping, and slipping hard the last couple of seasons. Dantonio looks like he is losing his once steel grip on the program and he is falling well behind Ohio State in terms of competing for the Big 10 title. Off-field issues have been piling up, and on-field results have been eroding steadily. I don't know what it will take, but he has to be put on notice at some point.

Mike Sanford, Jr., Western Kentucky
Talk about bad hires. Sanford has tanked a program that was put on the map under Willie Taggart and Jeff Brohm, and has done so in spectacular fashion. He did what a person should never do when taking over a successful program...he reinvented the wheel, or at least the offensive philosophy, and he has burned the foundation to the ground. He is now just 7-11 in his second season, and WKU is just 1-5 this season. This is not going to cut it.

Bobby Wilder, Old Dominion
ODU hit the peak in 2016 when the Monarchs won 10 games and picked up a bowl victory in the Bahamas. Since that high water mark, ODU is just 6-12, and they were blown out by Liberty to start the season. They did manage an upset win over Virginia Tech this season, but that is the lone win on the season, and you cannot build an entire season on one win alone. He now has a career record of 27-28 at ODU, and the program is headed in the completely wrong direction.

Kalani Sitake, BYU
Getting hammered by Utah State is never a good thing in Provo, and BYU has slid since beating Wisconsin earlier this season. Again, you cannot build a whole year off one win. He is in his 3rd season, and after winning 9 games in year one, the Cougars have been on the slide ever since. He is now just 7-12 since that first year, and the team is coming apart at the seems this season since that Wisconsin win. A bowl game is a must, or else the program must start looking for the next head coach in the modern era. They may want to abolish the rule of having to have a Mormon coach as well.

Doug Martin, New Mexico State
NMSU may have knee jerked just a bit when they gave Martin a contract extension after a Arizona  Bowl trip last season. The Aggies have responded by going 2-4 this season, with wins over UTEP and Liberty. His overall record at NMSU is now just 19-48, and he has a career coaching record of 48-101. That's not worthy of a contract extension. By the way, that Arizona bowl trip is the only bowl game in his entire 13 year career as an FBS head coach.

Mark Whipple, U Mass
While it looked as if U Mass would come in with some momentum this season, that has largely not happened. Since returning to the Minutemen after some time away, he is just 14-41, and U Mass is just 2-5 this season, or 2 games away from being eliminated from bowl consideration. He has not won more than 4 games in any season since 2014, with that mark coming in 2017. U Mass is currently 2-5.

Mike Jinks, Bowling Green
The Falcons were flying high when Dino Babers left for Syracuse. They have been nose diving ever since under Jinks. Jinks is just 7-23 since taking over, with 4 wins being the high mark in his first season, which was the year following 10 wins under Babers. He won just 2 games last season, and has one win in 2018, a 7 point win over FCS member Eastern Kentucky, who just lost by 49 to Jacksonville State.

Mike Nue, Ball State
Neu is another MAC coach in his 3rd season with a horrible record, as he is just 8-22 with the Cardinals. He also won 4 games in his first season in Muncie, but won just 2 games in 2017, and is 2-4 in 2018. If the Cardinals continue to slide, a change should not take long to make. The longer the slide takes place, the deeper the incline to climb out of.

Chuck Bonamego, Central Michigan
I do not see a change being made at CMU following the 2018 season, but Bonamego has to be put on notice, as this could be his 2nd losing season in 4 years since taking the job. The Chippewas are just 1-5, and they are having their worst season under this coach. A rebound would be a must next season, but we are getting one step ahead of this.

Chris Creighton, Eastern Michigan
Creighton is now just 17-38 at EMU since leaving Drake to take over a long time dumpster fire. He is just 7-11 since a 2016 bowl loss season, and the program is once again heading the wrong way on the field. There are those on campus who would love to eliminate the program, and that bowl trip quieted that crowd, but they are still lurking in the shadows. Something has to give here.

Mike Bobo, Colorado State
I have never been a fan. He has never won more than 7 games, even when he had superior talent on offense. The Rams are tanking this season, and even have a loss to Illinois State to show for it, despite beating Arkansas. It's year 4, and this program has not gone anywhere under him.

Troy Calhoun, Air Force
Nobody talks about this program anymore. He is in his 12th season as head coach of the Falcons, but they are mired in a losing run for the 2nd straight season after a 3 year run of winning records. He certainly is up against it when trying to keep a program successful, but this program has been proud before, and is anything but now. This could be the 2nd straight season with no bowl, and that would be a first under Calhoun.

Tony Sanchez, UNLV
The Rebels are a mess, and I have gotten more than a few questions over the situation in Vegas over the last couple of days. The Rebels are now just 2-3 after an embarrassing loss to New Mexico over the weekend. His overall record is now just 14-27, and he has not one winning season to lean on. The goal was simple to start the 2018 season...bowl or bust. It's starting to look as if the bust may be the reality. Short of a bowl appearance, he would be out.
There are 3 assistants at Washington that may make sense for this job in Jimmy Lake, Pete Kwiatkowski, and Matt Lubick. Stanford DC Lance Anderson was up for the Rice job that his co-staffer got in Mike Bloomgren, and would be a solid choice. Jim Leavitt could be an option, but he likely holds out for something bigger. Cal OC Beau Baldwin could also be an option and dominated at Eastern Washington as head coach. Other names could include: Darrin Chiaverini, Colorado Co-OC; Aaron Best, Eastern Washington; Dan Hawkins, UC Davis; Jay Hill, Weber State; Chris Kliemann, North Dakota State; Brock Spack, Illinois State; Dale Lindsey, U. San Diego.

Brian Brennan, San Jose State
Well into his second season, it is obvious what I thought when he was hired was correct...he was the wrong guy. He was hired based on time as a receivers coach at SJSU, and had never held a major job on the college level, and was coaching on a bad staff at Oregon State when he was hired as head man for the Spartans. His record is now just 2-16 in his second season, and the program is falling apart around him. There is no fan support, no media support, and there just seems to be little left. I often wonder why this program even exists anymore.

Clay Helton, USC
It's extreme to think this way, but if USC lost to Colorado this week, and it could happen, I could see the Trojans moving on Helton the following week. There is a large sentiment in this regard, and the fan base is not happy that the Trojans are languishing in mediocrity this season. I believed that this could happen in the pre-season, as I never bought into the Trojans coming into this fall guns blazing, but expectations were too high among the faithful, and 3-3 records do not cut it.

Barry Odom, Missouri
Nobody has been overwhelmingly in love with what Odom has done at Mizzou since signing on, He is just 14-16 in his 3rd season, and the team is spiraling at 0-2 in SEC play right now. If the Tigers fail to get a bowl bid, a change could be made, but I see him coming back in 2019 for one more go. That said, anything could happen in the SEC.

Derek Mason, Vanderbilt
Mason looked as of he were saving himself in September, but the team has been slowly spiraling ever since, and what was a must win season for Mason is starting to get away from him. There is a new AD coming to town, the new person may be in charge before the end of the season. I can see the first order of business being change in the football program.

Gus Malzahn, Auburn
The Tigers were supposed to ride neck and neck with Alabama to the final fateful weekend in the Iron Bowl in 2018. Instead, the Tigers are 1-2 in SEC play with losses to LSU and Mississippi State. This is not what the expectations were on the Plains. If things do not improve, or if Auburn fails to win 10 games and a bowl, a change would not be strange to see at all here, and Neal Brown could have a while new target job.

Everett Withers, Texas State
Withers is just 5-24 in is 3rd season in San Marcos, and he has not won more than 2 games in any season as head coach there. The Bobcats are just 1-5 again in 2018, and are heading for a last place finish in the Sun Belt. I simply do not see him being retained at this point past the end of this season. If a change were made, the first call may go out to Sam Houston State coach KC Keeler, who probably should have gotten the UTEP job last winter. McNeese State coach Lance Guidry could come into play here as well. Tim Rebowe of Nicholls, Eric Morris of Incarnate Word, and Will Healy of Austin Peay could be other names here, but expect Healy to come up in several other searches as well on both the FBS and FCS level. Todd Whitten of D2 Tarleton State should be a name considered here as well, as should be Colby Carthel at Texas A&M Commerce, and Bill Maskill at Midwestern State. The D2 names mentioned all coach in Texas and win regularly, and would be able to understand how to build a program in the state that does not have a major name behind it.

Coaches who are saving their jobs are as follows: Geoff Collins, Temple; Steve Addazio, Boston College; Pat Narduzzi, Pitt; Tom Herman, Texas; Matt Canada, Maryland; Tom Allen, Indiana; Chuck Martin, Miami (Ohio), Rod Carey, Northern Illinois; Tim Lester, Western Michigan; Bob Davie, New Mexico; Mark Stoops, Kentucky; Ed Orgeron, LSU