Here is our Sunday update on the Dead Pool! We're about a week away from some serious movement across the board, with word that some assistants (Brent Pease at Florida, Al Borges at Michigan) could already be headed out. Let us take a look at the rest of the outbound gang before the announcements come down.
Jim Grobe, Wake Forest
A miserable three year record culminating in a loss to Duke to ensure no postseason in 2013 cements the fact that Wake needs to make a move here. Grobe isn't turning it around, and despite some decent talent, the overall talent base between the Deacons and the rest of the ACC is growing more disparaging by the minute.
Mike London, Virginia
The Wahoo program is on a downward trend and has been for three years. This is the bottom out season of that trend, with little hope that 2014 will be any better. London may hang on for another year with a staff overhaul (AKA throwing assistants under the bus to save his own ass), but the big money is on London being fired after the Virginia Tech game, which very well could be the 10th loss of the season. The London bridge is falling down.
Paul Rhoades, Iowa State
Despite a healthy win over Kansas this weekend, ISU will likely make a move to try to reinvigorate a program that has sunk severely in just one short season. Rhoades is not the guy to turn the corner, and the Cyclones could use an energetic coach with a winning pedigree as a head guy to come in the door, such as Craig Bohl from North Dakota State, perhaps?
Garrick McGee, UAB
I wasn't high on this hire when it was made, but UAB is not exactly the hottest job in the south as far as attracting top tiered candidates. That has to change, and fast, because McGee has struggled ever since taking the reins, and is likely headed out with a 2-10 record when it's all said and done. There are miles and miles between where UAB is and where conference leaders in East Carolina and Marshall are. The gap is getting wider. Also, mark attendance as a factor, when UAB fans were all herded to sit on one side of the stadium against Rice to make it look like a full crowd for TV.
Ron Turner, FIU
Either next week or in 2014, Turner will be fired. FIU is heading for a 1-11 finish, and even FAU, where coaches were doing drugs and were fired, is light years ahead of where the Panthers are. Was it a mistake to fire Mario Christobal? Hell yes it was. FIU is a mess, and Turner is going to take the blame, be it this year or next.
Bill Blankenship, Tulsa
When Blankenship has had to win with his own system and guys, it hasn't paid off. Tulsa is a mess just one season after winning 10 games, and Blankenship's inexperience as a head coach at the FBS level. I don't see him lasting beyond 2014 in the best case scenario.
Doug Martin, New Mexico State
Martin was looking a little bit like he would pull out of the pool the last couple of weeks after strong showings against Boston College and UL-Lafayette (both losses), but then they got pounded by an FAU team that fired their coach weeks ago. One has to wonder where the line is, even though it's his first season on the job. Martin has never been a winner, and he's certainly continuing his tradition.
Troy Calhoun, Air Force
There is no buzz around this job yet, but I am being preemptive in my assessment here. In what will be a 2-10 finish, Air Force attracted only 8000 fans to Falcon stadium Thursday night in a 41-21 loss to UNLV. Sure it was -12 with the wind chill, but if Air Force were winning, you'd have to expect a bigger crowd. No school can sustain that kind of attendance drain, especially when the only people showing up are the cadets who absolutely have to be there by order. By the way, capacity is 46,692, leaving 38,692 empty seats.
Norm Chow, Hawaii
The Rainbows are now 0-11 in yet another game that they let get away. The season will likely finish at 0-12, which is a 4 game regression from 2012. There is no way that UH sustains that attendance wise, and when asses stop filling seats, money starts being lost. When money starts drying up, the coach takes the blame. Chow is leaving, and shortly. When you ask the question as to why he wasn't a head coach years ago, this is the reason.
Charlie Molnar, UMass
I've been hard on Charlie Molnar this season, so why stop now. The Minutemen got positively blasted by Central Michigan, and UMass has been making a regular occurrence of getting torched in 2013. There are other solid candidates in the New England area that could take this team in a different direction, including Harvard's Tim Murphy, and Maine's Jack Cosgrove.
Will Muschamp, Florida
Apparently, according to the Orlando Sentinel, Jeremy Foley has stated that Muschamp will return in 2014, but he will throw almost every assistant under the buss to keep his job for one more season. It won't work. I've seen this move so many times, it makes my head spin, and it rarely ever works out. Muschamp is failing, and that loss to Georgia Southern in the swamp was a firing offense.
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