Coaches on the Hot Seat

It's time to update the Hot Seat this week, as situations at Kentucky and USC continue to brew...

Bob Stoops, Oklahoma
Getting blown out by Houston and Ohio State should be a huge dent against his reputation this season. You cannot start ranked 3rd nationally, and then end up at 1-2, and not take some heat from this. Now, with 2 losses, if Oklahoma actually rebounds to win the Big 12, the conference is out of the playoff. That is a huge issue.

Pat Fitzgerald, Northwestern
Mr. Wildcat is also one of the most inconsistent coaches in the country, and his two losses are to Western Michigan and Illinois State. Northwestern did beat Duke last week, but Duke has fallen on hard times in 2016 without Thomas Sirk at QB.

Bob Davie, New Mexico
Davie is going to be hard pressed to get the Lobos back to a bowl after losses to New Mexico State and Rutgers. His only win is against South Dakota, so the prospects for a big season moving forward are not bright.

Tim DeRuyter, Fresno State
Fresno State is just not good. They have been on a spiral for a while now, and a loss to Tulsa this week at home could push the boosters towards finally understanding that he may no longer be the guy to take the program forward.

Ron Caragher, San Jose State
Caragher has a huge chance this week to get off the Hot Seat, if he can beat Iowa State on the road. The Cyclones are a disaster this season, so that is not out of the range of possibility. If Caragher loses, the Spartans will be hard pressed to get many meaningful wins this season.

Clay Helton, USC
Helton is in over his head, or at least that is what I am hearing out of LA this week. Nobody believes that he was the right guy for this job, but he was the only guy who wanted it. That has blown up in the faces of the administrators at USC, and if they fall to Utah, the infighting that has already started will blow up into a mutiny. There is even talk of him maybe not making it out of his first full season on the job, even after signing a five year deal.

Dan Mullen, Mississippi State
The Bulldogs are now a two loss team, and Mullen has his team sinking back to the dark times in Bulldog history, including an inexcusable loss to South Alabama. Mullen has always been overrated, so this is no surprise to me that people are really starting to get impatient with him.

Gus Malzahn, Auburn
Auburn has never been shy about firing coaches, and Malzahn is far from safe. If the Tigers lose to Texas A&M this week, the grumbling should start getting very loud next week. This week, there were already rumors about Auburn being interested in speaking with Bobby Petrino at some point this year,

Hugh Freeze, Ole Miss
With the off season issues already weighing heavily, a 1-2 start has made it easier for his opponents to start gunning for him. A change at the end of the season would not be a shock, and it could be a saving face move for the program.

Paul Petrino, Idaho
With Idaho dropping down to FCS football next season, and the Vandals being a thorough doormat this season, what better time to hit the reboot button? Petrino has been lost here since day one. It may be the best decision possible for a floundering program.