Coaches on the Hot Seat

There have been three coaches fired nationally in the last week, but I will hit on that more when I publish "Dead Pool". Here are the coaches nationally that need to get it together quickly, or end up in the pool, where the sharks are eating early this season.

Rod Carey, Northern Illinois
I am not a fan of the heat that Carey is facing lately, because despite the 0-4 start, I think that he is a very good football coach. with that in mind, the Huskies are having one of their worst seasons in the last 2 decades, and the fan base is not pleased. Enter the Hot Seat.

Ron Caragher, San Jose State
SJSU is the worst team in a really bad Mountain West. He was already feeling some heat heading into this season, and that will not let up in a program that can hardly afford (financially) a prolonged losing run.

Pat Fitzgerald, Northwestern
This isn't getting a ton of media play, but the Wildcats have been the worst team in the Big 10 all season long, and Mr. Wildcat has become Mr. Inconsistent on the field. A loss to Illinois State will not make his case, as the Red Birds have been all over the place since that win.

Sean Kugler, UTEP
The Miners showed signs of improvement last season, and despite the amazing play of RB Aaron Jones this season, the team overall has taken some massive steps backward. I see this devolving rather than getting any better in the putrid Conference USA.

Brian Kelly, Notre Dame
The Irish are 1-3 in a season where they should be sitting at a solid 4-0. Coaching has been bad. Players on the defensive side have been awful. There is already a new DC. This does not happen at Notre Dame, and when it does, change comes with it.

Bob Davie, New Mexico
UNM looked to be turning a corner last fall. They are right back at the corner of losing and terrible. Davie is losing the good will that he managed to stoke up last season. The Mountain West is winnable, so there is time to turn it around, but losing to New Mexico State was just terrible.

Mark Hudspeth, UL-Lafayette
Hudspeth looked like the next big thing in coaching just a couple of seasons ago, but then came allegations of off field misconduct by the staff, and everything has been down hill ever since. Hudspeth is 2-2 this season, but if this thing goes south, it could be the door.

Paul Petrino, Idaho
The win over UNLV likely saved his bacon for a bit longer. They were awful in losses to Washington and Washington State. Still, Petrino could be headed back for the Dead Pool before you know it.

Rich Rodriguez, Arizona
Arizona has far too much talent to just be 2-2 at this point, and they let one get away last week against Washington. It always seems as if the Cats are out coached. They are double digit dogs this week at UCLA.

Bob Stoops. Oklahoma
Stoops likely has to beat TCU and Texas in the next two weeks to get off the seat for the time being. If he looses to one or both of these teams, he could be on his way out the door.

Mike Gundy, Oklahoma State
Gundy is not getting along with T. Boone Pickens these days, and that is coming from Pickens himself. It probably is not wise to piss off the guy who's name is on the stadium you coach in. Pickens said that Gundy is not a people person, and that is a bad thing in booster schmoozing college football. Every coach eventually stays somewhere too long, and it may be Gundy's time to move on.

Mark Helfrich, Oregon
It sure was nice when he had Chip Kelly's guys to coach, but recruiting has taken a massive dump since Kelly left the factory keys to Helfrich. The loss to Nebraska, followed by a loss to Colorado at home, have the natives restless.

Hugh Freeze, Ole Miss
The huge win over Georgia has taken some heat off this week, but is he loses another 2 or 3 games, which is possible, Ole Miss may have an opening.

Gus Malzahn, Auburn
Hey, if they showed Chizik the door, nobody is safe here. I don't know if he gets fired like Les Miles did if he lost to LSU, but that Miles/LSU relationship was damaged beyond repair. Malzahn, however, is an offensive mastermind, who can't seem to find a workable offense, and has not developed any QBs lately. That's bad news for him.

Mark Stoops, Kentucky
Stoops has picked up a couple of wins as of late, but the Wildcats are a 35 point dog this week against Alabama. There is no shame in losing to Alabama, but Kentucky has to beat most everyone else, and they don't seem destined to do so.

James Franklin, Penn State
Losing to Michigan by 39 is not what Penn State football is all about, nor is his 0-6 record against ranked teams during his tenure. Penn State looked so deficient of talent in the loss to Michigan, and that sits in the lap of Franklin, who still has not developed a decent QB.

Jim Mora, UCLA
UCLA has been incredible on defense this season, but the offense has been putrid, and the shine has completely worn off of over hyped Josh Rosen. The run game is not working, the talent at WR is negligible, and Mora is just plain distracted, be it from his recent divorce, or from having an eye on the NFL in 2017.

Dan Mullen, Mississippi State
Mullen was awesome when he had Dak Prescott. He has no Prescott now, and he is about to get a new boss as AD. That's a terrible mixture for Mullen, who already has lost to South Alabama, and played an uninspired game at U Mass.

Kliff Kingsbury, Texas Tech
This guy is a one sided football coach, who knows absolutely nothing about defense on any level. Texas Tech is average, at best, this season, he is going to have to put something together to get through Big 12 play with one of the worst scoring defenses anyone has ever seen.