Before the season began I did a series of article for each conference looking at the coaches who were on hot seat heading into 2015. Now many of those coaches have started the season very well and that hot seat tag is no longer relevant. LSU head coach Les Miles being one who has ridden a strong defence and Leonard Fournette making himself the Heisman front runner to be undefeated. Another would be Sonny Dykes at California, they were bowl game or bust this season but a 5-0 start suddenly has them in the conversation for the PAC-12 North title.
So which coaches are still on the hot seat after week five?
College Coaching Hot Seat Update
Al Golden, Miami
Even when the Miami Hurricanes were winning there were still many fans who were critical of Al Golden. The Canes blew a double digit fourth quarter lead against Nebraska but still managed to win in overtime yet this escape wasn’t enough for Golden to avoid criticism. Fans have taken to flying banners over the stadium asking for Al Golden to be fired. Their first defeat came last weekend at Cincinnati by 11pts so the pressure is really on for Miami to bounce back this week against Florida State.
Mike London, Virginia
In fairness to the Cavaliers, they do schedule a tough non-conference slate every year which makes becoming bowl eligible far more difficult for them than it is for someone like North Carolina State who lined up only cupcakes. Their first two games saw defeats to UCLA and Notre Dame which saw the Cavaliers fight to the end but come up short. A six point victory over William and Mary didn’t do much to inspire confidence but losing by 42pts at home to a Boise State team that lost its starting quarterback earlier in the season has piled the pressure on. The only way it seems possible for Mike London to keep his job is if they have a strong campaign through the ACC and find four or five wins.
Randy Edsall, Maryland
Whilst the two coaches above seem likely candidates to be fired after the season has finished, Randy Edsall looks an absolute certainty. The Terrapins have been dismal for the past two weeks scoring just six points against West Virginia and Michigan. Preceding that they were beaten by 21pts at home to Bowling Green, who did take down Purdue on the road but at least the Boilermakers ran them close the whole way. The lack of competitiveness in the past two weeks doesn’t bode well when you see they have three ranked teams coming up in the next five weeks, the two unranked teams are Penn State and Wisconsin so not easy either. The question with Randy Edsall is whether they cut ties now to get a head start on finding a replacement or wait till December.
Steve Spurrier, South Carolina
When discussing Spurrier’s job security in Columbia its always difficult because he’s built up a lot of goodwill there with his sustained success with the Gamecocks. But there comes a point where you have to admit that a coach isn’t working anymore and this might be the year for South Carolina. Recruits seem to be reluctant to commit to South Carolina because of the rumours about Spurrier retiring which in the competitive areas they recruit is a massive handicap. The Gamecocks managed to battle to bowl eligibility last year but to make six wins this year they’ll have to upset a currently ranked team like Clemson, Texas A&M, Florida or LSU.
Steve Spurrier will never be fired but it wouldn’t be surprising if he mutually parted from the Gamecocks after this season.
Steve Sarkisian, USC
A controversial choice before the season to make the hot seat list but after USC lost to Stanford you could see why he’s never far from the hot seat. The fans instantly rounded on Sarkisian as he took the blame for a lacklustre performance but he recovered well with a big road win at Arizona State the following week, the Sun Devils who then beat UCLA.
But you just know that if USC loses a couple more games which is entirely possible with Notre Dame, Cal, Utah, Oregon and UCLA still to come then some USC fans will be calling for Sark to be fired.
Note: Tim Beckman was on the Big Ten list but was fired before
