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When I receive feedback on my college football stories (go on and have at it at@ESPNMcGee or [email protected]), the vast majority comes from fans. Do I agree with them? Usually not. But do I love their passion? Absolutely.
However, when this space tackles the specific topic on tap today, the majority of the criticism comes from the men who make their living in the chosen profession about which I've just written.
"Oh man, not the hot seat again! I hate these stories!" That was the message with which my voicemail box greeted me the last time I wrote about head coaches who needed to get it into gear. The voice on the other end was Dan Hawkins, with whom I'd worked on ESPNU. When we first met on set, he was sure to call me out for saying he'd be fired from Colorado the previous year. But guess what had happened?
Yes, it is odd to discuss someone else's job fate. But the same coaches (and former coaches) who give me grief about speculating will also tell you one absolute truth about being a coach: A big part of the gig will be people predicting when you'll be fired. It is simply an accepted part of the gig.
"But," Hawk has said to me plenty, "not as big as the people screaming for you to be fired."
So now that my confessional is over, what five coaches enter spring staring at a make-or-break season? Read on ... but don't surprised if Hawk calls and gives you grief for doing so.
Will Muschamp, Florida Gators
Record at Florida: 22-16 (three years)
2013: 4-8
All seemed right in The Swamp when Mack Brown's former heir apparent led the Gators to an 11-2 record and a Sugar Bowl appearance in 2012, his second season at Florida. But last year, the program posted its first losing season since 1979 and snapped a 22-year bowl streak. The historical hits kept on coming, including the first home loss to Vanderbilt since 1945 and a Nov. 23 loss to Georgia Southern, the program's first ever to a lower-division school.
And, according to the people in the college football industry that I talked to over the past week, the coach never did much to make his situation any easier.
"I've known Will for a long time," says a Big 12 coach, the first to address a topic that became a common theme throughout this list. "He's a good friend but he can be an acquired taste. With players, they love the intensity. But away from the practice field, if you don't know him, he can come off a little, um, *****ly."
In other words, when asked about the team's increasingly inept offense (ranked 114th in FBS), even when those questions were qualified with "I know you've had a lot of injuries," his responses were rarely cut from the congenial mold of his former mentor Brown. That doesn't help when it comes to instilling patience within a notoriously short-fused group of fans and boosters.
Dana Holgorsen, West Virginia Mountaineers
Record at West Virginia: 21-17 (three years)
2013: 4-8
Remember that rout of Clemson in the Orange Bowl? January 2015 will be the third anniversary of the crown jewel of Holgorsen's rookie year as a head coach. In the two seasons since then, he's posted a record of 11-14 and the Mountaineers' first two Big 12 campaigns have finished 4-5 and 2-7. Most in Morgantown see his stint as being on wobbly legs at best, legs that are being supported by a bonus-laden six-year contract signed in 2012 that also includes some very big buyout clauses.
"When coaches hit year four, it's fully their program," says a former Big East administrator, reminding that most of the names on this list are in that three- to four-year range. "You can't look back and say this is (ousted WVU coach) Bill Stewart's fault. Hitting the third season in the Big 12 you can't blame on it growing pains. At this point, you have what you have. And if this season they start losing to the likes of Kansas and Iowa State again, then what they have is a mess."
Bo Pelini, Nebraska Cornhuskers
Record at Nebraska: 58-24 (six years)
2013: 9-4
First things first, few expect Pelini to be fired this fall. Most of the football people I talked to said they expected the Huskers to win nine games, which he's done in each of his six seasons at the head man in Lincoln. But when it comes to the question of "make or break," then his name comes up a lot. On the field, he's been a terrible closer, routinely stumbling through November and posting a 4-3 bowl record (the first coming in his one game as the interim coach in 2003). Off the field, again, that problem of personality comes into play.
[+] Enlarge
AP Photo/Nati HarnikBo Pelini's evolving PR skills may come in handy.
But that brings us to our biggest spring shocker of them all. Bo is playing ball. He's letting reporters look in on practice instead of keeping it locked up like Arkham Asylum. He's interacted with Twitter doppelganger @FauxPelini. And just this week, he surprised Nebraska baseball coach Darin Erstad by calling in as a guest on his radio show.
"These guys have to figure out that while PR might not be their thing [naturally], it has to be their thing," a Pac-12 athletic administrator explained to me during BCS Championship weekend. "Especially now. The supporters -- and more importantly, the recruits -- want to like you. If they do, you get the benefit of the doubt."
When it comes to the Big Ten, Pelini isn't alone. His name came up only a few times more than Brady Hoke, leader of division rival Michigan, and winner of just 15 games over the past two years.
Charlie Weis, Kansas Jayhawks
Record at Kansas: 4-20 (two years)
2013: 3-9
Weis came to Kansas charged with revitalizing the Jayhawks like he had Notre Dame, which turned around in a hurry (though it faded nearly as quickly). Instead, he's posted records of 1-11 and 3-9 and a pair of 10th-place finishes in the conference.
"You bring in a guy like Charlie to revitalize the atmosphere by the way he revitalizes an offense," says an SEC administrator, pointing to Weis' NFL offensive résumé. "But between his one year at Florida as offensive coordinator [2011] and the situation at Kansas, it hasn't happened. Of the guys on this list, his leash might be the shortest. Hey, they fired Turner Gill [Weis' predecessor] after just two years and their records are pretty similar."
Randy Edsall, Maryland Terrapins
Record at Maryland: 13-24
2013: 7-6
This spot was an ACC battle royale, with mentions of Virginia's Mike London (18-31 over four years), Georgia Tech's Paul Johnson (28-25 over the past four years) and even future College Football Hall of Famer Frank Beamer (15 wins over past two years). But it's Edsall who drew the most speculation.
"That was a roller coaster up there this year," said a coordinator from another ACC school, referring to the Terrapins' 5-1 start but 2-5 finish. "They were so bad his first two years [6-18] it felt like they'd gotten it turned around. Third year, you've finally got your guys in there, all of that. But that bowl loss was inexcusable. And Randy can be a bit aloof."
That would be the 31-20 loss to Marshall in a Military Bowl that should have essentially been a home game, played in nearby Annapolis. That's not exactly the kind of game film that will strike fear in the hearts of the Big Ten, which welcomes Maryland this fall.
"Wow," the ACC coach continued, mentioning Hoke, Pelini, along with Tim Beckman at Illinois and Purdue's Darrell Hazell. "That league is packed with guys who need to have a great year, isn't it?"
However, when this space tackles the specific topic on tap today, the majority of the criticism comes from the men who make their living in the chosen profession about which I've just written.
"Oh man, not the hot seat again! I hate these stories!" That was the message with which my voicemail box greeted me the last time I wrote about head coaches who needed to get it into gear. The voice on the other end was Dan Hawkins, with whom I'd worked on ESPNU. When we first met on set, he was sure to call me out for saying he'd be fired from Colorado the previous year. But guess what had happened?
Yes, it is odd to discuss someone else's job fate. But the same coaches (and former coaches) who give me grief about speculating will also tell you one absolute truth about being a coach: A big part of the gig will be people predicting when you'll be fired. It is simply an accepted part of the gig.
"But," Hawk has said to me plenty, "not as big as the people screaming for you to be fired."
So now that my confessional is over, what five coaches enter spring staring at a make-or-break season? Read on ... but don't surprised if Hawk calls and gives you grief for doing so.
Record at Florida: 22-16 (three years)
2013: 4-8
All seemed right in The Swamp when Mack Brown's former heir apparent led the Gators to an 11-2 record and a Sugar Bowl appearance in 2012, his second season at Florida. But last year, the program posted its first losing season since 1979 and snapped a 22-year bowl streak. The historical hits kept on coming, including the first home loss to Vanderbilt since 1945 and a Nov. 23 loss to Georgia Southern, the program's first ever to a lower-division school.
And, according to the people in the college football industry that I talked to over the past week, the coach never did much to make his situation any easier.
"I've known Will for a long time," says a Big 12 coach, the first to address a topic that became a common theme throughout this list. "He's a good friend but he can be an acquired taste. With players, they love the intensity. But away from the practice field, if you don't know him, he can come off a little, um, *****ly."
In other words, when asked about the team's increasingly inept offense (ranked 114th in FBS), even when those questions were qualified with "I know you've had a lot of injuries," his responses were rarely cut from the congenial mold of his former mentor Brown. That doesn't help when it comes to instilling patience within a notoriously short-fused group of fans and boosters.
Record at West Virginia: 21-17 (three years)
2013: 4-8
Remember that rout of Clemson in the Orange Bowl? January 2015 will be the third anniversary of the crown jewel of Holgorsen's rookie year as a head coach. In the two seasons since then, he's posted a record of 11-14 and the Mountaineers' first two Big 12 campaigns have finished 4-5 and 2-7. Most in Morgantown see his stint as being on wobbly legs at best, legs that are being supported by a bonus-laden six-year contract signed in 2012 that also includes some very big buyout clauses.
"When coaches hit year four, it's fully their program," says a former Big East administrator, reminding that most of the names on this list are in that three- to four-year range. "You can't look back and say this is (ousted WVU coach) Bill Stewart's fault. Hitting the third season in the Big 12 you can't blame on it growing pains. At this point, you have what you have. And if this season they start losing to the likes of Kansas and Iowa State again, then what they have is a mess."
Record at Nebraska: 58-24 (six years)
2013: 9-4
First things first, few expect Pelini to be fired this fall. Most of the football people I talked to said they expected the Huskers to win nine games, which he's done in each of his six seasons at the head man in Lincoln. But when it comes to the question of "make or break," then his name comes up a lot. On the field, he's been a terrible closer, routinely stumbling through November and posting a 4-3 bowl record (the first coming in his one game as the interim coach in 2003). Off the field, again, that problem of personality comes into play.
[+] Enlarge
AP Photo/Nati HarnikBo Pelini's evolving PR skills may come in handy.
But that brings us to our biggest spring shocker of them all. Bo is playing ball. He's letting reporters look in on practice instead of keeping it locked up like Arkham Asylum. He's interacted with Twitter doppelganger @FauxPelini. And just this week, he surprised Nebraska baseball coach Darin Erstad by calling in as a guest on his radio show.
"These guys have to figure out that while PR might not be their thing [naturally], it has to be their thing," a Pac-12 athletic administrator explained to me during BCS Championship weekend. "Especially now. The supporters -- and more importantly, the recruits -- want to like you. If they do, you get the benefit of the doubt."
When it comes to the Big Ten, Pelini isn't alone. His name came up only a few times more than Brady Hoke, leader of division rival Michigan, and winner of just 15 games over the past two years.
Record at Kansas: 4-20 (two years)
2013: 3-9
Weis came to Kansas charged with revitalizing the Jayhawks like he had Notre Dame, which turned around in a hurry (though it faded nearly as quickly). Instead, he's posted records of 1-11 and 3-9 and a pair of 10th-place finishes in the conference.
"You bring in a guy like Charlie to revitalize the atmosphere by the way he revitalizes an offense," says an SEC administrator, pointing to Weis' NFL offensive résumé. "But between his one year at Florida as offensive coordinator [2011] and the situation at Kansas, it hasn't happened. Of the guys on this list, his leash might be the shortest. Hey, they fired Turner Gill [Weis' predecessor] after just two years and their records are pretty similar."
Record at Maryland: 13-24
2013: 7-6
This spot was an ACC battle royale, with mentions of Virginia's Mike London (18-31 over four years), Georgia Tech's Paul Johnson (28-25 over the past four years) and even future College Football Hall of Famer Frank Beamer (15 wins over past two years). But it's Edsall who drew the most speculation.
"That was a roller coaster up there this year," said a coordinator from another ACC school, referring to the Terrapins' 5-1 start but 2-5 finish. "They were so bad his first two years [6-18] it felt like they'd gotten it turned around. Third year, you've finally got your guys in there, all of that. But that bowl loss was inexcusable. And Randy can be a bit aloof."
That would be the 31-20 loss to Marshall in a Military Bowl that should have essentially been a home game, played in nearby Annapolis. That's not exactly the kind of game film that will strike fear in the hearts of the Big Ten, which welcomes Maryland this fall.
"Wow," the ACC coach continued, mentioning Hoke, Pelini, along with Tim Beckman at Illinois and Purdue's Darrell Hazell. "That league is packed with guys who need to have a great year, isn't it?"
