On The Hot Seat – A Look at College Football Coaches Under Fire

Posted on November 2, 2012 by Todd Davis

With a number of high-profile college football teams struggling to find wins this season, head coaches are finding out how hot the hot seat really is. In this “what have you done for me lately” world, the reality is that you’re only as good as your last season (or game in some instances). In these situations, the question later becomes, “How long should a new head coach at a high profile school be given to turn things around?” There are a lot of schools that may be asking that question pretty soon, and here are four of the most prominent head coaches that may be out the door if they don’t turn things around in a hurry.

Derrick Dooley (Tennessee)

Derrick Dooley is UT’s head coach … for at least another couple of days.

With Tennessee’s most recent SEC loss to South Carolina on Saturday, Tennessee is now 0-5 in SEC play. With a 4-17 SEC record with victories over Vanderbilt twice, Kentucky once, and Ole Miss once, Dooley has yet to beat SEC rivals Florida, Georgia and Alabama. Tennessee fans in Knoxville are getting tired of mediocrity and want wins, not moral victories with close loses. Rumors around East Tennessee are that Dooley could get fired as early as this week. Tennessee fans number one candidate for a replacement if Dooley gets canned would be MNF analyst John Gruden who was a G.A. for Tennessee in 1986-1987 and his wife is a former Volunteer cheerleader.

Gene Chizik (Auburn)

In the “win now” world of college football, Auburn coach Gene Chizik is on the hot seat after winning the national title just two seasons ago.

Chizik, who is only two years out of a national title for the Auburn faithful, is having a very trying fourth year. With a 31-17 overall record and 15-15 SEC record including a dismal 0-6 SEC record this season, the War Eagle faithful want a coaching change. With Chizik’s loss to Vanderbilt earlier this season, he became the first coach in school history to lose to Vanderbilt, Ole Miss and Mississippi State all in the same season. With this Saturday’s 63-21 loss to Texas A&M, Chizik’s future doesn’t look good at Auburn. Auburn president Jay Gouge issued a letter regarding the state of the Auburn football program. The letter pretty much says (without actually saying it) that Chizik’s days are numbered.

Joker Phillips (Kentucky)

In the midst of another miserable Kentucky football season, Joker’s situation at Kentucky is nothing to laugh about.

With the fierce competition in the SEC, it’s no surprise that this is our third SEC school on this list. At 1-8 so far this season, Kentucky is having a below average season. Phillip’s SEC record in two and a half seasons is 4-18, exactly the same as Derrick Dooley’s pitiful record at Tennessee. Now Kentucky is no football powerhouse, but winning at least five games a season has been a consistent standard for the Wildcats. In Rich Brooks’s final four seasons, Kentucky made four straight bowls (winning three). Joker’s overall record of 12-22 is, well, a joke. It’s not up to any SEC team’s standards in football, even Kentucky’s. For Phillips to digress from a 6-7, 5-7, to now 1-8 record, his time in Lexington may be running out.

Frank Spaziani (Boston College)

Spaziani on the hot seat proves that fans don’t care how sweet your mustache is.

Spaziani, like Joker, has degressed each season that he has been at Boston College. He’s went from 8-5, 7-6, 4-8, and is currently at 2-6 this year. Anytime a head coach’s record keeps getting worse, it’s obvious their recruiting classes aren’t up to par. With his first recruiting class entering its fourth year along with third-year starting quarterback in Chase Rettig, a struggling season is not what Boston College fans expected. Being in his fourth year with an overall record of 22-25 and 13-16 in the ACC, Spaziani’s time in Bean Town may be running out.

By: Craig Emmert

Is it Wrong To Be a Fair-Weather Fan?

Posted on September 25, 2012 by Todd Davis

All summer long, all I could think about was Michigan’s opening game against Alabama at Texas Stadium. My team upsetting the #1 team in the nation, it was going to be spectacular. But when that night finally ended about a month ago, all I could think about was how much Michigan sucked and how disappointed I was in their performance against the best team in the land. The following two weeks, I followed Michigan, but with much less intensity when they beat paltry Air Force and UMass. Call me fair weather if you want, but once a team loses in college football, it takes a week or two for me to regain that winning type attitude. Should fans like myself be shunned by “true” sports fans, or should we be allowed to express shame when our beloved teams are struggling?

What fan in their right mind, whether fair-weather or not, wants to cheer for a loser? Nobody wishes for failure or defeat. It is a fact of competition that one team will win and one will lose. The losing team’s fan will leave disappointed, some more than others. A true fan will continue to cheer and have faith in their team even if they are destined to fall short on their next competition.

Many of my friends are Kentucky fans. During football season, Kentucky fans who have to put up with mediocrity at best. Fans of Kentucky football have to accept moral victories as positives, not necessarily wins. Take for instance, last year, when Kentucky beat Tennessee in their final game of the season. Kentucky was already ineligible to qualify for a bowl, but beating the Vols that day ended their twenty-six game losing streak and made their season. It also caused the Vols to become bowl ineligibible, an added bonus for UK fans.

In previous years when those two teams played, I witnessed Kentucky fans root for their team, but only leave in defeat and most of the time end their season with a losing record. I could only think that these people were crazy for wanting to cheer for a losing team. Maybe these are “true” fans, or maybe it’s just easier for consistently mediocre teams to not seem fair weather. I mean, after all it’s hard to be “fair weather” when it’s always raining. I guess we’ll have to wait for UK to be ranked in the top 10 to see if more fans come out of the woodwork. Since we’re not talking about basketball, we may have to wait for a while.

Fair-weather fans like myself can’t stand to root for a loser. Growing up a Detroit sports fan, the Lions have forever–until last seaso–been the ultimate loser. A winless season a few years ago topped off a string of consecutive losing seasons. After they started 0-3 I really had no reason to cheer for them or even care that they even existed. A fan deserves to see success from their team and when it doesn’t happen, all that we can look forward to is next year. It’s the only thing that keeps fair-weather fans like myself continually coming back for more action. I’ve been lucky enough to hear “next year” when it comes to the Detroit Tigers for eighteen straight years, between 1988-2005. Eighteen straight post-seasonless years of mostly below .500 baseball. I must admit though, the wait was much worth it come 2006 when they made their run to the World Series. I can only imagine what Cubs fans feel.

By: Craig Emmert

College Football: Early Season Rankings and Cupcake Victories Have No Value

Posted on September 20, 2012 by Todd Davis

During the last three weeks, college football fans around the nation have seen some pretty amazing football games. Some fans have been happier with the results than others so far. For instance, this past Saturday, Tennessee Volunteer fans were expecting a major SEC win (their first in a few years) over the Florida Gators. What they got instead at a sold out Neyland Stadium was a depressing 37-20 loss. Fans left after the game–some of them personal friends–as though they were leaving a funeral. The Volunteers seventeen point loss was their worst to Florida since 2008, when a Tim Tebow led Gator team beat them 30-6. So much hype was created before the game by Tennessee fans and players, to a team that, although 2-0, hasn’t posted a major win over a good SEC team since 2009 when they beat #22 South Carolina 31-13.

Are early season cupcake games like Oregon’s 63-14 win over Tennessee Tech good indicators of how good a team really is? I respect a fan’s love for their school, but staying quiet and humble is a must until a major victory has been achieved. Arkansas fans must be feeling this right now, as are the sports writers and bloggers like myself who predicted last Saturday’s game to be an undefeated showdown between Alabama as prime time action. Boy were we way wrong, as the Razorbacks got hammered 52-0 and need quarterback Tyler Wilson to get healthy if they have a chance to make a bowl.

Games this week that could cause some fans to quiet their pre-BCS Championship buzz are Michigan verses Notre Dame and Clemson verses Florida State. Notre Dame has their highest ranking in a number of years looks to stop a three game slide against the Wolverines at home on Saturday. The Irish faithful, need to stay humble even if the Irish win, as they still must host #9 Stanford, and travel to #6 Oklahoma and #13 USC.

The Clemson-FSU matchup will more than likely determine who wins the ACC Atlantic Division and thus make it to the BCS title game. If Clemson can pull off the upset in Tallahassee, their remaining schedule is fairly easy and could run the table. As this college season continues to unfold before our eyes, the pretenders and contenders will cause us fans to take a deep breath and hope we are on the winning side.

By: Craig Emmert

Football… Finally!

Posted on August 7, 2012 by Todd Davis

It’s finally that time of year again! The time of year when all weekend we get truly rewarded for the hard five days we put in on the job all week. The NFL pre-season already has one game under its belt and all others will have their first game starting this Thursday through Monday. High school football starts in the next three weeks and college football starts the week before the NFL regular season begins. There is not a more anticipated time of year than right now for sports fans. I am ready for some new excitement in the world of sports (no hard feelings to baseball fans) and football does this better than any other sport. I’m glad the Olympics are going on right now, which will help calm my anxiousness over the coming NFL and college seasons. Here is a quick look at what we have to look forward to this coming football season at the college and NFL level.

Alabama and LSU, two SEC foes, are the top-ranked teams in college football. The SEC has a stranglehold on the National Championship, winning (at least a share of) the last six national FBS titles.

At the collegiate level, LSU and Alabama both topped the first USA Today pre-season poll with the Tigers, last year’s BCS runner-up getting the number one edge over Alabama. The two teams play on November third and it should be a great showdown late in the season. Alabama opens with Michigan September 1st at Texas stadium which should be a good test for Alabama early. The Crimson Tide also play at Arkansas September 15th which could be their toughest road game of the year early on before they travel to Baton Rouge in November. LSU has a much favorable schedule before their date with Alabama, but has a tough road test on the final game of the regular season at Arkansas. The SEC has been the nation’s toughest football conference and it won’t change this season with five teams in the pre-season top ten. The conference also has had the last six BCS National Champions.

USC has been the consensus favorite by most to make it to the BCS National Championship game who is coming off a couple of probation years. Their toughest test will be on October 3rd when they travel to Utah to play the Utes in primetime. My dark horse this season is the Florida State Seminoles, who start off with an easy schedule with four straight home games, opening with Murray State & Savannah State. I pick them to beat Clemson on September 22nd, before hitting the road. Their big test will be on October 20th when they play at Miami and two weeks later play at Virginia Tech. If they weather through those storms, they may be in the hunt for the BCS title game.

Two other teams to keep an eye on are Oklahoma and Michigan. If the Sooners can come in undefeated on November 17th when they play at W. Virginia and similarly when they face TCU in the season finale December 1st, they could also be in the hunt. Michigan has to pull the opening game upset against Alabama and prove to all that the Big Ten can play with the big boys of the SEC. They also play at Notre Dame and at Nebraska on October 27th.

From the NFL side of things, there are lots of intriguing story lines entering the 2012 season. How will the two-quarterback system work in New York with Sanchez and Tebow? Will the Detroit Lions make a return trip to the post-season and improve on last season’s 10-6 mark? Will the Saints survive without Sean Payton for the entire season? Most importantly, who will make it to New Orleans for the Super Bowl this season?

Mark Sanchez and Tim Tebow are certainly creating a stir in New York even though both quarterbacks are widely regarded as mediocre at their position.

The Sanchez-Tebow QB controversy will play itself out and Sanchez will get the starting nod, with Tebow coming in for Wildcat plays and the occasional snap or two. If Sanchez starts to struggle, don’t look for Rex Ryan to give him a long leash before he lets Tebow loose. Although the Detroit Lions had a great 2011 campaign, the new Bad Boys of the NFL will take a step back I believe in 2012. I look for them to finish at 8-8 and just miss the post-season. Growing up a Detroit fan, I have learned to not get too attached to success, because disappointment is soon to follow.

The Saints will still have a successful season because, even though they do not have their leader on the sidelines, they still have the heart and soul of their team in the huddle with Drew Brees. I look for the Saints to win the NFC South and challenge to make it back home for the Super Bowl in February. My NFL final four goes to New England and Houston in the AFC with Green Bay and New Orleans making it in the NFC. I won’t pick a winner, but it will be fun to watch these teams fight it our all season long.

The upcoming football season will be exciting to watch on all levels. The story lines that will be created throughout the season will only glue us more to the action as fans. Football is back… finally.

By: Craig Emmert