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

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