Bobby Pope: Seats can get hot quickly for college football head coaches
"It's not a popular topic, but it needs to be said. It's time for (big name head coach) to go. It's a hard thing to say, but it's time for (big time athletics director) to find (big name head coach) a job on campus. Clearly he's done all he can do as the head coach at (big time university)."
Does this sound familiar? The story was written in January by a sports writer who covers a program that has won 10 games or more in 13 of the past 16 seasons. From 2010 to 2012, the football team had a 32-8 record with two bowl wins, In 2013, it was 11-2 with a major bowl victory, but in 2014, it slipped to 8-4 and got beat in a second-tier bowl game by 34 points. This season, it is currently 10-1 with the head coach having a shot at winning his ninth conference championship and a chance to advance to the College Football Playoff.
The head coach also has a national championship on his resume and an overall record of 178-45.
Want to guess the program? Well if you haven't already figured it out, it's Oklahoma, and the article was written about Sooners head coach Bob Stoops and AD Joe Castiglione by Tulsa sports columnist John Hoover.
It's not usual for successful high profile head coaches to feel the heat from their seat. Georgia's Mark Richt is not the only current SEC head coach feeling the pressure. LSU's Les Miles, whose Tigers were unbeaten and ranked second nationally before running into the Alabama juggernaut Nov. 7, has seen his team lose three straight. The last time LSU lost three in a row was 1999 when it dropped eight straight, and some media and fans in the Bayou State are calling for his job.
Writer Scott Rabalais of the Baton Rouge Advocate wrote a column last week with the headline, " 'Strong indications' LSU's Les Miles coaching for his job vs. Ole Miss, Texas A&M." If Rabalais' column is correct, Miles must now win the Texas A&M game after being trounced by the Rebels 38-17 on Saturday. Rabalais said the coach's support is dwindling.
In his 11 seasons at LSU, Miles has one national championship, played for another and two conference titles while winning 77 percent of his overall games (110-32) and 69 percent of his conference contests (60-27) playing in the toughest conference in the nation. If Miles is fired without cause, he has a large buyout with $15 million going to him and $2 million to his assistants, according to Rabalais.
If he is released, with all the Division I jobs open this year, "The Hat" will be wearing a new logo within a week if not sooner. Columbia is pretty in the fall in both South Carolina and Missouri.
Tennessee has been down this road with Phillip Fulmer, who was fired after 17 seasons with the Volunteers following the 2008 campaign, and the program hasn't recovered yet. In his final season, Tennessee had a 5-7 record, just Fullmer's second losing season as a head coach. His overall record was 152-52 and included two SEC titles and a national championship in 1998.
Tennessee is now on its third head coach since Fulmer's ouster. Lane Kiffin stayed one season before bolting for the USC job, then Derek Dooley was brought in for a unproductive three-year stay before he was fired, and now Butch Jones is the head man on Rocky Top and looks to have the program finally back going in the right direction. Since Fulmer's firing, Tennessee has a 42-43 record, including a 7-4 mark this season.
For college football coaches, it's not about what they have done, but rather what they have done lately. They can win a national championship and two years later be without a job.
If you don't believe it, ask former Auburn head coach Gene Chizik.
Contact Bobby Pope at bobbypope428@gmail.com
This story was originally published November 23, 2015 at 5:12 PM with the headline "Bobby Pope: Seats can get hot quickly for college football head coaches ."