Back in August, I ranked the 11 coaches who had been at their school at least 2 years. Since that came out two have been fired and one is off to a 1-6 start. I think it is time to re-rank these coaches. This will go from coldest to hottest with the three new coaches and two interim left off the official list, but I’ll comment on them after.
- Urban Meyer, Ohio State – The defending champ remains undefeated. Probably the coldest seat in the nation. August Rank: 1
- Mark Dantonio, Michigan State – Considering he is one of the best coaches in program history, routinely wins a million games and has the magic touch to beat the Wolverines, I don’t think anyone wants him gone. August Rank: 2
- Kirk Ferentz, Iowa – It is amazing how winning cures all. The political climate would have made it hard to get rid of him as the university did not have a president and fans had lost confidence in AD Gary Barta. Not to mention a buyout that, although affordable, would still have been a tough pill to swallow. Sitting at 7-0 and showing a more gambler’s mentality with aggressive calls, Ferentz has won back a lot of support. Even the most ardent “fire Kirk” fan still respected the hell out of him as a person and past contributions to the program. Kirk on the hot seat was much more like a marriage that had grown stale than him crashing and burning the program like some of these coaches. August Rank: 8
- Jerry Kill, Minnesota – He’s coming off back-to-back 8-win seasons. The most wins in a single season since 2003. He has the program much more competitive in the past and isn’t padding his resume with cupcakes. They’ve taken on TCU the last two years folks – by choice! From reading grumbling fans during this set-back season, most are concerned with the offensive personnel (i.e. quarterback) and the offensive coordinator. Kill is a lot like Kirk in that if things turn around in the second half or start fast next year, any fans who want him gone will quickly hush up. August Rank: 3
- Pat Fitzgerald, Northwestern – I said it in August and I’ll say it now, Fitz has an unusual leash. He is a beloved alum and the Wildcats have lowered expectations than the other schools in the league. The 5-0 start may have been fool’s gold but they should still make a bowl game. Going 7-5 with a bowl win to end 8-5 at Northwestern is like a 10 win season and New Year’s day bowl win at another school. August Rank: 6
- James Franklin, Penn State – Well now we are getting into some interesting territory. Franklin and his staff seem to have completely mismanaged the offense as NFL prospect Christian Hackenberg looks like a shadow of his freshman year. Meanwhile, they skate by Army (20-14) just to get annihilated by Ohio State. Is there more of a fan base on edge after a 5-2 start than this one in western PA? August Rank: 4
- Kyle Flood, Rutgers – How does he still have his job? The email story should have been cause for dismissal but he is still coaching after the suspension. I’m ranking him 7th because his on-field performances are way better than the two head men after him, but really feels like a matter of when, not if Flood is shown the door. August Rank: 5
- Kevin Wilson, Indiana – The 4-0 start helped, nearly knocking of OSU also helped. Giving up a 25 point lead last week against Rutgers…..not so much; however, they are 4-3 with Maryland and Purdue left. A repeat of the OSU performance against MSU, Iowa or Michigan could also score a major upset. Bowl is still in play and if they make it to a 13th game, Wilson will be back again next year. August Rank: 10
- Darrell Hazell, Purdue – He is 5-26 (1-18) after the 1-6 start this year. They are on the bye this week so I’m a little surprised he wasn’t canned after the Wisconsin embarrassment. Remaining schedule is Nebraska (probable loss), Illinois (hmm), at Northwestern (hmm), at Iowa (probable loss), Indiana (hmm). Even if they sweep the three games they can be competitive in, that still makes him 7-28 (4-20). How can you justify a coach with what will be at best a .167 league winning percentage?! Get him out of here. August Rank: 9
Fired coaches:
- Tim Beckman – Had the hottest seat in the nation coming in and a preseason investigation to abuse allegations doomed him. August Rank: 11
- Randy Edsall – Improved recruiting made it possible to survive a rough 2015 if the team treaded water. Instead they sunk like a rock with blowout loss after blowout loss. He may have coached the OSU game but the damage was done after West Virginia and Michigan humiliated the terps for a combined 73-6 two game stretch. August Rank: 5
Fresh Faces watch:
None of these guys are in danger of losing their jobs after one year (well, as far as we know) but they are ranked in order of success through 7 weeks.
- Jim Harbaugh, Michigan – A 5-2 start that is a few plays away from being 7-0 and a world-class defense has Michigan fans pumped.
- Paul Chryst, Wisconsin – Fan favorite combined with injuries and Melvin Gordon playing on Sunday had tempered expectations. Instead UW has a solid defense and sit pretty at 5-2. They need some help due to a tiebreaker loss with Iowa but they remain in contention in the west.
- Mike Riley, Nebraska – He wasn’t a popular hire to start with and a 2-4 start made things interesting; however, they were never as bad as the record indicated and they just crushed the Gophers. I see at least three more victories on their schedule but their two hardest games (MSU and Iowa) are at home so an upset or two is doable. If they had fallen apart and gone like 2-10 then maybe Nebraska would have done something crazy but we’re past that point now.
Interim Watch:
- Bill Cubit, Illinois – This is an interesting one since Cubit gets the whole year to showcase his ability. He had a winning record at Western Michigan and took them to a bowl. The players also seem to love him. They are 4-2 with an upset of Nebraska and were competitive at Iowa. If they make a bowl, he needs to at least be interviewed. If they win 7 or more in the regular season, he needs to be the leading candidate. On the flip side, the 4-2 start is nice, but if they falter and go just 5-7, I’m not sure his resume at WMU would have been enough to get interviewed, there’s a reason why the Broncos parted ways with him.
- Mike Locksley, Maryland – He went 2-26 at New Mexico as a head coach. He is known as a recruiter and not an Xs and Os person. The fans don’t like him anyway because he was the OC of a team that was terrible. He will not even be interviewed for the position once the season limps to an end for Maryland.
Big Ten and Counting 