These are our top 5 college football coaches who are entering the 2010 season on the hot seat. If their teams don’t show improvement this season, they all may be left looking for work in 2011.
1. Dan Hawkins, Colorado: Hawkins was considered one of the hottest coaches on the market when he came to Boulder from Boise St. in 2006, but his Colorado teams have struggled. The Buffaloes are just 16-33 in his 4 years there, including a dismal 3-9 last season. Just one bowl appearance, a road record of 2-20 (0-11 the last 2 years), and an improving Big 12 North means Hawkins will likely need to lead Colorado to a bowl game or he could be on his way out of town.
2. Ralph Friedgen, Maryland: Friedgen started his career at Maryland with three straight seasons with double-digit wins. Since then his Terps have been over .500 just twice in six seasons. The program hit a new low last season with a 2-10 record. Friedgen will likely retire after the 2011 season anyway, as his contract is up and a coach in waiting is already in the wings in the form of OC James Franklin. But if the Terrapins don’t improve on the two wins they had last year, Friedgen may be forced out the door a year sooner than he would like.
3. Paul Wulff, Washington State: Yeah, he is only entering his 3rd year with the Cougars, but he also only has 3 wins. He may not have been left with much after former coach Bill Doba was let go, but Doba never won fewer than four games and that wasn’t enough to keep his job. What makes it even harder on Cougar fans is in-state rival Washington is on the rise. If Wulff doesn’t make some major progress this year he may not return for another crack at it.
4. Rich Rodriguez, Michigan: We’d like to think Rich-Rod will get more than 3 years at Michigan, but perhaps more troubling than his on-the-field record is his record off the field. He didn’t leave West Virginia, his alma mater, on the best of terms, and has raised some red flags in his short time with the Wolverines. Several former players have criticized Rodriguez, and he is also responsible for Michigan’s first ever major NCAA violations. Oh yeah, about the on-the-field issues: Rodriguez is just 3-13 in Big 10 play, snapped the school’s 33 year bowl streak, and presided over the worst season in Michigan history. He has still managed to snag excellent recruiting classes and the Wolverines have a ton of talent, but how long can the proud Wolverines put up with that kind of performance?
5. Ron Zook, Illinois: It seems like the Zooker could be on the list every year, yet somehow he still has his job at Illinois. We think this year may be a make or break year though. Zook has won just 35% of his games in 5 years at Illinois, and if you take away the miracle Rose Bowl season in 2007, that number drops to 25%. That is awful. What makes the poor record even more frustrating is each year the Fighting Illini seem to have enough talent to compete at the top of the Big 10, yet somehow find themselves at the bottom by the end of the year. When you consider that Zook was only average at Florida before coming to Illinois, one has to wonder how long he will keep his job.
