Coaching Hot Seat
By Bruce Marshall
Well, that didn’t take long.
We’re still two weeks in front of Halloween and a few more days than that until Election Day, yet we have the first coaching casualty of the 2010 college football season. To no one’s surprise, Minnesota’s Tim Brewster was the first mentor to get the boot, walking the plank after the Gophers lost their sixth straight game last Saturday, a 28-17 setback at Purdue. Brewster won’t even be allowed to finish the season, which most Big Ten observers believe is a good idea. Offensive coordinator Jeff Horton, once upon a time the head coach at Nevada and also at UNLV (and who caused quite a furor in the Silver State when switching allegiances in the mid ‘90), takes over on a very interim basis for the remainder of the season. We’d like to say "we told you so" to the Minnesota boosters and administrators who hired Brewster in the first place. Their treatment of predecessor Glen Mason, who had the program competitive and bowl-bound for most of his tenure, was considered past his sell-by date when dismissed following the 2006 Insight Bowl loss to Texas Tech, when the Gophers squandered a huge halftime edge. Mason got a raw deal four years ago, and Minnesota deserved to shank its next hire into the rough. All Brewster did was undo a decade’s worth of good work by Mason. And the fact the abrasive Brewster apparently made few friends on the job serves the Gophers even more for their transgression.
Already, there is talk in the Twin Cities that NFL Vikings defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier is a frontrunner for the position. Frazier will certainly have the highest endorsement possible for the job, as sources say Tony Dungy, a Minnesota alum, will likely recommend Frazier for the spot. Big Ten insiders wonder, however, if Frazier would rather bide his time for an NFL head coaching job, as he would figure to be on a short list for any pro opening. There is also early speculation that the Gophers might send a trial balloon the way of Dennis Green, the former NFL Vikings and Cardinals HC (plus Northwestern and Stanford) who has been out of coaching since being dismissed by the Bidwills in Arizona after the 2006 campaign. Green, an Iowa grad, would be an interesting hire, to be sure.
But it says here that the Gophers might find it harder to land the man they want simply because of the current state of the program, which is dismal. Minnesota has fallen to the back of the pack in the Big Ten, and despite its impressive new on-campus stadium, the Gophers have a lot of catching up to do with the rest of the league. In previous years, it would have seemed as if Minnesota, which in the past lured Lou Holtz from Arkansas, Jim Wacker from TCU, and Mason from Kansas, could have attracted any number of high-profile candidates looking to make the step up (or at least sideways, in the case of Mason, or down, as was the case with Holtz). Now, however, we’re not sure. Temple’s Al "Touch of" Golden would seem a good choice, although sources tell us that Golden is now showing up on the radar of alma mater Penn State, which is reportedly beginning to seriously contemplate the whole successor-to-Joe Paterno thing. Tulsa’s Todd Graham would be an interesting hire, but it might require taking a pay cut. Would Houston’s Kevin Sumlin consider Minnesota when he might be in line for better jobs, perhaps in the Big XII, in the not-to-distant future? High-profile "in demand" assistants such as Auburn o.c. Gus Malzahn and Miami-Florida o.c. Mark Whipple might also bide their time for something other than a massive rebuilding job in a rugged conference such as the Big Ten.
In the meantime, expect a couple of up-and-coming Big Ten assistants to have their names thrown in the hat, including Wisconsin o.c. Paul Chryst, Michigan State d.c. Pat Narduzzi, and perhaps Illinois o.c. Paul Petrino. A longshot in the mix could be Ohio U HC Frank Solich, who might want one more shot at the top level after being rather unceremoniously booted from Nebraska seven years ago, and having rehabilitated the Bobcat program since. Stay tuned.
Elsewhere, it’s time to revisit our "hot seat" list from earlier in the season and see if any new coaches have fumbled their way into trouble over the past month.
Dan Hawkins, Colorado...A lot of Buff boosters were surprised that Hawkins was given one more year to turn things around in Boulder. There was no evidence of progress in last year’s 3-9 season that began with ugly losses vs. underdog Colorado State and Toledo contingents (with CU looking particularly organized on defense vs. the latter during a national TV embarrassment in early September) and was spared further humiliation by a pair of extremely narrow home wins over Kansas (34-30) and Texas A&M (35-34). Hawkins even acknowledged his good fortune in holding on to his job for another year, but what he can really thank is his contract that would have called for a $3 million buyout, one the school (and an athletic department swimming in red ink) simply wasn’t prepared to swallow. Hawkins began this season encouragingly against rival Colorado State, but the vultures are circling again after lopsided defeats vs. Cal (52-7) and Missouri (26-0) and a bitter home setback last week vs. Baylor. Big XII sources tell us that if Hawkins, now 19-36 at CU, misses the postseason again and records his fifth straight sub-.500 record, there’s almost no way in which he could survive.
Ron Zook, Illinois...The Fighting Illini have been a fairly pleasant surprise the first half of the season, competitive in losses vs. ranked Missouri, Ohio Sate, and Michigan State. But some Big Ten sources are wondering if last Saturday’s second-half meltdown at East Lansing might indicate a downturn on the horizon. Conventional wisdom in the Big Ten seems to be that the Illini might not even need to get to a bowl for Zook to be spared, as long as the team appears to be making progress and stays competitive the rest of the way. At the least, it’s very unlikely Zook would endure a Brewster-like scenario, or a repeat of his ouster at Florida in 2004 when he was dismissed but allowed to coach the last few regular season games for the Gators.
Mike Locksley, New Mexico...Locksley’s job status remains tenuous to say the least as the Lobos continue in their winless from while enduring the humiliation of a second straight loss to rival New Mexico State. Mountain West sources indicate that New Mexico insiders realize what a mistake has been made with Locksley’s hire, but that the school is in too much of a financial bind to pay off the remainder of Locksley’c contract, reportedly in the $3 million range. Various MWC observers are wondering if AD Paul Krebs might feel some kind of backlash, too, for not only hiring Locksley, but failing to terminate him a year ago with cause and likely saving the school a huge buyout. As it is, the Lobos are going to need some financial angel(s) to appear before they can cut the chord on the Locksley regime after this season.
Todd Dodge, North Texas...If not for bad luck, Dodge wouldn’t have any this season, already down to his fourth QB by midseason due to a bizarre string of season-ending injuries to QBs Nathan Tune, Derek Thompson, and Todd’s son Riley Dodge. Normally that sort of misfortune might warrant an mulligan from administrators, but that’s not likely in Denton, where Todd Dodge entered the season with a mandate to improve (to at least the .500 range) after a 5-31 mark his first three years on the job. And after hitting rock bottom in a 34-10 home loss to Florida International last week, dropping the Mean green to 1-6, the chances of Dodge rallying UNT appear between slim and none, with slim almost out the door. Don’t be surprised if Dodge is the next coach after Brewster to get the bad news before the season is complete.
Bob Toledo, Tulane...Worrying developments for the Bob Toledo regime with the Green Wave, which after consecutive lopsided losses to Army (41-23) and Tulsa (52-24) appears to be in the early stages of another collapse similar to the past few seasons. Conference USA sources who thought Toledo was a bit fortunate to survive last year’s 3-9 campaign are maintaining that it is highly unlikely the former UCLA, Pacific, and UC Riverside HC would survive a similar record. Keep an eye on Toledo perhaps being an early casualty as well.
Paul Wulff, Washington State...The Cougs are showing signs of improvement for Wulff, but it’s all relative in Pullman,. After all, it wouldn’t be hard to improve upon the wretched performances of the past two seasons. Wazzu is simply losing in the teens and twenties in recent weeks after losing in the thirties, forties, and fifties the past two years. The team is scrapping, and soph QB Jeff Tuel has impressed all Pac-10 observers, butt he program remains far beneath where it was when Wulff inherited the post after 2007 (although predecessor Bill Doba left a very bare cupboard). Whether new AD Bill Moos wants to remain patient with Wulff’s rebuilding program probably depends upon how the Cougs fare in the last half of the season.
Dennis Erickson, Arizona State...After the Sun Devils lost their third game in a row (at Oregon State) a few weeks ago, the Mike Leach-to-ASU rumors began to generate some steam in Tempe. But Pac-10 sources aren’t yet counting out the Sun Devils, who played well enough to win in their three defeats vs. Wisconsin, Oregon, and Oregon State, and followed those gut-wrenchers with an impressive win at Washington. Erickson’s fate likely rides on qualifying for a bowl, and even then it might have to be a decent one and not a reward for a 6-6 campaign.
Mark Richt, Georgia...SEC sources indicated that Richt was getting into some real trouble a few weeks ago with the Dawgs on a debilitating 4-game losing streak, but recent blowout wins at home over Tennessee and Vanderbilt have proven a temporary lifeboat for Richt, with indicators the Dawgs could still salvage something from this season. Regional observers still suggest that Richt finish this season on an upbeat note (a win over Florida on October 30 would heal a lot of wounds) and make it to a bowl.
Bill Lynch, Indiana...Administrators are on record in Bloomington as saying they want to give Lynch every chance to succeed, and that the coaching turnover this decade has been a negative. But the Hoosiers have been wobbling in recent weeks and will have to avoid a slow finish to keep Lynch safe for another year.
Rich Rodriguez, Michigan...We thought Rich-Rod was pretty safe in Ann Arbor after that 5-0 break from the gate and QB Denard Robinson looking like a Heisman frontrunner. But back-to-back home losses vs. Michigan State and Iowa have raised more questions and hinted at the possibility of the same sort of collapse we witnessed from the Wolverines a year ago. The stop unit remains a mess, and if nothing else we would suspect d.c. Greg Robinson is in danger of getting thrown under the bus if the recent fade continues. Rodriguez needs a couple of more wins to feel safe about returning next year.
Ralph Friedgen, Maryland...The Terps started quickly at 4-1, temporarily taking the pressure off Friedgen, but Maryland wasn’t scoring many style points with its early efforts, and ACC sources believe that the Terps might have been completely unmasked in last week’s lopsided loss at Clemson. There’s more to the situation at College Park, too, with o.c. James Franklin already named as Friedgen’s successor, although those plans can be blown apart quickly if the Terps stumble again this fall, especially with a new AD (Kevin Anderson) now in the fold.
Rick Neuheisel, UCLA...The natives are getting restless in Westwood, and though Neuheisel seems to have his Bruins well beyond any chance of a disaster, the Bruins look like they’ll be hard-pressed to get to a bowl season or above .500. Short of a complete meltdown, Pac-10 sources say Neuheisel is probably safe until next season, when the pressure will be severe to finally produce a breakthrough season or else