COACHES ON THE HOT SEAT
Firing college football coaches not too deep into the season has become a trend. Thesportsdaily.com has produced a list of the coaches most likely to be the first fired in the 2023 season:
4/1: Jimbo Fisher, Texas A&M: A 2-2 start could put Fisher in serious trouble; his Aggies play at Miami on September 9 and host Auburn on September 23. Fisher, coming off a 5-7 record, is 39-21 in five years in Aggieland.
4/1: Mel Tucker, Michigan State: Tucker is 18-14 in three Spartan seasons. His 5-7 finish last year was massively disappointing for a coach making $9.5 million a year. Michigan State opens with Central Michigan and Richmond, but the rest of September includes home games against Washington and Maryland, plus a game at Iowa.
5/1: Butch Jones, Arkansas State: Jones is 5-19 in two seasons in Jonesboro. The Red Wolves open at OU, then host Memphis. Then comes a Sun Belt Conference schedule that looks tough.
11/2: Neal Brown, West Virginia: I like Brown, but he should be atop this list. In September, the Mountaineers play Penn State, Pittsburgh, Texas Christian and Texas Tech, with only Duquesne as a salve.
7/1: Danny Gonzales, New Mexico: The Lobos are 7-24 under Gonzales, but UNM has a manageable schedule after opening at Texas A&M – home games against Tennessee Tech and New Mexico State, road games at Massachusetts and Wyoming, home games against San Jose State and Hawaii.
7/1: Jim Harbaugh, Michigan: It’s going to take more – and bigger – NCAA scandal for the Wolverines to move on Harbaugh.
12/1: Tom Allen, Indiana: Allen is 3040 at IU but not so far removed from back-to-back winning seasons (2019, 2020) with the Hoosiers. But in September, Indiana plays Ohio State, Louisville and Maryland.
12/1: Dino Babers, Syracuse: The Orange won its first six games last season but went 1-6 the rest of the way. Thus Babers is 36-49 over seven seasons, and Syracuse plays Purdue, Army and Clemson in September.
12/1: Mike Bloomgren, Rice: With a record of 16-39 in five Owl seasons, Bloomgren seems susceptible. In its first five games, Rice plays Texas, Houston, South Florida and East Carolina.