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Coaching stock: Hot seat and rising star picks for every Power 5 conference
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We saw some high-profile coaching jobs come open after last season, led by Florida, Michigan, Nebraska, Wisconsin and Pittsburgh. (The Pitt job opened because Panthers coach Paul Chryst took the Wisconsin job.)
Michigan gets the one A+ grade for its hire in Jim Harbaugh.
Some questioned Florida perhaps not reaching higher than Colorado State’s Jim McElwain, but remember that when the Gators hired Urban Meyer from Utah in December 2004, Meyer wasn’t a household name, either. That worked out pretty well.
Here’s a look at one coach in each Power 5 conference on the hot seat and one whose star is on the rise.
ACC
Hot seat: Al Golden, Miami.
No seat is hotter in the country in my opinion. Golden is just 28-22 in four years with the Hurricanes. To be fair, an NCAA investigation hung over Golden’s head the first few years and he was blindsided by that. If Golden had known that was coming, he might not have left Temple. But that’s in the past now and Miami had too much talent to go 6-7 last season, especially when considering seven guys were drafted by the NFL (two in first round). The season was capped by losing in the Independence Bowl to South Carolina. Nothing short of nine wins likely saves Golden’s job in 2015.
Rising star: Dave Doeren, N.C. State
Doeren took over the Wolfpack in 2013 following two very successful seasons at Mid-American Conference school Northern Illinois. N.C. State was 3-9 and winless in the ACC in Doeren’s first year but 8-5 last year and 3-5 in conference. The Wolfpack ended the season strong, winning four of their final five, including a St. Petersburg Bowl win over Central Florida. Doeren brings 14 starters back.
BIG TEN
Hot seat: Kirk Ferentz, Iowa.
This guy might be the most overpaid coach in college football. He got a massive contract extension — through 2020 — following a 2009 season in which Iowa finished 11-2 and beat Georgia Tech in the Orange Bowl. The NFL was sniffing around so Iowa felt it had to lock Ferentz up. Well, the NFL isn’t looking at Ferentz any longer as Iowa hasn’t won more than eight games in a season since and was just 7-6 last year. The Hawkeyes also have lost three straight bowl games. They were beaten by Tennessee in the TaxSlayer Bowl on Jan. 2.
Rising star: James Franklin, Penn State.
The NCAA sanctions are finally off the program and Franklin has been a star on the recruiting scene. Anyone who can win nine games at Vanderbilt, as Franklin did in 2012 and ’13 , has to be a great coach. He led Penn State to a 7-6 mark last season and win over Boston College in the Pinstripe Bowl. This program is trending upward and has one of the nation’s top quarterbacks in 2015 in Christian Hackenberg.
BIG 12
Hot seat: Bob Stoops, Oklahoma.
Would OU ever fire Stoops? I highly doubt that after all that Stoops has achieved in Norman. But you hear rumors these days that Sooners fans are dissatisfied with the program and that Stoops might finally be ready to bolt for the NFL. OU was a preseason national title favorite in 2014 yet limped to an 8-5 record and was slaughtered in the Russell Athletic Bowl by Clemson. Oklahoma has been passed by Baylor and TCU in the Big 12. This will be Stoops’ 17th season at OU and might be his last — a loss at Tennessee in Week 2 could help move things in that direction.
Rising star: TBD.
To be honest, I don’t see one here. I suppose I could say Baylor’s Art Briles as he has turned a small private school in backwater Waco into a national powerhouse. But it seems that Briles is going to stay there for the long haul. He has a contract through 2023 and has always turned down the chance to interview at bigger schools, such as Texas.
PAC-12
Hot seat: Mike MacIntyre, Colorado.
MacIntyre inherited a major mess at Colorado when he left San Jose State following a 10-2 mark in 2012. The Buffaloes were 4-8 in MacIntyre’s first year but regressed to 2-10 last year. They have just one conference win in those two seasons. Some think Colorado could take a mini-jump in 2015 after losing four Pac-12 games by five points or fewer in 2014 and with 16 starters back.
Rising star: Sonny Dykes, California.
If you like high-octane offense, watch the Golden Bears this season. They have one of the nation’s best quarterbacks in Jared Goff, a potential NFL first-round pick in 2016. Cal was just 1-11 in Dykes’ first season in 2013 but jumped to 5-7 last year. I can see Cal reaching its first bowl game since 2011 this year.
SEC
Hot seat: Derek Mason, Vanderbilt.
Mason obviously is in a no-win situation at Vandy, a school that just can’t compete with the rest of the conference on the football field with those stringent academic requirements. But as noted above, Franklin proved you can have some success with the Commodores. Mason looked overmatched last season with Vandy finishing 3-9 — all victories against low-level schools — and winless in the conference. Every SEC defeat but the finale against Tennessee came by double digits.
Rising star: Hugh Freeze, Ole Miss.
My apologies here to Vols and Razorbacks fans as Butch Jones and Bret Bielema also could have been the choice. But it’s easier to win at Tennessee and Arkansas than it is at Ole Miss. The Rebels won seven games in Freeze’s first season (2012), eight his second and nine last year. Many believe this is his most talented club yet with likely 2016 first-round picks in offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil, defensive tackle Robert Nkemdiche and receiver Laquon Treadwell.
Matt Severance is a contributing writer for Saturday Down South. He covers SEC football, Florida, Tennessee and South Carolina.
