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Prepare for the hot seat, Les Miles, Gus Malzahn and Kevin Sumlin.
Andy Staples of Sports Illustrated predicts the three SEC West coaches will face the heat this season. On the surface, the suggestion seems wild. All three have enjoyed success during their respective tenures — Miles even won a national championship and Malzahn was oh-so-close to doing the same — but this is college football in 2016. Big dollars and big demands are part of life.
In Miles’ case, he knows too well how demanding LSU boosters can be after surviving last season. For Malzahn, there’s the 15-11 record since losing to Florida State in the BCS Championship Game. For Sumlin, there are the problems since Johnny Manziel and Mike Evans left College Station, plus the perception that his program has lost its way.
Here’s how Staples frames his argument:
If they worked almost anywhere else, Miles, Malzahn and Sumlin would be perfectly safe. But they work in the SEC West, where every head football coach makes at least $4 million and everyone expects results commensurate with compensation.
In Sumlin’s case, Staples writes that the coach suffers from heightened expectations after that first SEC season in 2012:
That year, the Aggies went 11–2, beat eventual national champion Alabama in Tuscaloosa, produced a Heisman Trophy winner (Johnny Manziel) and convinced a fan base that life in the new league would be easy. It hasn’t been. The Aggies are 11–13 in conference play since. That Sumlin had two potential starting quarterbacks leave in the same week in December only aggravated the situation.
Regarding Malzahn, Staples suggests another disappointing campaign likely will lead to action:
Allow Mississippi State’s Dan Mullen to explain what happens when seven excellent coaches get crammed into the same division together. “Every SEC West team had a winning record last year,” Mullen said. “Somebody’s got to finish last.” That team last year was Malzahn’s Auburn, which won the conference in 2013 and was in the playoff hunt as late as early November 2014. Last year, the Tigers went 7–6 and 2–6 in the SEC. Another similar season likely will prompt a change.
Why stop there? If we want to heat up more seats, why not include Butch Jones? Tennessee has received large hype in recent seasons, only to disappoint in the weaker SEC East. The Volunteers must make a splash soon. Or how about Mark Stoops at Kentucky?
One thing is certain: This fall will be fascinating to follow.
