10 weeks into the season and already have had 8 coaches relieved of their duties
Coaches Hired This Week
Francis “Biff” Poggi/Charlotte– In a bit of a surprise, Charlotte named their new head coach before any other school could. They did not disappoint by hiring Michigan Associate Head Coach and former St Francis HS coach. Poggi was considered Jim Harbaugh’s “consigliere” in the program. He was instrumental in the development of current Heisman candidate Blake Corum and was one of the most influential voices in that locker room. Poggi will be a great hire for a broken program that needs to completely rebuild its identity.
Coaches Fired
Scott Frost/Nebraska- Replaced by Mickey Joseph (WR Coach)
Herm Edwards/Arizona State- Replaced by Shaun Aguano (RB Coach)
Geoff Collins/Georgia Tech- Replaced by Brent Key (AHC/OL/RGC Coach)
Karl Dorrell/Colorado- Replaced by Mike Sanford (Offensive Coordinator)
Paul Chryst/Wisconsin- Replaced by Jim Leonhard (AHC/Defensive Coordinator)
Will Healy/Charlotte-Replaced by Pete Rossomando (OL Coach)~Biff Poggi Named New Head Coach
Bryan Harsin/Auburn-Replaced by Carnell “Cadillac” Williams (RB Coach)
Jeff Scott/South Florida- Replaced by Daniel Da Prato (ST Coach)
Coaches On The Hot Seat
Jimbo Fisher/Texas A&M
The saga continues in College Station. This week Jimbo and staff lose to Auburn 13-10. Yes, the same Auburn that fired Bryan Harsin and are being coached by interim coach Cadillac Williams. The Aggies are now 3-7 on the season and have become unsalvageable at this point. With the massive buyout number here ($85 Million) A&M has been caught with their pants down. The AD and boosters should not be left out of the blame game here. They wanted him and now they may have to deal with the consequences financially.
David Shaw/Stanford
The Cardinal gets blown out (again) this time to Utah on the road 42-7. No one expected Stanford to win this game but to be blown out this badly was surprising. Record sits at 3-7 on the season now with no chance of making a bowl game. They have lowly California next week, which they should win, then finish with BYU on the road. All that’s left to do is to finish strong and hopefully build some momentum into the next season. Although I doubt David Shaw will be the head coach.
Tom Allen/Indiana
Hoosiers came in as 40-point underdogs to Ohio State this past weekend. They couldn’t even cover the massive number. Taking the loss 56-14 in Columbus. The game was never close, and Tom Allen is now firmly on the hot seat again this season. He fired assistants last year and I believe he will be next on the unemployment line for Indiana.
Ken Niumatalolo/Navy
What an effort for The Midshipmen in Baltimore over a resurgent Notre Dame team in the second half. Navy lost by a final of 35-32. Navy had a great opportunity to have a signature win but couldn’t get the job done. The players didn’t give up on Niumatalolo this week and that might say something to the AD. I still think they will be moving on from him next season, but this was a good “moral victory” as they say.
Neal Brown/West Virginia
The Mountaineers got a huge win over Oklahoma 23-20 last weekend. The Sooners are having a down year but this win is big for Neal Brown and his job security…. or so we thought. On Monday morning, the AD of West Virginia was fired. The school plans to have a new one in place within the next three weeks. With only two games remaining on the schedule this season, this means that the new AD will make an evaluation of the football program. This is typically not a good sign for the current underperforming head coach.
Pat Fitzgerald/Northwestern
Even with the loss last week to Ohio State last week, it seemed Northwestern may have gotten some much needed momentum to end the season. That thought went completely out the window after another blowout loss. This time to Minnesota, 31-3 on the road. Fitzgerald has been the head coach of this program for 17 seasons and I’m not sure who they would even consider for the job. The AD has a big decision on his hands in the coming weeks, especially with other Power Five schools already making their moves to hire coaches first.
Jeff Hafley/Boston College
Eagles get a much-needed win by defeating #16 NC State 21-20 on the road. Anytime you can get a road win against a top 25 team, its a solid win no matter how close the game. And to make it better Boston College did it with their backup QB, as the starter was out with an injury. While he has been given a vote of confidence from the AD, a solid finish would solidify his status. However, it wont be easy as they finish against Notre Dame and Syracuse.
With the hiring season beginning, we will look into the rumors and candidates for next week as well.
Seats That Are Warming Up Or Staying Warm
Mel Tucker/Michigan State, Willie Taggart/FAU, Butch Jones/Arkansas State, Justin Wilcox/California
