CBS Sports ranks 5 Big Ten coaches among worst hires of last decade

This week, CBS Sports put together a list of college football's 15 worst head coaching hires of the past decade. While there are certainly plenty of worthy candidates to chose from, the Big Ten led the way with five head coaches on the list.

Here's a look at the Big Ten coaches that CBS named among the worst hires of the last decade:

15. Chris Ash, Rutgers (2016-19)

With an overall record of 8-32 during his time with the Scarlett Knights, Chris Ash found himself at the No. 15 position. Here's what CBS had to say about Ash:

"Ash only won more than two games in a single season once, and the Scarlet Knights failed to win a single Big Ten game in three out of four seasons under Ash. He was fired midway through the 2019 campaign, and after a brief stint at Texas in 2020, he recently made his return to college football as Notre Dame's defensive coordinator."

13. Scott Frost, Nebraska (2018-22)

The hype was through the roof when Scott Frost took over at Nebraska back in 2018. But all of that excitement quickly turned into a nightmare as the program struggled mightily under Frost's leadership. By the time he was fired by Nebraska in 2022, he had achieved a record of just 16-31.

"But the high point of Frost's tenure was a 5-7 2019 campaign. He never made a bowl game won a total of seven games in his final three years. If Nebraska already had one foot in the grave before Frost got there, he ensured the once-proud Huskers were six feet under by the time he left."

11. Mel Tucker, Michigan State (2020-23)

Although his overall record of 20-14 wasn't bad, Tucker's conduct off the football field was problematic. It ultimately led to his firing in 2023 as Tucker was accused of sexual harassment.

"Tucker had a positive record at Michigan State, so surely his tenure couldn't have been that bad? Right? Well, 11 of those wins came in 2021 on the back of Doak Walker-award winning running back Kenneth Walker III, a grand-slam transfer acquisition from Wake Forest. That means Tucker won a combined seven games in his other two full seasons. Even worse, Tucker was ousted from the program in 2023 after Michigan State launched an investigation into allegations of sexual harassment."

7. Mike Riley, Nebraska (2015-17)

Riley's tenure in Lincoln was short, as he limped his way to a 19-19 overall record in three seasons - including two losing seasons.

His 2015 debut was the program's first losing season (6-7) since 2007. He rebounded in 2016 with a 9-4 showing but regressed once more in 2017 as the Huskers finished 4-8. That led to Nebraska moving on from Riley, whose 19-19 career mark with Nebraska was the worst for any Huskers coach since 1961... until Frost came along.

3. Ryan Walters, Purdue (2023-24)

Speaking of short tenures, it took just two seasons for Ryan Walters to lose his job at Purdue. For as bad as things looked in 2023 (4-8), it got considerably worse in 2024 (1-11). Struggling is one thing, but it took Walters just two seasons to firmly establish the Boilermakers as the worst team in the Big Ten.

"Time quickly showed he was absolutely not ready to run a program. Purdue plummeted from a paltry 4-8 in 2023 to 1-11 last season, with those 11 losses coming by an average of 30.8 points per game. It didn't take long for Walters to entirely demolish what Brohm built. Time will tell if new coach Barry Odom can pick the pieces up."

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