College Football Coaching Hot-Seat, No Surprises Here

A recent ranking by CBS Sports had no surprises included of coaches feeling the heat in 2020.

Some might consider this beating an already dead subject, but on Wednesday, CBS Sports Dennis Dodd released a list of  11 college football coaches who are clearly on the hot seat for their jobs in 2020. 

There are six categories Dodd included in ranking all 130 FBS college coaches, of which two put coaches on the proverbial hot seat this season. 

Those two classifications are 5 "win or be fired,"  and 4 "start improving now" or you're gone too. 

To the surprise of absolutely no one, Vanderbilt Derek Mason was on this list. His seat is so hot, according to Dodd, that he earned a 5, or the most sizzling, win or be fired level. That might not be hot enough considering fan reaction to his retention following last season and in the wake of recent news concerning the Commodores football program. 

Of Mason's current situation, Dodd wrote this. 

"Forgive me for writing this, coach. You're one of the most forthcoming leaders in the sport. You're easy-going. You're a hell of a coach. We know this from Stanford. I also know it takes a lot to get fired at Vanderbilt. But after a 3-9 mark in 2019, the time may be near. Amid a 10-38 SEC record, you've yet to post a winning season. 2019 rating: 3."

Mason is not the only SEC head man to make a list, but he is the hottest, with South Carolina's Will Muschamp comes in at a four on the scale. 

Mason's situation is very different than that of his East Division counterpart. Yes, winning cures everything, and that's all Muschamp has to do. Considering the happenings on West End this week, that might not be enough for Mason unless he were to oversee the miracle of all miracles and somehow go undefeated and win the National Championship. 

His seat was hot, but this week has turned the flame thrower into a nuclear fire that seems all but impossible for Mason to survive, considering the odds he will face in 2020. 

Stranger things have happened, but if Mason can't find some magic, fans who screamed for his head last season will almost certainly get it this time around. 

 

Follow Greg on Twitter @GregAriasSports and @SIVanderbilt or Facebook at Vanderbilt Commodores-Maven.