College football coaches on the hot seat ahead of the 2023 season
A year ago, two dozen coaches at the college football level changed jobs, whether by voluntary means or otherwise. All of 24 coaching changes took place, including names like Scott Frost at Nebraska and Herm Edwards at Arizona State, and over the last two offseason cycles put together, a whopping 50 coaches changed their address.
Looking over the Power Five coming into the 2023 football season, there don't seem to be any clearly obvious names who are coaching for their lives right now, although some major programs are keeping a close eye on how things go this fall, especially in the state of Texas, and perhaps down in Florida, as well.
Billy Napier is only entering Year 2 at the helm of the Gators program, so it's not expected he'll be going anywhere, plus he has made some notable recruiting gains recently, but Florida has seen four coaches come in and go out since 2011 and Napier, coming off a 6-7 debut, needs to perform well.
Who else could be on the chopping block this season?
College football coaches on the hot seat in 2023
These college football coaches need to watch their step
Dino Babers, Syracuse: After a solid start to last season, the Orange lost six of their last seven games to finish 7-6 overall, with their one victory coming against BC. Babers then lost both of his coordinators, which could disrupt continuity and he lost three important defensive contributors to the transfer portal, including Ja'Had Carter. Syracuse has finished .500 or better in ACC play twice in Babers' seven years.
Neal Brown, West Virginia: To date, Brown has won five games twice and six games twice so far, going 22-25 combined, and he comes into this season under the microscope of new athletic director Wren Baker, who replaces the AD who hired Brown, Shane Lyons, himself fired during the 2022 season. The offense has struggled under Brown's leadership so far, posting the 91st scoring unit in college football. West Virginia opens at Penn State, a major litmus test for the coach, who is due his entire salary through 2024 whether he's coach or not.
Butch Jones, Arkansas State: This has been one of the better Group of Five jobs going back the last decade-plus, but so far Jones has compiled a meager 5-19 record and has been on the wrong side of 14 of 16 games against Sun Belt competition. Not ideal for a program that had won at least seven games in nine straight seasons and is starting to feel that foundation slip under its feet.
Tom Allen, Indiana: Things haven't trended well for the Hoosiers since the 6-2 outing in the Covid-19 season, going 2-10 the following fall, and then dropping to 4-8 a year ago, that after a 3-0 start, including losses to Rutgers and Nebraska. Winning those kinds of games could be the difference between making or not making bowls, although Allen has some momentum on his side: namely, IU would owe him his full compensation if it fired him without cause before Dec. 1 next year and he's an Indiana native who has represented the program and school well.
Jimbo Fisher, Texas A&M: Naturally, the dollar figure here would be what keeps Fisher around, thanks to a contract that is fully guaranteed through 2031 and includes a buyout of somewhere around $77 million. That's a remarkable financial bind for Texas A&M to get itself into, but it may be a price it's willing to pay if things don't turn around dramatically soon. A&M is 39-21 under Fisher and won two SEC games a year ago, a shocking result after the school's historically-great recruiting class. Fisher brought on Bobby Petrino to call offensive plays this fall, a development worth watching for many reasons, including the effect that decision could have on Fisher's future.
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