The days of college football coaches staying in one place for decades appear to have come to an end with the retirement of Bobby Bowden and the untimely end of Joe Paterno. Even successful coaches like Urban Meyer hop around now, making coaches such as Mark Dantonio in Michigan State a throwback. For coaches who are struggling to get results, the seat in the NCAA is just as hot as it is in the NFL. Here are some coaches who need to provide some results in the 2015 NCAA Football betting season to keep their jobs.
Analyzing Who are the College Football Odds Coaches On The Hot Seat
Al Golden (Miami)
Remember when Miami was ahead of Florida State – yet another team that seemed poised to dash Florida State’s undefeated dream during the regular season? Well after that, the Seminoles came back – and the Hurricanes ended the season on a four-game losing streak. Four years in Miami have brought Al Golden a combined win-loss record of 25-22 against FBS teams and 16-16 against ACC competition – not the fiercest of the Power 5 conferences by a long shot. The school is still recovering from NCAA Sanctions, but if you look at how many good Hurricanes are being drafted in the NFL should produce better results on the field too.
Larry Fedora (North Carolina)
The Tar Heels are 18-17 against FBS opponents after three seasons with Fedora at the helm. His defense lost consecutive games to East Carolina, surrendering 55 and 70 points respectively. The 2014 season ended with a rout at the hands of rival N.C. State and an embarrassing bowl loss to Rutgers. Yes, there’s been some fun too with some fake championship bling, but it’s time for some results in Chapel Hill.
Willie Taggart (USF)
The Bulls went from 4-8 in Taggart’s season to 2-10 the next year. He’s fired both coordinators, so if there isn’t some improvement this year, this could be his last. The team ranked 116th in offensive FEI, 106th in special teams FEI and 95th in defensive FEI last year, so there’s nowhere to go but up, right?
Tim Beckman (Illinois)
If the Illini had made a bowl game last year, Beckman’s job would have been safe, right? Well, Louisiana Tech blew Illinois out by three touchdowns. Mediocre wasn’t good enough to keep Ron Zook alive in Illinois, and Beckman has been worse, with a 4-20 conference record since his third season ended, and only one of those four wins came by more than four points.
Kirk Ferentz (Iowa)
Kirk Ferentz had a decent program going. However, in the last ten years, Iowa as only finished in the top 25 two times, and the Hawkeyes only have one winning conference season since 2010. Of the last four meetings with a pretty bad Iowa State team, Iowa has only won once. Iowa went 7-5 against a fairly easy schedule in 2014. The buyout for Ferentz is costly, but there is TV money coming that could make this more attractive.
Frank Beamer (Virginia Tech)
Realistically, there’s no reason ever to consider firing Frank Beamer – at least not yet. However, over the last three years, the Hokies only have a 19-17 record against FBS teams. Two of those seasons, the Hokies had an NFL-caliber quarterback. This means that it’s time for Beamer to consider stepping aside and letting Bud Foster run things.
