HOT Seat

[Guest Tigrinum Major]

As we enter SEC spring training days, there are no new coaches, no new schemes to be implemented, but plenty of coaches feeling the heat. Here's one fan's look at the guys that will be sweating despite temps in the 40's.

1. Rich Brooks - Who else is surprised that Brooks is still the coach at UK this season? It will take a miracle for Brooks to survive the season (ie. a bowl team.) If he thinks that adding Randy Sanders to the staff is the answer, I fear that he has misunderstood the question.

2. Houston Nutt - Speaking of miracles, if Nutt survives the season without a woopigger slipping him a shiv during a pregame walk, he will qualify as a saint of lost ballgames. Hiring a high school coach to be your OC? Not exactly the off season move that speaks of a stable mind.

3. Ed Orgeron - Wow, second year on the job and already on the hot seat at a school that has only sniffed the upper echelon of the SEC in the past 20 years. He may become a victim of his own hype and flame out quickly. John Bon Jovi has signed out to sing "Blaze of Glory" before each home game this season. Over/under on Rebel probation is two years.

4. Bobby Johnson - Must sustain at least .500 ball this season in order to keep his job. Vandy has been the place that too many coaches have gone to become coordinator again. Losing Cutler hurts, but enough talent remains to beat some people. Unfortunately, enough attitude remains to lose to MTSU once again.

5. Sly Croom - His "aw-shucks" persona is wearing thin. Beating Ole Miss like cake batter in the finale last season removes some heat, but the Bullies need to beat a team that they are not supposed to beat this season. Bama would be a great win.

6. Phil Fulmer - He won't lose his job with another losing record, but it wouldn't help his chances by stumbling to another sub .500 season. UT must enter the season settled at QB, no matter who it is. Word around Knoxville is that Phil is spending less time at the local Barnhill's Buffett and more time supervising weight training. If nothing else, it will make him easier to look at on the sidelines this year.

7. Mike Shula - Wait, how can a coach coming off a 10-2 season be on the warm side of the conference? Because he has now raised expectations for those fans that are not capable of abstract thought. There is sure to be a drop off inthe defense this season and the offense must improve to at least anemic in order to win as many games as last year. Don't bet the over if you are getting 8 games.

8. Les Miles - Despite a great seaon and a huge bowl win, some LSU fans are still not convinced that Miles is the real deal. A QB controversy will be interesting as spring training begins. He should call Phil Fulmer or his predecessor Nick Saban if he wonders if playing two QBs might be a good idea. Looking at the current state of affairs at Oklahoma State also might provide some insight into Miles modus operandi.

9. Steve Spurrier - Nothing could get Spurrier fired outside of being caught with a live boy or a dead girl.

10. Tommy Tuberville - Only a bowl game meltdown against Wisconsin has Tuberville anywhere but the bottom of this list.

11. Urban Meyer - Meyer is still overrated, but no one can convince a Gator fan of this fact. Ask a Bull Gator and they will tell you that those Chuck Norris facts really are about Urban Meyer. The second year has told the tale in his previous coaching stops. Let's see if Meyer has figured out an antidote for SEC defensive speed.

12. Mark Richt - Defending SEC Champs. Stability to the program. A top QB prospect. The list of things that Mark Richt has brought to UGA goes on and on. Can retire at UGA if he can figure out a way to beat Florida half the time.

Differing opinions?

[c-zoner 0]

I think Florida fans are still comparing Urban to Steve, much like bama fans compare all there coaches to the bear. If Florida has a couple losses next year, with one or two of those losses being upsets like getting beat by SC, then Urban is feeling the heat.

[deceks7 16]

I think CMS is safe for the time being. The new contract took care of any talk about a hot seat for a couple of years. Buyouts can be hell. bama's AD must be protecting CMS for a down year with the timing of the contract. Given some of CMS's decisions which I will go into a little later, I wonder why he is held in such esteem by the bama AD.

[AUesquire 1]

Good list TM. As far as Brooks goes, half the people in the SEC couldn't have told you who UK's coach is anyway. Totally irrelevant.

Nutt job had better put up 9 wins minimum to stay and I just don't see that happening. But then again, it's Arkansas...who cares?

To me, Shula has a huge task in front of him. There are schools like UK, Vandy, Arky, OM and MSU that can tolerate losing and/or mediocrity for a while. The last few on your list, like AU, UA, UF, UGA and UT all have fan bases with short memories and even shorter fuses. (Yes, I include our fan base in that group)

CMS showed improvement by chalking up 10 wins, but that was due in part to a soft OOC, 3 out of 4 "Tough games" at home and one of the better defenses in the nation. That defense has been gutted with graduation, the senior QB is gone, the OL is definitely suspect and they have those same tough games on the road. A fairly soft OOC and the OMs and MSUs of the world will get an automatic 7-8 wins. But lose 2 of the tough ones and one of those being the 5th straight to Auburn.....BUYOUT, BUYOUT, BUYOUT.

Our local sports talk guy made an excellent point this past year when he said that Foolmer brought some heat on himself by NOT prepping his fan base for the schedule they had to play. With road games at Florida, LSU, UT and Auburn coming to BD, he needs to be poor mouthing big time.

[SouthLink02 8]

People will be surprised how much pressure is put on Richt if he doesn't beat UF at least 2 of the next 3 years.

I know it sounds crazy to pressure someone who has won 2 SEC Titles in his first 5 years of coaching BUT his inability to beat them with better teams is rather pathetic, imo.

If our offense sputters this year, expect a LOT, LOT, LOT of pressure for a new OC to come out.

[mcgufcm 4,107]

move croom up the list. i live in daville. people here are getting tired of losing. i don't think they should be anywhere near firing him after the pu pu platter he inherited; i just know they are closer than you'd think.

and i think spurrier is safer than tubby or urban b/c he has no expectations to live up to. and i'd swap urban and tubbs; the former didn't come close to living up to his own hype.

[outoftowntiger 0]

Overall I would agree with the list. However, I think if Fulmer wins less than 8 games next year, he will be under enormous pressure to resign. I live in Knoxville, and the majority of fans here are extremely spoiled. They are expecting a monumental turnaround now that they have the "best OC in the conference returning to Rocky Top". If it doesn't happen Fat Phil better watch for the moving vans

[rolltoomer 0]

You can't argue wihth CMS's 10 wins, regardless of how suspect the opponents and the manner of winning.

When I think, "There's no way that their D will be as good and the O should also be worse", I am reminded that they said similar stuff when we sent a raft to the NFL last draft.

Before somebody starts thinking I'm a uat'er, I will say that I think that the teams that were in shambles last year when uat played them (e.g., TN, UF) will be much improved this year and that uat loses 5 games: UF, UT, LSU and AU, plus one they're "supposed" to win--maybe OM or Ark.

This will be Sheila's 4th year, to be fair his 3rd, but he may have passed his high-water mark. I don't see any coaching, especially offensive, brilliance yet.

[sogaaufan 27]

People will be surprised how much pressure is put on Richt if he doesn't beat UF at least 2 of the next 3 years.

I know it sounds crazy to pressure someone who has won 2 SEC Titles in his first 5 years of coaching BUT his inability to beat them with better teams is rather pathetic, imo.

If our offense sputters this year, expect a LOT, LOT, LOT of pressure for a new OC to come out.

222343[/snapback]

I'm not trying to stir the pot, just asking, since Richt IS the de facto OC (I'm sure most would agree with that), what good would it do to change?

[WarTim 3,457]

I think CMS is safe for the time being.  The new contract took care of any talk about a hot seat for a couple of years.  Buyouts can be hell.  bama's AD must be protecting CMS for a down year with the timing of the contract.  Given some of CMS's decisions which I will go into a little later, I wonder why he is held in such esteem by the bama AD.

222309[/snapback]

Quick answer....flipper is the ONLY guy they could find that would actually TAKE the "job". I can assure you that list has not grown over the past few years. Contract or no contract, flipper loses to Tubby again this season and he is h-i-s-t-o-r-y. Count on it.

[CircleDrill 178]

8.  Les Miles - Despite a great seaon and a huge bowl win, some LSU fans are still not convinced that Miles is the real deal.  A QB controversy will be interesting as spring training begins.  He should call Phil Fulmer or his predecessor Nick Saban if he wonders if playing two QBs might be a good idea.  Looking at the current state of affairs at Oklahoma State also might provide some insight into Miles modus operandi.

222305[/snapback]

I am glad somebody else questions Les Miles. When he wore that slimline headset in his first few games at LSU last year (away), I found myself asking "What is the deal?.....this guy has no idea what he is doing." And then his first game in LSU, he had to take it off and go for the same headset that everybody else wears because he could not hear anything at LSU.

Most decent high school coaches could have done what Miles did last year with Nick Saban's loaded team that he inherited. We had one of those one time in Terry Bowden. I think if you look at their SECCG performance against UGA, you can see the beginnings of what 2006 has to offer for LSU.

And that basically is that they have so much talent but the guy running the show just flat out has no idea what he is doing. I hope Auburn gives them the worst beating in recent memory this year just to prove my point.

[LSUdomination 0]

I think if you look at their SECCG performance against UGA, you can see the beginnings of what 2006 has to offer for LSU.

Yeah.....the fact that we played basically the entire game with our 4th string tailback and half of the game with our backup QB......I guess that didn't have anything to do with it. Two of the most devastating hurricanes in most of our lifetimes caused us to lose our mid-season bye week and the SECCG was our 12th game in as many weeks. Injuries never had time to heal. You'll find out....I think you have 12 games in a row this year. Look, I am not trying to make excuses for losing the SECCG.....we got whooped by a good team. But we were obviously tired. See the Peach Bowl for what a healthy, rested LSU team looked like last year. My point is, you're letting your hatred for LSU fool you into looking at that particular game to judge Miles. I don't think he's the best coach ever or anything, but we finished with a better record than anyone in the SEC, blasted Miami in our bowl game, went undefeated in the West, handled the worst natural disaster in the history of our state, promptly followed by a second hurricane, and finished with a top 5 or 6 recruiting class. Pretty narrow-minded to take our 1 really bad game out of all that and say, "See.....that's what you're getting with Les Miles." Do you think the nation should look at the Cap-1 bowl and say, "See.....that's Tubberville for ya???"

[deceks7 16]

  We had one of those one time in Terry Bowden.

I am embarrassed that I didn't think of that. I do think Miles will be gone in a couple of years, but I think the bowl game was more LSU than the SECCG. LSU was beat down by the end of the season that it was a miracle that they finished as well as they did. It was the only reason bama could hang with them. No off weeks and a couple of hurricanes can really mess with a team down the stretch.

Big fear for me is Muschamp will be awesome, Miles gets the boot and we end up facing a real young lion.

[Draven 0]

People will be surprised how much pressure is put on Richt if he doesn't beat UF at least 2 of the next 3 years.

I know it sounds crazy to pressure someone who has won 2 SEC Titles in his first 5 years of coaching BUT his inability to beat them with better teams is rather pathetic, imo.

If our offense sputters this year, expect a LOT, LOT, LOT of pressure for a new OC to come out.

222343[/snapback]

Slink, what do you think the chances are that within the next 2-5 years if Bobby Bowden retires, Richt goes to FSU honestly no bs.

[ECEstudentUA 9]

I think CMS is safe for the time being.  The new contract took care of any talk about a hot seat for a couple of years.  Buyouts can be hell.  bama's AD must be protecting CMS for a down year with the timing of the contract.  Given some of CMS's decisions which I will go into a little later, I wonder why he is held in such esteem by the bama AD.

222309[/snapback]

Quick answer....flipper is the ONLY guy they could find that would actually TAKE the "job". I can assure you that list has not grown over the past few years. Contract or no contract, flipper loses to Tubby again this season and he is h-i-s-t-o-r-y. Count on it.

222380[/snapback]

i kinda tend to agree, although it shouldnt be that way. He will for sure be on the hot seat if he loses to AU agian.

[mcgufcm 4,107]

to lsu guy, i tend to side with you on this one right now. one of the biggest keys to saban's run was keeping instate town instate. very few other coaches in the history of the program have been able to do that. if miles can succeed in that area, he's always going to have a team with overwhelming talent. that alone will win you most of your games.

the question i have is whether or not he's going to consistently set the tone that lsu is a place for hardwork and discipline. that was the second key for saban. curly hallman and dinardo and those guys before him never did that. that was the lsu m.o. when i was growing up: tons of talent, undisciplined, completely unpredictable. i think 1997 was the banner year for that. beat a tough msu, lose to auburn at home the next week. beat spurrier's gators, lose to ole miss the next week. that was lsu before saban. i just don't know if i really believe that les miles is the kind of guy that can set the tone, like saban did, in a very volatile atmosphere (and don't kid yourself, that mentality hasn't disappeared from the louisiana athletes; saban just controlled it).

the other thing that i have wondered about was whether or not the hurricane was a really a detrimental event for this TEAM. i know it was horrific (i'm from mississippi and i've been on work relief trips down in south mississippi) for the residents. i know how crazy it was for the people of baton rouge to grow to double or triple the number of residents in a couple of days. i know how terribly sad it must have been for all the guys that had family there and even for the guys who didn't. but i don't know that it was a bad thing for this FOOTBALL TEAM.

i just think of things like arizona making a tourney run for lute olson after bobby olson died (whom all the team members said was like a surrogate mother to them). i think of texas western pushing through the race barrier in the south. i think of texas a&m beating texas after those students died in the bonfire. the stories are endless and the proof is almost undeniable that adversity can be a good thing for a sports team. it makes the guys closer than they ever would have been without it, and unity/chemistry is an undefinable thing in team sports. it propels teams to overcome stuff on the field b/c they know each other and love each other. i think you saw some of that at auburn when the school tried to get rid of tommy; the players rallied and won out and brought the unity into the next year. i just wonder if lsu's players were tighter and maybe lsu was a better team b/c of all the craziness happening in their off-field lives.

maybe i'm wrong. maybe without the distraction, they go undefeated. or maybe without something to unite like utter disaster in their real world, they shake apart and lose to florida and auburn and arkansas, and you all hate your coach. i don't think we'll find out how well he holds a team together and sets a tone for the year until this season when you finally have some sense of normality in the player's daily lives.

[SouthLink02 8]

I'm not trying to stir the pot, just asking, since Richt IS the de facto OC (I'm sure most would agree with that), what good would it do to change?

222374[/snapback]

Richt lets Mike Bobo run the offense in the 2 minute drills and lets Neil Callaway help him with play-calling during the game. I think some are just tired of stale offensive games against UF and some other big games.

Then, everytime we bitch he spots 30+ on Tennessee or 40+ on LSU.

Maybe we are just impatient

I think some just want something fresh or maybe an assistant to his OC play-calling

[SouthLink02 8]

Slink, what do you think the chances are that within the next 2-5 years if Bobby Bowden retires, Richt goes to FSU honestly no bs.

222398[/snapback]

0%

Literally, none

I think people over-estimate Richt's FSU ties. He no doubt loves Bowden but he went to Miami. He was FSU's OC but that is it.

I think the Richt-to-FSU thing is more of a media story than anything.

I am not in the least worried about FSU taking him because frankly, I don't think there is any chance