The college football season is right around the corner. Unlike with other sports, the fate of a football team can be decided within the first couple of weeks. That makes a strong start extremely important, which puts a lot of pressure on football programs early on in the season. There is even more pressure on the head coaches that are considered to be on the bubble heading in to the year since they understand their fates could be decided before September ends. We took a look at the sports betting odds to see which coaches are expected to get the axe. Here is a look at the five college football head coaches most likely to be fired first.
Jim Mora, UCLA +900
Mora has compiled a 41-24 record in five seasons as the head coach at UCLA. However, the Bruins are coming off their worst season under their current head coach after posting a 4-8 record in 2016. Mora has led UCLA to 10 wins on two occasions but those teams settled for appearances in the Sun Bowl and the Alamo Bowl. Bruins fans have grown restless as they want to see their team perform at a higher level as legitimate contenders in the Pac-12 and on the national stage. UCLA will be in tough once again in a conference that appears to be much stronger than it was just one year ago. Mora is the betting favorite to be the first college football head coach to lose his job this season. Nobody will be surprised if another slow start led to his dismissal.
Todd Graham, Arizona State +1500
The bar has also been set much higher at Arizona State, where Graham’s job could depend on his team’s ability to turn things around this season. The Sun Devils are coming off back-to-back losing seasons. It’s hard to imagine Graham surviving a third straight year with a losing record. Arizona State has the talent to improve on paper in 2017. If they don’t, then Graham might end up getting fired before Mora does this season.
Rich Rodriguez, Arizona +1500
It seems as though there isn’t a head coach in the Pac-12 or in the state of Arizona that is safe heading in to the 2017 season. Rodriguez joins Graham at +1500 odds to be the first college football coach fired this season. The Wildcats are coming off a 3-9 season and there is no way that Rodriguez will survive another year unless they improve on that win total. Arizona is in the same position as the other teams on this list in terms of their ability to improve based on the talent on their roster. That will mean even less room for error for Rodriguez this season.
Brett Bielema, Arkansas +1600
It’s never good when fans start a “Fire Brett Bielema” page. The Razorbacks head coach likely understood his position even without the fans calling for his head. Arkansas had improved in each of Bielema’s first three years, climbing from the bottom of the SEC West to tied for third in 2015. However, the Razorbacks struggled in 2016 including blowout losses to Auburn and LSU, as well as a complete meltdown against Missouri in which they blew a 24-7 lead to fall short of the eight-win mark. Arkansas had a full season to recover and reload for the 2017 season. If they can bounce back from last year’s disappointment then Bielema will be fine. However, if they struggle early on then it could lead to Bielema making an early exit this season.
Guz Malzahn, Auburn +1700
Auburn fans turned on Malzahn even before their Sugar Bowl loss. The Tigers fell to 1-3 in bowl games under their current head coach, including an 0-3 mark against Power Five opponents. It certainly didn’t help that Chip Kelly became available, which gave Auburn fans the idea that they had a potential replacement for Malzahn. The Tigers decided against firing their head coach but there is no guarantee they will stick by that decision throughout the entire course of this coming season. Malzahn helped turn things around for Auburn after they went from the SEC West basement to second in the division last season. However, Tigers fans clearly expect more from their football team this season so the pressure will be on Malzahn to deliver with his job potentially on the line.
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