The college football carousel continued to spin this past winter with several changes in the Power Five conferences. With so much emphasis on winning now there is simply no reason to expect that trend to slow down anytime soon. College football coaches are usually given a few years to turn around losing programs but the pressure to succeed right away has never been as high as it is right now. Here is a look at the four most notable college football coaches facing make or break seasons.
Les Miles
LSU Tigers
Many experts predicted that Miles wouldn’t make it through the offseason following the Tigers’ collapse in the second half last year. However, following largely pro-Miles sentiment in the wake of his potential dismissal, the school opted instead to keep him on board for at least one more year. Miles is fortunate to get another crack at it but there is no doubt this will be a make or break season. LSU returns 18 starters including star running back Leonard Fournette and the addition of defensive coordinator Dave Aranda is expected to help that unit reach another level. The pieces are in place to contend in the SEC and on the national stage and if Miles can’t take care of business this year, there is a good chance the Tigers start evaluating other college football coaches.
Kevin Sumlin
Texas A&M Aggies
Sumlin has gone from one of the hottest college coaching commodities out there to one of the college football coaches that is on the brink of losing his job . The Aggies posted 11 wins in Sumlin’s first season but they have posted 8-5 records in back-to-back years and they haven’t finished better than .500 in conference play over the last three seasons. Sumlin’s job will depend a lot on the success of new offensive coordinator Noel Mazzone and transfer quarterback Trevor Knight but there are obvious reasons to doubt Texas A&M’s ability to contend with the top teams in the SEC. The Aggies won’t win a conference title but they will have to show signs of progress in order for Sumlin to keep his job.
Charlie Strong
Texas Longhorns
The Longhorns have done a terrible job recruiting and developing talent over the last couple of years, so it’s no surprise that Strong’s job is in jeopardy heading in to this season. It seemed as though he was destined to lose his job following a 7-11 start but Texas shocked the eventual Big 12 champion Oklahoma and that might have been the key to his return. However, things won’t get any easier for the Longhorns in the Big 12 this season and it might not be long before they make a switch. Strong is certainly on the hot seat heading in to next season and it could be only a matter of time before Texas shakes things up. The main issue for him is the trajectory of the program. While there is plenty of positive talk, the results haven’t been there on the field. There hasn’t been a glimmer of optimism to show that the program is heading in the right direction. Even with the win over Oklahoma, as impressive as it was – and as important as it is to beat your primary rival – it wasn’t sustained. They followed it up with a 24-0 shutout loss at Iowa State, then also lost to West Virginia and Texas Tech. Strong has to show that this program is heading in the right direction or he’s done.
Darrell Hazell
Purdue Boilermakers
There is a good chance Purdue would have dismissed Hazell if he didn’t have a $6.7 million buyout in place. The Boilermakers didn’t want to have to pay him off for nothing so they opted to keep him for one more year but the number for the buyout drops to $4.6 million in December so they likely won’t hesitate to pull the trigger if the team struggles again this season. Purdue followed up an 11-3 campaign in 2012 with a combined 6-27 record over the last three years and if there aren’t obvious signs of progress the Boilermakers will send Hazell packing after the season.
