The coaching carousel in college football has never moved at a higher speed with increased expectations for new hires and a ton of pressure on the veterans to produce results. There was an astronomical about of coaching fires this offseason and there could have been more had a handful of guys not survived the chopping block. The environment won’t change anytime soon as coaches have to learn how to adapt in order to survive. Here is a look at four head coaches on the hot seat and what they must do to survive in 2016.
Les Miles, LSU Tigers
Needs To Show…: LSU Is Still In The SEC Elite
LSU has averaged just over nine wins per season under Miles, but that clearly isn’t good enough for a school that expects to contend for SEC titles and national championships. A rough second half of the season had many experts predicting that Miles would be done, but the Tigers decided to bring him back for at least one more year with expectations that he will take this team to the next level in 2016. LSU will have one of the best running backs in the country in Leonard Fournette and some solid depth on both sides of the ball, so they should be able to contend. However, the SEC West is still the most loaded division in college football and anything less than delivering some hardware could result in Miles’ dismissal.
Charlie Strong, Texas Longhorns
Needs To Show…: Show That The Team Is Heading In The Right Direction
Strong has been on the hot seat from the moment he took the job as the head coach at Texas and he continues to feel the burden of high expectations. Many feel that Strong has done an excellent job of changing the program’s internal culture, but the football team has struggled the past two years. Results are much more important to the school and its fans than what happens in the locker room. Strong has put together a couple of quality recruiting classes and that should help him moving forward to this season. However, the Big 12 isn’t any less competitive than it was the previous two seasons and there is a good chance Strong will be fired if the Longhorns don’t start winning some football games in 2016.
Dana Holgorsen, West Virginia Mountaineers
Needs To Show…: That WVU Can Win Conference Games
Holgorsen led the Mountaineers’ transition from the Big East to the Big 12 while producing three winning seasons in four years. The problem is that West Virginia hasn’t finished higher than fourth place in its new conference with a 20-23 overall record in the Big 12. The fact that Oliver Luck isn’t with the program anymore is an issue since he is the man who hired Holgorsen in the first place. The expectation is that Holgorsen will lead the Mountaineers to a winning record in 2016 while showing significant progress from a year ago. If that doesn’t happen, he will likely be looking for a new job in the near future.
James Franklin, Penn State Nittany Lions
Needs To Show…: That Penn State Is Not In Decline
Franklin benefited from the NCAA’s decision to cut Penn State’s postseason ban in half, but the team failed to make significant progress after he took over for Bill O’Brien. In consecutive 7-6 seasons, he’s failed to impress. It didn’t help that quarterback Christian Hackenberg’s progression stalled under Franklin’s watch or that the Nittany Lions closed out last season with its second four-game losing streak in as many years. Franklin will have a new offensive coordinator and a new defensive coordinator next season, and the changes will need to work in order for the hot seat Franklin is sitting on to cool down. Penn State has a relatively strong schedule including home games against Iowa, Michigan State, Ohio State and Temple, but the real key will be demonstrating progress on the field and showing that this program has the potential to become a legitimate contender in the Big Ten under Franklin moving forward.
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