Football coaches are mostly judged on wins and losses. Sometimes, a major booster to the program takes a dislike for a coach and that causes ripples within the athletic department. Other times, it might be a personal issue that drives a coach out of his job.
With all of that being said, here is a short list of coaches that may get fired before next season comes around. The list is in no order nor is it complete. Let’s look at the college football coaches we believe are on the hot seat in 2018.
Kliff Kingsbury- Texas Tech
Things are not pretty in Lubbock for college football. Coach Kingsbury hasn’t lived up to expectations as he is 30-33 overall in five years and 16-29 in the conference. If he doesn’t get them to a bowl this year he is likely done.
David Beaty- Kansas
When you are 2-22 in two seasons and have won ONE conference game your job is not safe. He has a contract through 2021 so anything less than two wins this year isn’t acceptable/
Lovie Smith- Illinois
The Illini won 3 games last season with two of them in the conference with wins over Rutgers and Michigan State. They could get three wins again this year. The reason they won’t fire Smith is the AD is in love with him. Lovie was an average NFL coach and AD Josh Whitman wanted to make a big hire when he got the job. So Cubit was fired and Smith was hired.
Major Applewhite- Houston
The boosters are not happy. Some of the major contributors to the program that they expect the Houston program to be back to the spot that Tom Herman had them. Applewhite finished 7-6 last year and even though it is his second season. They must win tons of games for his to keep his job.
Larry Fedora- UNC
Winning 3 games for the season from a team that was considered a ranked team is a cause for concern. Fedora has an overall record that looks decent but it is the old adage about what have you done for me lately. The seat is hot.
Luke Fickel- Cincinnati
After one season as the Bearcats coach, he has a 4-9 record along with 2-6 in the conference. This isn’t getting the job done and anything less than 7 wins this year will get him booted.
Jim Harbaugh- Michigan
I am going to include the Wolverines head coach. His record is decent overall but he hasn’t delivered the Big Ten conference championship. Harbaugh may get more time being an alum and Shea Patterson at quarterback may have alleviated much of the concern.
Kalani Sitake- BYU
The Cougars had 12 straight winning seasons as Sitake went 9-4 in his first season as head coach. Last year things went downhill and he finished 4-9. If he doesn’t show marked improvement, they fanbase will be asking for a firing.
Decent Chance It Could Happen:
Matt Ruhle- Baylor
Paul Johnson- Georgia Tech
Derk Mason- Vanderbilt
Mike Sanford, Jr.- Western Kentucky
Tony Sanchez- UNLV
Everett Withers- Texas State
Matt Wells- Utah State
On the Cusp:
Mike Jinks- Bowling Green
Scottie Montgomery- East Carolin
Brad Lambert- Charlotte
Mark Whipple- UMASS
