looking like another coaching bloodbath this year

Sep 19, 2017, 7:37 PM

Some very, very unhappy fan bases this year, especially in the SEC, and it looks like it's going to be a race to the finish-line to see who can wipe their coach out first. Big problem is, there's a distinct shortage of primo HC candidates out there this year - I see a Chip Kelly, who somebody is probably going to have to throw $7-$8 million plus at, as lean as the market is, and I see Chad Morris, who is doing some durn fine work at SMU...he's got the Mustangs 2-1 and gave TCU all they wanted before the Frogs pulled away in the fourth last week.

After that, it's slim pickings. Les Miles is still out there if somebody wants to give the Hatter another spin and somebody will likely have to. And of course Bobby Petrino will be back applying for any job he considers better than Louisville now that his $10 million buyout has expired. You figure somebody's going to throw huge money at Dan Mullen too just because he's got Mississippi State at Not Terrible.

But wow the SEC is in disarray.
In the SEC East, Mizzou and Tennessee will almost certainly open.
*Barry Odom is as good as fired already at Mizzou.
* Butch Jones is basically DOA the second it becomes obvious Tennessee will not win the East. Which is already pretty obvious.
*Chicken fans are already becoming disillusioned with Muschamp but he likely lasts another year because, well, who else they going to get, especially now?

In the SEC West, everybody except Mullen and of course, Nick Saban, is at risk.
*Kevin Sumlin's seat is scorching at A&M. A&M is making noises about coming after Dabo but I'd expect them to be the lead dog after Chip Kelly when it's all said and done if they don't go after Morris, who has always wanted the gig.
*Ed Orgeron is on way thin ice at LSU. Big surprise. He was terrible at Ole Miss.
*Matt Luke is very much the interim guy at Ole Miss and has impressed no one thus far. But who can they get with the NCAA breathing down their necks?
*Brett Bielema is 26-27 in his fourth season at Arkansas and already dropped one to TCU this year. Hogs fans are getting restless.
*Gus Malzahn is on very brittle footing at Auburn. He's an offensive guru whose offense has been terrible for a couple of seasons now.

There's some other noteworthy ones nationwide:
*Mike Riley at Nebraska. They just lost to Northern Illinois. Enough said.
*Brian Kelly at Notre Dame. If he doesn't win at least 8 games this year, he's done.
*Steve Addazio at Boston College. They're 1-2 this season and got skunked by 30 by Wake Forest. At home.
*Todd Graham at Arizona State. He just lost to San Diego State and Texas Tech, and was 5-7 last year. He also lost - get this - his last six games to finish 2016 after starting 5-1, which means he's now 1-8 over his last nine games. Ouch.
*Rich Rod at Arizona. Yes, Rich Rod. He has a massive buyout, which could save him, but the fans don't like him, he's producing no NFL talent these days, and his team is 2-1 and lost to Houston a couple weeks ago...after he went 3-9 last year after a really mediocre 7-6 2015 season. That ain't good, Rich Rod.

Bottom line is we could see 10+ coaches gone from major programs, and another dozen (at the very least) the ones under that.

Whatever, expect major coaching carnage this year...and expect it to start early. As I mentioned, the ranks of replacements has seldom looked this thin, nationally.

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