There are a number of coaches who are in trouble at this point in the college football season, not just Brady Hoke of Michigan. Yet, there’s no question that Hoke is the one in the worst spot.
Brady Hoke
There is just no denying that Hoke is under the gun in ways no other coach is. First, at Michigan, a blue-chip program, there is little patience for the continuing string of losses that everyone has witnessed over the past few seasons. Attendance is declining. The season ticket base is dwindling. Enthusiasm has left the program. Everything about Michigan football speaks to a rapidly deteriorating situation. Hoke will certainly not survive into 2015 as Michigan’s coach. The only question is if he’ll make it through the end of the regular season, which is doubtful if he doesn’t beat Rutgers this upcoming Saturday night. Everything on the field at Michigan has been worsened by Hoke’s handling of his players, particularly concussed quarterback Shane Morris, who was allowed to play in a concussed state last Saturday against Minnesota. The negative publicity from that event is only making a bad situation worse.
Here are some other coaches on the hot seat…
Derek Mason, Vanderbilt
It is true that Mason is in his first season, but every once in a while, a school realizes that it made a terrible hire and that a new coach is just not right for the job. This could be the case with Mason, who has already burned the redshirt of one of his quarterbacks, Wade Freebeck, and has been all over the place in terms of how he’s handled his quarterbacks. Vanderbilt has looked so powerless on offense that the Commodores look nothing like the teams James Franklin fielded in Nashville over the previous three seasons. The severity of the drop-off in results could lead to a very quick hook if nothing turns around this season.
Tim Beckman, Illinois
This is the most obvious hot seat after Hoke. Beckman has done absolutely nothing to elevate an Illinois program that was still a lot better under former coach Ron Zook despite some of his well-chronicled struggles. Illinois does not command a lot of respect in the nation or in the Big Ten, and it should be recruiting well in and around Chicago, but is not gaining the kinds of results one would expect for a program that has made a New Year’s Day bowl every now and then. Beckman is skating on very thin ice.
Will Muschamp, Florida
The Gators have to do reasonably well for Florida to retain its coach heading into next season. The season is still early, but Florida’s offense has not improved to the extent Muschamp was hoping it would. If the Gators lose to Tennessee this Saturday, the heat on Muschamp is going to be turned way up, partly because of the loss itself, but mostly because a second SEC loss – with games against Georgia, Missouri, and South Carolina still to come – would point to a probable 3-5 SEC record. Coupled with an almost-certain loss to Florida State, that would mean a 6-6 record, which is just not acceptable at Florida.
