Coaches Under Fire

As always, this is the time of year where coaches in college football start thinking about getting the theoretical pink slip as they leave their teams in shame. Here is my opinion on coaches that currently sit on the hot seat:

Al Groh (Virginia)- I start with this clown because the fact that he wasn’t fired last year was hilarious strictly because I enjoy watching UVA fail so epically. This guy has done everything to be fired. You literally couldn’t try to be fired and do this much. We are at the level of Matt Millen and the Detroit Lions or Mary Antoinette in France. A firing might not be enough, we have approached a scenario where a beheading might be necessary.

Bobby Bowden (Florida State)- A lot of people have gotten on Bowden’s case because of this season’s failure, but you have to remember, the school’s legacy, is HIS legacy. All of Florida State’s success is directly because of him. Now, I’m not usually a guy who says keep someone because of what they have done in the past (I have been for the firing of Maryland basketball coach Gary Williams for three years now), but this is different because there was no Florida State legacy before him. Because of that, you have to ask whether the mystique of playing for FSU will even exist without Bobby Bowden, especially now that the program has slipped a little.

Charlie Weis (Notre Dame)- Before I talk about why Weis should be fired, I have to say something about Notre Dame football. Notre Dame hasn’t won a national championship in 21 years and has rarely been in the mix over that time period. They can’t recruite with the likes of Florida, USC, or Texas and over the last decade, they have been a 7-8 win team that on a good year, can maybe get into a BCS bowl. Given all of that, why do people expect Notre Dame to contend for a National Title every year? Now…

In his five years as head coach, Weis has done the ultimate bate and switch. In his first two years, he performed tremendously with former coach Ty Willingham’s players and had great recruiting classes, making it seem like he was going to bring Notre Dame back into the limelight. However, the last three years have made him look worst and worst. It is my opinion that you judge a college coach based on the years 3-5, because that is when a coach has his players in his system. By that sample, Weis is 15-17 with one crappy bowl appearance (they are bowl eligible this year too). Sounds like a failure to me.

Rich Rodriguez (Michigan)- Going by my philosophy on judging coaches by years 3-5, he shouldn’t even be here, but since people are stupid, I am forced to put him here. Rich Rodriguez is a great coach and should be recognized as so. While I think he is a traitorous bastard for leaving the program he built at his alma mater, you have to remember what he created there. He and his spread offense turned West Virginia into a nationally relevant program that went to BCS bowls almost every year. If Michigan didn’t expect a transition period, then they were dumb because if you don’t have the right players (lightning quick at every position), the spread offense doesn’t work. Last year, the team was ridiculously slow, and this year, it was a bunch of freshmen. I don’t care if they didn’t win a single game in the last two years, the judging period starts next year.

Also on this list is Virginia Tech’s offensive coordinator Bryan Stinespring who I believe needs to resign because of the inept offense VT has had over his six seasons. I don’t include him here because he is a fantastic recruiter and I think there is a very important place for him in the Hokies organization still.