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10 college football coaches who need turnarounds to avoid 2017 hot seat

By Zach Bigalke

Nov 26, 2016; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Brian Kelly argues a call in the fourth quarter against the USC Trojans at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. USC won 45-27. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 26, 2016; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Brian Kelly argues a call in the fourth quarter against the USC Trojans at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. USC won 45-27. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports /
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Nov 12, 2016; College Station, TX, USA; Texas A&M Aggies head coach Kevin Sumlin walks on the field during the game against the Mississippi Rebels at Kyle Field. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 12, 2016; College Station, TX, USA; Texas A&M Aggies head coach Kevin Sumlin walks on the field during the game against the Mississippi Rebels at Kyle Field. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports /

In Kevin Sumlin’s case, he took over at Texas A&M right as the team was realigning from the Big 12 to the SEC. And in that first season, he benefitted from the play of Heisman-winning quarterback Johnny Manziel to win 11 games, upset Alabama in Tuscaloosa, and nearly win the SEC West. But things regressed in 2013 even with Manziel back, and since the QB left the Aggies have settled into a steady 8-5 rut.

The issue for Texas A&M is that they still remain on the hook for $15 million of his guaranteed six-year contract extension that he signed in 2013, and so Sumlin will get another chance to reach another peak in 2017. But a rotating door at the quarterback position has hamstrung the Aggies, and another eight-win campaign is unlikely to cut it in College Station.

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With a fan base as rabid as the one that shows up at Kyle Field seven times a year, consistent mediocrity spells doom.

Just ask Mike Sherman, the coach whose four years of consistent mediocrity were enough to be shown the door at the same time the school said goodbye to the Big 12. SEC dreams breed SEC expectations, and like his West division counterparts Bielema and Freeze the pressure will be on for Sumlin to deliver lest he face the hot seat next offseason.

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