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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 26, 2016; University Park, PA, USA; Michigan State Spartans Mark Dantonio walks on the field during a warmup prior to the game against the Penn State Nittany Lions at Beaver Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew O’Haren-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 26, 2016; University Park, PA, USA; Michigan State Spartans Mark Dantonio walks on the field during a warmup prior to the game against the Penn State Nittany Lions at Beaver Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew O’Haren-USA TODAY Sports /

It feels somewhat strange to lump Mark Dantonio in with the rest of this list, but winning always increases expectations — especially at a Big Ten school. After earning two conference titles and three straight New Year’s Six appearances between 2013 and 2015, Michigan State fell to sixth in the Big Ten East and missed a bowl game for the first time in Dantonio’s ten seasons in charge.

Given the fact that the Spartans play in the same division as perennial contender Ohio State and resurgent powerhouses Michigan and Penn State, Dantonio was due for some regression. Few could have predicted a 3-9 campaign. After opening the year with wins over FCS Furman and at Notre Dame, Michigan State dropped seven straight before breaking the skid in a 49-0 blowout of Rutgers. A close loss to Ohio State was followed by a mismatch at Penn State as the Spartans simply tried to get to the end of the year.

Few outside East Lansing will expect much from the Spartans this year, but Dantonio will at least need to return the team to a bowl game. Otherwise, the architect of Michigan State’s recent rise will begin to squirm on the hot seat. It would probably not result in immediate termination, but 2018 would become a make-or-break season.

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