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Way-too-early college football coaching carousel predictions for 2017

By Shannon Sickmon

Nov 12, 2016; College Station, TX, USA; Mississippi Rebels head coach Hugh Freeze during the game against the Texas A&M Aggies at Kyle Field. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 12, 2016; College Station, TX, USA; Mississippi Rebels head coach Hugh Freeze during the game against the Texas A&M Aggies at Kyle Field. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports /
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Every year, there are a handful of coaches starting the season on the hot seat. Here is my take on which coaches are already on the college football carousel.

Yes, I know that the 2017 college football season hasn’t even begun yet, but I’ve offered up my way-too-early predictions on who will be part of the coaching carousel following the season.

Hugh Freeze: Ole Miss’ leader has done well for the team in many ways. And heck, even if the guy gets canned tomorrow he can have bragging rights for decades because he beat Nick Saban two dang years running. The school will be looking for a scapegoat about the NCAA violations, even if they continue to keep their heads in the sand and play the denial card. His squad will get tested early in the season with a late-September matchup against Alabama. If he can pull off a win, he might have a job for another season. If they struggle against conference rivals, though, you can bet the boosters will be calling for his head.

Gus Malzahn: I don’t envy Gus Malzahn. It has to be a tough job being the coach of an also-ran team in Alabama. The SEC is still a brutal conference to play even without the Damocles’ sword of the Crimson Tide. Malzahn was already in trouble starting 2016, and then the team’s disaster of a Sugar Bowl put another nail in the coffin. Add to that an OC defecting to UConn and Malzahn may not even last a month into the 2017 season.

Next: Who to watch in the SEC spring games

Rich Rodriguez: Obviously the Pac-12 is much more forgiving than the ACC or the SEC. Most coaches whose team got worse every season would have been canned already, but maybe folks in these venerated eastern conferences just expect more. Regardless, Arizona’s coach needs to polish up his resume if he can’t eke out anything better than the sad 3-9 season he produced last year. The ridiculous $9 million buyout in his contract may be the only reason the school hasn’t tossed him out already.

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