Arizona State Football: 5 reasons Todd Graham is on the hot seat

Arizona State football coach Todd Graham is feeling some heat, and no that isn’t because the temperatures in Tempe have reached triple-digits.

Todd Graham is coming off a 5-7 season that included a loss to the team’s in-state rival on the road in Tucson. Arizona’s win was the team’s lone Pac-12 triumph of the season. In 2015, Arizona State had another losing season, finishing 6-7.

Both Graham and Arizona head coach Rich Rodriguez are facing seats that are getting warmer with each successive month for a variety of reasons but mostly because the last two seasons have been incredibly underwhelming. Quite frankly, three losing seasons isn’t going to cut it at Arizona State anymore. Graham must turn things around this season.

While Graham is probably under less pressure than fellow Pac-12 coach Jim Mora, there is also a stronger belief Mora will turn things around this season, that a 4-8 season in 2016 was merely the aftermath of one of college football’s best quarterbacks succumbing to injury.

Graham is facing pressure this season because he set the bar high in his second year on the job, painful losses to in-state rival Arizona, he’s only seen modest success after five years, he brought in a shiny, new and expensive offensive coordinator, and he has the most talented quarterback during his tenure in Blake Barnett.

Since Graham completed season one in Tempe, he has received a one-year contract extension. That tradition ended this summer. His contract still runs through summer 2021, but the lack of an extension is an indicator the school’s confidence in Graham isn’t strong.

Let’s take a closer look at five reasons why Todd Graham is on the hot seat.