College Football: 10 coaches on the hottest seats entering 2018
1. David Beaty
David Beaty takes the top spot on this list, and it’s not particularly close. Beaty, who took over for Charlie Weis in 2015, has won just three games in three seasons. To make things worse, after showing a little life in 2016, the Jayhawks took a step back in 2017. All of this happening at the hardest power five job in the country is understandable. Beaty’s inability to sustain momentum is what has him here.
The Jayhawks have been close to breaking through several times under Beaty. They looked somewhat competent at the end of 2016, beating Texas, while playing Kansas State and Iowa State tight. That success didn’t carry into 2017, and with a more experienced team, Kansas won just one game.
It’s been the same story off the field. Beaty’s recruiting classes have started hot, and finished worse than 60th in the country. The 2018 is the best example, as it started with several Lousiana four-star commitments in February, and ended with just two come signing day. The Jayhawks had ten decommitments.
Beaty’s inability to sustain much of anything is what puts him here. Despite being brought back for this season, Beaty’s safety net is gone. The AD that hired him, Sheanon Zenger, was fired in May. That means that Beaty is essentially a lame duck coach. There’s almost no chance he’ll be renewed by a new AD.
Beaty sees the writing on the wall. To try to keep his job, he did the same thing every Kansas coach in the last decade did. He went out and signed a bunch of JUCO prospects, to try to win now. It may work for one season, but it’s unsustainable, and Beaty will eventually be fired. It’s just a matter of if he’ll make it to the end of the season.
What does Beaty need?
There really isn’t much he can do to save his job. Kansas would need to show serious improvement this season, which would probably be four or five wins. That’s not likely, especially without a quarterback or much of a defense. This team isn’t built to win now, and because of that, Beaty will almost certainly be fired.
Next: Preseason Top 25 following spring practices
Now if he does get a miracle, and they make a bowl game, he might get another year. Even then, the depth would be decimated, and Kansas would probably regress, leading to his firing next season. Sooner rather than later, Kansas will have a new head coach. Hopefully, it’s Willie Fritz.