Week 12 of the College Football season is in the books, and while some teams are competing for the College Football Playoff, others are playing for much similar stakes. For some programs, with the end of the regular season rapidly approaching there are decisions that will need to be made regarding some of the coaches on the hot seat.
Last weekend was the first weekend in a while that we didn't see a Power 4 Head Coach fired, which has become a surprise. After 3 big losses this weekend, that could change drastically as 3 Head Coaches are on significant hot seats.
Three Power 4 Coaches are walking on eggshells on Sunday
This was a crazy week for the Baylor Bears as Athletic Director Mack Rhoades took a leave of absence amid a new investigation. On Saturday Night, the Baylor team that came into the season as a frontrunner in the Big 12 fell to 5-5 on the season. Dave Aranda's defense allowed Utah to score 55 points, which will knock the unit out of the Top 100. Aranda's buyout is unknown, but at just 36-35 in his Baylor tenure, which is below where the team should be.
After starting the season 4-0, the Maryland Terrapins have dropped 6 games in a row, putting Mike Locksley right back on the hot seat. Locksley's career record at Maryland is just 37-47, with a 17-46 record in Big Ten play, which proves he's never going to get this team into contention. While we’ve seen several teams shell out truly insane buyouts, Maryland would only owe Locksley roughly $13 million making it much easier to move on.
This week, for Jonathan Smith, started with Michigan State vacating 5 of Jonathan Smith's wins, with 3 coming in league play. If losing all of his Big Ten wins was bad, losing to this Penn State team that's playing with a backup quarterback, and hasn't played well this season, is a disaster. Smith's record, if you include his vacated wins, is just 8-14 with a 3-13 record in Big Ten play. Smith's buyout is just $33 million, which makes it manageable for the Spartans to move on.