What college football coaches need to win now to save their job with the second half of the season now here?
The college football season is in high gear, as most teams just passed the halfway point of their season. For some it has been a great year, while for others it has already turned into a disaster. We have already seen one high profile coach lose his job and there could be more on the way.
Before we get to the second half of the season we take a look at five coaches that find themselves squarely on the hot seat and need to have a big second half to stay employed.
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Billy Napier – Florida Gators
Florida fans are not a patient group and there are already rumblings out of Gainesville of wanting a new man in charge. Napier is in just his second season as the Florida head coach, but he went just 6-7 in his first year and the Gators were whipped in the Las Vegas bowl, 30-3, by Oregon State.
An opening season loss to Utah didn’t help, but he did earn some goodwill with a 39-16 upset of Tennessee. That quickly faded when the Gators were dominated at Kentucky two weeks ago and it doesn’t get much easier coming up. They still have to play Georgia, LSU, Missouri and Florida State. If they get blown out in three of four of those games his seat is going to get even warmer.
Mario Cristobal – Miami Hurricanes
We don’t have to leave the state of Florida for the next one on this list. Cristobal came from Oregon looking to turn a lifeless Hurricanes program around, but he went just 5-7 in year one and had losses to MTSU, Duke and Pitt.
This year he seemed to turn things around, as the Hurricanes started with four straight wins, including a huge 48-23 victory over Texas A&M. They looked well on their way to a fifth straight win, but Cristobal didn’t have them kneel on the ball late and they literally fumbled the game away. That type of loss will not be forgotten soon.
Jimbo Fisher – Texas A&M Aggies
It has seemed like the only thing saving Fisher from being fired is the amount of money he would be owed if the school let him go. He has been a disappointment since coming over from Florida State, as he has lost 23 games in five-plus years in College Station. He has led the Aggies to no better than second place in the West Division.
The Aggies are 4-2 this season, but a blowout loss to Miami and a home defeat to Alabama aren’t helping. Three more ranked opponents await this year, including a trip to No. 19 Tennessee this weekend. Fisher needs to get a win in Knoxville to help his case, but at the very worst not get blown out.
Tom Allen – Indiana Hoosiers
This name isn’t as flashy, but the Indiana job is still in a Power Five conference. Allen looked to have the Hoosiers heading in the right direction when they went 6-1 in the 2020 COVID-19 season and beat Michigan. Since then things have fallen apart.
His star quarterback transferred to Washington and they have won just eight total games since, only two of which have been in the Big Ten.
They are just 2-3 this year and were just blown out by Maryland. That game came after the Hoosiers needed four overtimes to beat Akron. The expectations aren’t very high in Bloomington, but the school still expect better than this.
Brent Pry – Virginia Tech Hokies
Pry is in just his second season with the Hokies, but they have gone nowhere with him so far. The program was in a spiral before he took over, but it hasn’t been much better since he took over. He went just 3-8 in his first year and is 2-4 so far this season.
The Hokies have lost to Purdue, Rutgers and Marshall this year. All three are teams they would have beaten easily in the past. This school wants a winner and Pry doesn’t look like the answer.
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