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Coaches Hot Seat is Targeting Winners for Week 10

Mark Haines on October 31, 2024

Okay, folks, get ready. It’s that time of the week again when we dive headfirst into the chaotic, beautiful mess that is college football. Friday’s episode of the Targeting Winners podcast (available on Spotify, Apple, or wherever you get your podcasts) is coming at you hot, and trust me, you don’t want to miss this. They’ll be talking Xs and Os, dissecting matchups, and uncovering those hidden gems that’ll have you cashing in come Saturday.

Today, I’ll share my weekend bets and prep with you.  I’m not just throwing darts at a board. I’m breaking down film, analyzing stats, and getting into the nitty-gritty.

This week, I’ve got three games I’m reviewing: San Diego State at Boise State, Ohio State at Penn State, and Pitt at SMU. We’re talking potential upsets, high-scoring shootouts, and maybe even a bit of old-fashioned smashmouth football. So read my breakdown below, make your picks, and fire up Spotify, Apple, or wherever you get your podcasts on Friday afternoon. Then, get ready to ride the wave with us.

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Hot Seat Heat Wave: Stoops, Dilfer, and Drayton Feeling the Burn

Mark Haines on October 29, 2024

A Hot Seat Heatwave is heading our way, featuring seats under some of the biggest names in the game. Every week, we’re tracking the coaches feeling the pressure, those whose jobs are on the line with every win and loss. This week, we’ve got a new entry into our Top 10, plus updates on two coaches facing mounting scrutiny as their programs struggle to find their footing. Get ready, folks, because things are about to get interesting.

Entering the top 10 this week is Mark Stoops at Kentucky

Mark Stoops – Kentucky

  • Conference: SEC
  • Base Salary: $9,000,000
  • School Win Percentage: 52.1%
  • Career Win Percentage: 52.1%
  • Stoops has a solid record but faces high expectations, given his substantial salary.

Let’s delve into the remarkable transformation under Mark Stoops. He took the reins at Kentucky, a program once considered the SEC’s underdog, and turned them into a formidable contender. It’s a story of resilience and determination. He inherited a 2-10 team and sculpted them into a consistent bowl contender, shattering decades-long losing streaks against rivals like Florida and Tennessee. He even led them to 10-win seasons, a feat they hadn’t achieved since the disco era.

However, with success comes the burden of expectations. The weight of these expectations is palpable, and it’s starting to take a toll on Stoops. The fans are growing impatient. They’re weary of the 7-5 seasons, the predictable offense, and the losses to teams they believe they should outplay. They see the potential in the team and question why Kentucky isn’t vying for SEC titles.

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Bloomgren Era Ends at Rice – Fifth Coaching Change This Season

Mark Haines on October 28, 2024

Well, folks, the Mike Bloomgren experiment in Houston has finally ended. Rice has decided to move on from their head coach after seven seasons, a 24-52 record, and a disappointing 2-6 start to this year.

Bloomgren did manage to get the Owls to back-to-back bowl games, which is something, I guess. But let’s be honest, a losing record like that just isn’t cut it in today’s college football landscape.

It’s tough to see a coach lose his job, but sometimes a change is necessary. Hopefully, Rice can find someone to take them to the next level.

As for Bloomgren, I’m sure he’ll land on his feet somewhere. He’s a good coach with a solid track record. Maybe a fresh start is precisely what he needs.

The Coaching Carousel is Picking Up

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Week 9 is in the books. Cast your vote for the Coaches Hot Seat!

Mark Haines on October 27, 2024

Week 9 is in the books, and you know what that means… the heat is turning up! We’ve been tracking the whispers, the rumblings, the outright explosions on the sidelines all season long. Now, it’s YOUR turn to weigh in.

For the first time EVER, we’re opening up the Coaches Hot Seat rankings to a fan vote. That’s right, YOU get to help decide who’s feeling the burn and who’s (somehow) still skating by.

Here’s the deal:

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Week 9 Featured Games:The Underdogs, the Upsets, and the Unraveling

Mark Haines on October 26, 2024

Step back from the spreadsheets, the power rankings and the expert predictions – Week 9 featured games are about to remind us why we watch this sport in the first place: for the moments that defy logic and rewrite the script.

Early Game

No. 12 Notre Dame vs. No. 24 Navy

Noon Eastern/9:00 AM Pacific

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Coaches on Fire? Readers Respond to the Hot Seat Rankings

Mark Haines on October 25, 2024

Welcome back to the Coaches Hot Seat, where we dissect the volatile world of college football coaching and track those whose seats are getting too toasty for comfort. Today, we’re tackling our readers’ fiery feedback and passionate perspectives. Because let’s face it, college football fandom is a crucible of emotions, and sometimes those emotions boil over. So hang on – we’re about to explore the highs and lows, the agreements and disagreements, and the raw, unfiltered takes from the passionate community that makes college football what it is.

A Fan’s Take: Will Hall’s Legacy and the Future of Southern Miss Football

“Will Hall is a good man who did many great off the field teams for the program. But, on the field, it just didn’t work out. His “last season” (2023) was 3-9, replicating his first season, and now this 1-6 start that finally led to the plug being pulled. Southern Miss not many years ago under Jeff Bower and Larry Fedora, consistently had winning records and made bowl games. Jay Hopson had winning teams every year, until resigning after the first game of 2021 after losing to South Alabama.

In the landscape of NIL and up and rising programs like South Alabama that have cut into their recruiting pool, it is going to take a home run hire to bring USM back to relevance in my opinion.”

You bring up some great points about the challenges facing Southern Miss football. It’s a brutal landscape, with the rise of NIL and programs like South Alabama making it harder to recruit top talent.

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Coaches Hot Seat is Targeting Winners for Week 9

Mark Haines on October 24, 2024

Think you know college football? Think again. Coaches Hot Seat spends a little time listening to the Targeting Winners Podcast every Friday afternoon during the season. We take our picks and look for the storylines, the upsets, the wins, and the losses to bring you the inside scoop on where the seats are getting hot. We’re not just talking about picking winners but about understanding the why behind the wins. The hidden narratives, the coaching mismatches, the moments that define a season.

The CFB Dudes at Targeting Winners live and breathe this stuff. They break down film, analyze matchups, and find the edges that the casual fan misses. We compare our picks with the Targeting Winner’s intel, and boom!

So buckle up, because we’re about to take you on a wild ride through three games we’ve got our eye on this week. Fans looking for an edge? You’ve come to the right place.

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Why ‘Fire the Coach!’ Feels Like a Solution, But Multi-Million Dollar Buyouts Say Otherwise

Mark Haines on October 23, 2024

We’ve all been there. Your team is on a losing streak, the season’s slipping away, and that “Fire the coach!” chant starts echoing in your head. It’s cathartic. It feels like someone is taking action, like something is being done to right the ship.

Lately, however, athletic directors seem to be hitting the “snooze” button on those hot seat alarms. Coaches who, in years past, would be packing their bags are somehow clinging to their jobs. Why?

Let’s talk about the elephant in the room: the financial cost.

Firing a coach isn’t just about the head coach’s buyout (though those numbers are eye-popping enough on their own, as you can see in the chart below featuring buyouts for the top 20 on our Coaches Hot Seat Rankings). There’s a ripple effect that impacts the entire athletic department and can hamstring a program for years.

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Dilfer Moves to the Top of the Hot Seat Rankings. Neal Brown moves to #9.

Mark Haines on October 22, 2024

The college football season is in full swing, and with it comes the inevitable scrutiny of coaches on the hot seat. This week, we’re closely monitoring two coaches: Trent Dilfer at UAB and Neal Brown at West Virginia. Dilfer’s Blazers are off to a dismal 1-6 start, and there’s growing discontent among fans and boosters alike. Brown, meanwhile, is facing pressure to turn things around at West Virginia, where he has yet to achieve a winning record in Big 12 play. We’re also watching Mark Stoops at Kentucky, who is facing a make-or-break season with the Wildcats.

Trent Dilfer: UAB Football and the Abyss

Let’s talk about UAB football. It’s a dumpster fire. It’s a train wreck. It’s a slow, agonizing descent into the abyss. And at the helm, steering this program into oblivion, is Trent Dilfer.

Remember those halcyon days under Bill Clark? Six straight winning seasons. Two conference championships. Three straight division titles. A brand new stadium. That’s the UAB many of these players signed up for. Instead, they got Dilfer.  

Now, the boosters are whispering. They say AD Mark Ingram and the Alabama Board of Trustees are trying to kill this program. Again. And honestly, it wouldn’t surprise me with Dilfer at the helm.

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