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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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Another One Bites the Dust: Will Hall and the Southern Miss Saga

Mark Haines on October 21, 2024

Man, the coaching hot seat is scorching right now. First Mike Houston at ECU, and now Will Hall at Southern Miss? It’s a brutal reminder that winning is the only thing that matters in college football.

Hall came to Hattiesburg with a ton of promise. Deep ties to Mississippi and a successful stint at Tulane – it felt like a perfect fit. But sometimes, even the best-laid plans go up in flames.

A 1-6 start? Ouch. That’s not just a slump; that’s a full-blown meltdown. And when your only win comes against an FCS team? Well, let’s say the writing was on the wall.

Look, I’m not here to pile on. Coaching is a tough gig, especially in today’s pressure cooker environment. But the reality is, results matter. Fans demand them, and athletic directors expect them. When those results don’t come, something’s got to give.

It’s easy to point fingers at the offense, the defense, or the players. But at the end of the day, the head coach is the one who takes the fall. That’s the burden of leadership and a heavy one to bear.

So, what’s next for Southern Miss? They’ve got an interim coach in place, and the search for a new leader is on. It’s a chance for a fresh start, a new vision, a renewed sense of hope.

But for Will Hall, it’s a tough lesson learned. In this game, you’re only as good as your last season. And sometimes, that’s just not good enough.

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The Ship Has Sailed: Mike Houston and the Harsh Realities of College Football

Mark Haines on October 20, 2024

Let’s be honest: college football is a ruthless business. It’s a world where expectations are sky-high, patience wears thin, and yesterday’s hero can quickly become today’s casualty.  Mike Houston just learned that lesson the hard way.

He arrived at East Carolina with a vision, ready to rebuild a program yearning for success. And for a while, it seemed like he was building something special. Back-to-back winning seasons and a bowl game victory were tangible signs of progress. But as anyone who’s ever played the game knows, momentum can shift instantly.

The 2023 season was a brutal turning point.  A dismal 2-10 record exposed cracks in the foundation, and the pressure started mounting.  Despite a glimmer of hope early in 2024, that crushing loss to Charlotte felt like a knockout punch.

Losing stings. But in this game, losing to your in-state rivals? That stings even more.  An 0-7 record against North Carolina FBS schools? That’s a tough pill to swallow for any fanbase.

Let’s not forget the ever-spinning carousel of talent. College football today is a different beast. The transfer portal, NIL deals—it’s a constant battle to keep your roster stocked with playmakers. Houston struggled to navigate those choppy waters, ultimately costing him.

Now, the Pirates are left picking up the pieces, searching for a new captain to steer the ship.  It’s a reminder that in this world, you’re only as good as your last season.

So, who’s next on the chopping block?  Let us know your thoughts in our forum. The coaching hot seat is heating up, and the drama is just getting started. This is college football in 2024.

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The $110 Million Question: Is Lincoln Riley’s USC Experiment Unraveling?

Mark Haines on October 18, 2024

Picture this: It’s 2021, and USC just dropped a cool $110 million on Lincoln Riley, college football’s offensive wunderkind. The champagne’s flowing, the Spirit of Troy – the greatest marching band in the history of the universe – is playing “Conquest,” and Trojan fans are waving the “victory” sign while simultaneously dreaming of national titles.

Fast-forward to 2024, and the Trojans are stumbling into the Big Ten with offensive and defensive lines as sturdy as a Hollywood movie set. Fans wonder if they’ve bought tickets to a blockbuster or a B-movie flop.

What’s going on? Let’s break it down, play by excruciating play.

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