Blog Article
Coaches on Fire? Readers Respond to the Hot Seat Rankings
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.
Will Hall indeed had some success off the field, and we wish him all the best in his future endeavors. Ultimately, wins and losses matter most in college football, and unfortunately, those weren’t consistently enough during his tenure.
As you mentioned, Southern Miss has a proud football tradition with a history of success under coaches like Jeff Bower and Larry Fedora. The fans in Hattiesburg are hungry to get back to that level, and it will take a dynamic leader and a strong recruiting effort to make that happen.
We’re excited to see who Southern Miss hires as its next head coach. It’ll be interesting to follow their search and see what direction they decide to take. Hopefully, they can find someone to bring the Golden Eagles back to prominence in the Sun Belt!
“Do Some Research!”: Fans Demand Huff’s Hot Seat Status
How do you not list Charles Huff in your Coaches Hot Seat Rankings? 20 coaches with a hotter seat is complete BS!! He almost got fired last year and still sucks!!! He blew a 23-3 in the 4th quarter and almost blew another lead against Georgia State. We know you don’t care about the smaller schools. The fact that nobody has Huff on the hot seat at this point in the season is ridiculous!! Do some research, probably don’t even know the Sun Belt exists. At least pretend to care about smaller schools like Marshall.
Look, I get it. It’s infuriating. You’ve got a coach who, in your eyes, just isn’t cutting it. The team’s underperforming, and to add insult to injury, nobody seems to notice or care. It’s like Marshall football exists in its own little bubble, right?
Believe me, I understand that frustration.
But here’s the thing: you’re not alone. We see those smaller schools grinding it out, battling every week. Look at our Hot Seat rankings – we’ve got coaches from smaller programs all over the list. Did we miss Marshall this time? Absolutely. And that’s on us. We’re not perfect.
But here’s where you come in. This isn’t just my list. It’s a conversation. Our community, our members – you guys – you have a voice. You provide the insights and the on-the-ground perspective that we need. And guess what? Starting next week, you’re going to have even more say. We’re putting the power in your hands with community voting.
So speak up. Let your voice be heard. This is how we build a truly comprehensive and insightful Hot Seat ranking – together.
Fan Reaction to Riley’s Reign
This is year 3, and “coach” Lincoln Riley can collect $12,000,000 per year for the rest of the decade.
The stadium was 1/3 full on Saturday. Will Jennifer Cohen be handing tickets out at the border before the ND game to fill seats? Lincoln better be #1 on the hot seat list. He was there last year.
“Better be?” “1/3 full?” Okay, let’s dive into this.
First, let’s acknowledge the elephant in the room: Lincoln Riley is making money. A reported $10 million a year (not 12) is a lot of cheddar, and with that comes a certain expectation. USC expects to win, and they expect to win big.
He’s also got a reported $87 million buyout. Do you want to know why he’s not #1? There are 87 million reasons why.
Wisconsin and Penn State were sellouts. So are Nebraska and Notre Dame.
I’ve been critical of certain aspects of Riley’s program at USC, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves.
So, let’s hold off on the “better be’s” and the panic buttons. It’s more likely that he decides to leave on his own rather than USC buying him out.