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10 Power 5 head coaches most on the hot seat in 2016

By John Buhler

Sep 19, 2015; Austin, TX, USA; Texas Longhorns head coach Charlie Strong reacts against the California Golden Bears during the fourth quarter at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. Cal beat Texas 45-44. Mandatory Credit: Brendan Maloney-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 19, 2015; Austin, TX, USA; Texas Longhorns head coach Charlie Strong reacts against the California Golden Bears during the fourth quarter at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. Cal beat Texas 45-44. Mandatory Credit: Brendan Maloney-USA TODAY Sports /
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Sep 27, 2014; West Lafayette, IN, USA; Purdue Boilermakers head coach Darrell Hazell looks at the field after a play during the second half of the game at Ross Ade Stadium. The Iowa Hawkeyes beat the Purdue Boilermakers 24 to 10. Mandatory Credit: Marc Lebryk-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 27, 2014; West Lafayette, IN, USA; Purdue Boilermakers head coach Darrell Hazell looks at the field after a play during the second half of the game at Ross Ade Stadium. The Iowa Hawkeyes beat the Purdue Boilermakers 24 to 10. Mandatory Credit: Marc Lebryk-USA TODAY Sports /

Outside of maybe the Kansas Jayhawks of the Big 12, the worst Power 5 football program entering the 2016 NCAA season might very well be the Purdue Boilermakers of the Big Ten.

Purdue hasn’t been to a bowl game since firing former head coach Danny Hope in 2012. It’s been nearly a decade since the peak years of the Joe Tiller era (1997-2008), where the Boilermakers went to 10 bowl games including the 2000 Rose Bowl with Drew Brees as their quarterback.

Darrell Hazell may have had some success coaching at the worst program in Division I history with the Kent State Golden Flashes before coming to Purdue in 2013, but he might be running out of time in West Lafayette.

Under Hazell, Purdue has never won more than three games in any season. Purdue has combined to go 6-30 overall and 2-22 in the Big Ten during the Hazell era of Boilermakers football. In normal circumstances, Purdue would be able to get by undetected with poor play in the Big Ten as it isn’t a traditional power, but a few programs have ascended in their constituency to make Purdue football stick out like a sore thumb.

Purdue plays in the weaker of the two Big Ten divisions in the Big Ten West. In-state rival Indiana has been battled tested in the superior Big Ten East, reaching bowl eligibility for the first time under head coach Kevin Wilson.

In-state powerhouse Notre Dame has become nationally prominent under Brian Kelly. Even traditional bottom feeders in the Big Ten West like Northwestern and Minnesota field bowl caliber teams annually, challenging good programs like Wisconsin, Nebraska, and Iowa in the division. Illinois even made a great hire in getting former Chicago Bears and Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Lovie Smith to lead the Illini on fall Saturdays.

In essence, Hazell will have to do more than win three games in 2016 to keep his job another year. While Kansas may be in more disarray than Purdue, 2016 will only be David Beatty’s second season in Lawrence. Beatty may be looking for his first win at Kansas, but Hazell has to not be the worst Big Ten team in 2016 to return in 2017. That might be very difficult given how much the Big Ten is improving from top to bottom.

For more NCAA football posts, please check out our NCAA football category page. 

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