10 Power 5 head coaches most on the hot seat in 2016
By John Buhler
It hasn’t even been three years since the Auburn Tigers went the to 2013 BCS National Championship Game, but Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn is certainly feeling the most pressure of any head coach in the SEC.
Auburn has had a worse record in each subsequent season under Malzahn since going 12-2 (7-1) during that miraculous 2013 NCAA season. The Tigers stumbled to 8-5 in 2014 and were fighting for bowl eligibility just last season, going 7-6 and finishing in last place in the dreaded SEC West.
With the SEC West probably not going to get all seven teams to bowl eligibility for the third consecutive year, could Auburn go 5-7 or worse in 2016? If they do, expect Malzahn to be run out of town like his predecessor Gene Chizik was after going 3-9 in 2012.
Auburn has recruited well under Malzahn, but has at times struggled to get the most out of its playmakers on offense. Defensively, it has been frankly a nightmare during his entire tenure. Malzahn will have his third defensive coordinator in four seasons with Kevin Steele replacing Will Muschamp.
Just because Malzahn is on the hot seat doesn’t mean that Auburn isn’t a dangerous SEC power to hold in high regard. Auburn’s streaky nature as a football program had it win three SEC championships in a decade under three different head coaches (2003, 2010, 2014).
Getting to an 8-5 (2-6) record seems like a safe zone for Malzahn in 2016 given how brutal Auburn’s SEC gauntlet is annually (SEC West, Georgia). However, 2016 is the year that the 2014 recruiting class built on 2013’s overwhelming on-field success with achieve true junior eligibility status. Auburn needs to win and maybe pull off an upset or two to keep the Gus Bus rolling right along on The Plains in 2017.
Next: 4. Mike MacIntyre, Colorado Buffaloes