College Football hot seat winners and losers: Les Miles edition
How did the coaches on our hot seat watch hold up in Week 4?
Week 4 of the college football season may have sealed the fate of some coaches. Every week, we do a list on coaches on the hot seat and there have been some repeat offenders. As the season goes on and teams continue to struggle, it’s easy to put a name on a list and explain why they are on the hot seat.
On Saturday, our five coaches went a combined 1-4 and the only reason one took home a victory is because his team was up against another one on the list. Let’s look at what coaches were winners and losers on Saturday.
Les Miles
The worst loss suffered on Saturday, was by Les Miles. His team dropped a game they could not afford to lose and sealed their playoff chances. What’s worse is that Miles thought his team had the win and they could breathe. Unfortunately, review saw otherwise and now the Tigers have to consider pulling the plug on Miles. It could be the beginning of his end.
Gus Malzahn
The lone winner on this list on Saturday, Gus Malzahn got a huge win. His team was able to hold on review did him a service. While he’s been on the hot seat for a while, Auburn has faced an incredibly tough slate of games to start the season and they have split their contests. If anything, the program should be somewhat happy right now.
Jim Mora
The UCLA Bruins had the Stanford Cardinal on the ropes until the very end. Jim Mora’s squad could not hold the Cardinal out of the end zone and they ultimately lost a tough one at home. With their second loss on the season, their chances at the playoff are all but over but they still got a shot at the Pac-12 South. Even that will take quite the uphill battle. Mora had to produce results this year and thus far two tough losses have set him back.
Mark Helfrich
The Oregon Ducks are regressing fast under Mark Helfrich. Marcus Mariota and Chip Kelly’s players are no longer there to help the head coach any longer. That means it’s up to him to prove right now that he can make the team a powerhouse. They suffered one of their worst losses under him yet on Saturday, when they lost to Colorado at home.
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Brian Kelly
The Notre Dame Fighting Irish are in a bit of a transition right now. They got talent all over the ball, but they also lost a lot to the NFL Draft. That doesn’t change the fact that wins are expected from Brian Kelly and his team has dropped three of the first four games. He can probably get away with one down year if his team shows heart and fights back the rest of the way, but he can’t suffer through many more weeks like this one.