How did the coaches on our hot seat watch fare in Week 8?
The season of firings is all but here in college football. With Week 8 over, more coaches will soon be out of a job and programs might not wait until the end of the year to pull the plug. Two notable coaches in Les Miles and Darrell Hazell have already been let go from their jobs.
This week, we had five specific coaches on our hot seat that were in need of a win or things were going to get a whole lot tighter for them. It was about as bad as it possibly could have been for all five in Week 8. They all suffered losses and there is a very good chance that all of them could be without jobs soon. The hot seat is scorching for all of them at this point. Let’s take a look at how each one did.
Mark Helfrich
Oregon did manage to battle back against Cal on the road in what turned out to be a thrilling game. While the fight they showed is good for their coach’s image, they still lost. The Ducks are now 2-5 on the year and are one of the worst teams in the Pac-12. They have gotten worse under Helfrich. They need Chip Kelly back if he’s willing to give up on the NFL experiment.
Tim DeRuyter
After going 3-9 last year, the Fresno State Bulldogs have actually gotten worse. With a loss on the road to Utah State this week, they are now 1-7 on the year. With four games to go, the team would have to win at least two to tie their record from last year. That’s not happening and neither is DeRuyter staying on as head coach.
Steve Addazio
Steve Addazio just can’t win in his conference. On Saturday, Addazio made perhaps the dumbest coaching decision of the year. They stopped Syracuse for a nine-yard loss, but their was a holding call against the Orange. Instead of Syracuse having it with 2nd and 19, Addazio took the penalty and gave them 1st and 20. If that doesn’t describe his tenure then nothing does.
Jim Mora
The UCLA Bruins’ offense put up a great fight at home against the Utah Utes on Saturday. It was a shootout between two teams that saw Utah come out on top. Unfortunately, UCLA’s defense was nowhere to be seen and their loss pushed their losing record to 3-5. The Bruins are in real danger now of missing a bowl game this year. Jim Mora can’t possibly explain that one with the talent he has been given, despite Josh Rosen getting hurt earlier in the year.
Charlie Strong
Well it’s safe to say that Charlie Strong is likely a goner. His team is really consistent at being inconsistent and they lost a tough one on the road against Kansas State on Saturday. At 3-4, Strong’s Longhorns are what they are and they need someone to come in and fix this mess.