I tried to be nice earlier, but there is a lot of hate in my heart, mostly for reserved college football head coaches I do not think are living up to the standard of their current places of employment. Every job is different, and these head coaches are underperforming. Furthermore, they have ruffled many feathers along the way. At some point, the results on the field have to outweigh the off-field baggage.
Although not every head coach on this list I am about to unfurl is on the hot seat, so to speak, it may take one more disappointing season for even their team's fan base to turn on him. These are all head coaches leading programs where winning national titles are the standard. It is not an impossibility, but why are they seemingly doing everything in their power to make it so difficult? Only pure frustration...
Now that I have your attention, I want to bring to light the five head coaches I do not think anybody outside of their respective fanbase is honestly rooting for this year. You may not like head coaches Ryan Day, Kirby Smart and Dabo Swinney all that much, but they do win a ton. More importantly, they have won national championships in the College Football Playoff era. We must keep our mouths shut.
Without further ado, here is a head coach who is not taking advantage of his blue-blood's resources.
5. Oklahoma Sooners head coach Brent Venables
I do not know if it is hate, but sure is something, alright... Brent Venables came back to Oklahoma after spending a decade on Dabo Swinney's coaching staff as Clemson's defensive coordinator. He saw first-hand what coaching excellence looks like in Norman after serving under Bob Stoops previously. Although Lincoln Riley's departure for USC played a part in Oklahoma's downturn, so has Venables...
With long-time athletic director Joe Castiglione retiring after this academic year, Venables could soon be out of a job because the man who gave him such an unbelievably unearned extension will no longer be calling all the shots. Honestly, I think some fans in Oklahoma know the truth: That Venables is not the truth. We are closer to John Blake territory than we are to even the best days under Riley.
Oklahoma was a top-three job win Venables took over, but now it is maybe only top-half in the SEC...
4. Miami Hurricanes head coach Mario Cristobal
It is almost comical. There are only two coaches we ever do this with. The Mario Cristobal of it all and the James Franklin of it all... While Franklin is forever The Driver, keeping his hands at 10 and 2 so his Penn State Nittany Lions can go 10-2, Cristobal refuses to bend the knee, often at the expense of his alma mater. He cannot figure out Georgia Tech, just like we all knew The U was losing to Syracuse.
He recruits phenomenally, but nobody outside of South Florida views him as a top-10 head coach. Cristobal is a glorified offensive line coach, one who is only as good as his coordinators allow him to be. He has Shannon Dawson in Coral Gables, as well as another Power Five transfer quarterback in Carson Beck. Miami should be good, but Cristobal is good for costing his team two games annually.
Dan Radakovich did not leave Clemson to come back to his alma mater to watch Miami be pedestrian.
3. Auburn Tigers head coach Hugh Freeze
To be clear, there is a clear line of demarcation between Mario Cristobal, Brent Venables and the rest of these coaches. People really hate these next three guys I am about to rattle off. It was only fitting the seedy nature of Auburn would align itself with the slime ball that is Hugh Freeze. Oh, no doubt, he is a terrific head coach, but he does not care about his players. He only cares about himself, and golf.
Now in year three down on The Plains, is Auburn finally going to be good or not? Firing Gus Malzahn after a 6-4 COVID season has set this once-proud program back big time. Auburn is long overdue for an Auburn-type season, one where it comes out of nowhere and contends for a national title. Freeze knows his X's and O's, but how he relates to the Jimmies and Joes will tell his tale leading the Tigers.
Another down year at Auburn might wash Freeze out of the sport entirely because of his reputation.
2. LSU Tigers head coach Brian Kelly
These final two head coaches are grouped together for a lot of reasons. Chief among them is how they left their great jobs for other ones. Brian Kelly leaving Notre Dame for LSU because he did not believe he could ever win a national title leading the Fighting Irish has left a bad taste in everyone's mouth. This is worse than some of the other things he did in South Bend, and at his other jobs, too.
Whether it is making DeShone Kizer throw the ball 40 times in a hurricane, or have Matt LaFleur and Robert Saleh valet park cars when they thought they were attending a holiday party, we know what Kelly is about, fake accents and all. LSU has the offense to win a national championship, but if the defense lets him down again, Kelly might have to wear it. He is running out of time to win his natty.
Factor in how well liked Marcus Freeman is since replacing him, and ding dong, the witch is dead!
1. USC Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley
Outside of Los Angeles, I do not think a soul cares for Lincoln Riley. Whether he is burning bridges or brisket, he is out for El Numero Uno. Handpicked out of East Carolina to be a Bob Stoops protege, he did look promising during his first few seasons at Oklahoma. However, he quickly became his generation's version of Bobby Petrino. There is a reason why everyone in Oklahoma calls him TBOW.
Every bit the opportunist, he has not made the most of it since coming to USC. He had a great first year with Caleb Williams at quarterback, but each subsequent season has been worse. To me, he is merely Kliff Kingsbury who interviews better, an Air Raid disciple who does not care about defense and only as far as his gimmicky offense will take him. Jennifer Cohen needs to wake up to her senses.
If USC is not close to a playoff team this fall, they need to rip the band-aid off and hire Matt Campbell.