Published June 26, 2012 - 10:20am
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Dennis Dodd of CBSSports.com released his 2012 hot seat rankings, and you guessed it, Tennessee’s Derek Dooley is sitting on the hottest seat. Ground breaking news, I know. Arkansas’ John L. Smith will join him, and justifiably so,with his 10-month contract.
Dodd gave each coach in the SEC a rating of “0″ to “5″, with “5″ being the hottest and carrying around a “win or be fired” label this season. A rating of “0″ obviously means there is now way he gets fired, at all.
The following are how Dodd rated each coach in the SEC, in order of hot to cold:
- Derek Dooley. Tennessee: 5
- John L. Smith. Arkansas: 5
- Joker Phillips, Kentucky: 3.5
- Will Muschamp, Florida: 2.5
- Mark Richt, Georgia: 2.5
- Gene Chizik, Auburn: 2
- Les Miles, LSU: 2
- Kevin Sumlin, TAMU: 2
- Dan Mullen, Miss St: 1.5
- James Franklin, Vandy: 1
- Hugh Freeze, Ole Miss: 0.5
- Gary Pinkel, Mizzou: 0.5
- Steve Spurrier, USC: 0.5
- Nick Saban, Bama: 0.0
We know about Derek Dooley’s seat, and it’s nothing new to any of us. His time of grace is up, as this is the best football team he’s had. Overall, Dooley is a nice guy, and he has stepped in and cleaned the program up quite nicely. But winning and “cleaning up the program” are two very different things. I’ve always thought, until I get proven otherwise, that Dooley is just snake bit. If the LSU game a couple of years ago isn’t an indication, you certainly won’t have to look further than their bowl game two years ago against North Carolina. I like Dooley; the entire SEC likes Dooley. But his leash is the shortest of any coach in the SEC, possibly even shorter than Arkansas’ John L. Smith, even with his 10 month contract.
With Smith’s short contract, he could be a likely candidate as one of the few coaches who gets replaced after this season.
Will Muschamp is too high on this list. There is no way Florida gets rid of Muschamp after this season. He gets three years, minimum.
It certainly is interesting that national championship-winning coaches in Gene Chizik and Les Miles are a “2″ on the rankings.
What have you done for me lately, coach?
It’s definitely the “Orange Pants”…….
Awesome reporting as usual from CBSSports. Dodd is an idiot, with Smith it’s not really a hot-seat, he is an interim coach…..you know, “interim” as in “a temporary or provisional arrangement.”
Short of leading the Hogs to winning the National Championship this year, he is about 99.99% sure to be replaced next year. And he’s well aware of that.
Thats the truth but even if my beloved Hogs take the west the SEC and then the whole cake smith wont get much credit not Wilson under center