SEC Debate: Which coach is the next to be let go from his university?
By Kevin Duffey
Published:
Coaching tenures are relatively short in this era of college football. Gone are the decade-long — or longer — tenures. Of course, coaches like Mark Richt and Gary Pinkel, along with Steve Spurrier and Les Miles, will reach the decade milestone, but that’s starting to be an anomaly.
This past season, Will Muschamp was the only coach to be fired, and Florida ultimately settled on Jim McElwain to turn the program around.
So, who’s next?
Who will be the next coach to get let go from his university?
Ethan Levine (@EthanLevineSDS): Derek Mason, Vanderbilt
I know he’s only been on the job for one season so far, but he’s already posted an 0-8 record in the conference, losing seven of those games by double figures, and he’s already made changes at both coordinator spots on his coaching staff. The pressure is now on Mason to at least improve Vandy’s win total from 2014, even if it falls short of bowl eligibility once again. Mark Stoops at Kentucky is another candidate to be canned, but even after losing six straight to close the 2014 campaign his team still took a massive step forward. If Mason’s Commodores can’t do the same in 2015, he could find himself sweating it out on the hot seat.
Brad Crawford (@BCrawfordSDS): Derek Mason, Vanderbilt
As much as I’ve been in his corner throughout his first year and change on campus, I’m forced to say Vanderbilt’s Derek Mason. The program has lost what little momentum it had coming off consecutive nine-win seasons following James Franklin’s exit to Penn State. At times last season, the Commodores looked lost out there, no offensive identity with a worn-down defense. Mason need not finish 0-8 in the SEC again or his stint in Nashville could be over shortly after the 2015 campaign is complete. Getting back to respectability means taking care of business against teams Vanderbilt is supposed to beat. Temple, for instance, is one of those teams.
Christopher Smith (@CSmithSDS): Kevin Sumlin, Texas A&M
I will say Derek Mason seems over his head as an SEC head coach, especially at a school already at a disadvantage in Vanderbilt. But will the Commodores really jettison him after just two seasons? I think he lasts through at least 2016.
Meanwhile, in College Station, Sumlin remains the second-highest paid coach in the SEC behind Nick Saban. The Aggies were two plays away from closing the regular season on a seven-game losing streak in 2014, sliding from 6-0 to 8-5. It’s not a stretch to imagine the team winning seven or eight games again in ’15, only now Sumlin doesn’t have the luxury of a scapegoat on defense with new coordinator John Chavis. Would Texas A&M jettison Sumlin after, say, a 7-6 season? Despite wonderful recruiting classes each year and such positive things happening on the business side of football? It seems doubtful, but fan angst can escalate in a hurry.
For now, I’ll say none of the 14 SEC coaches are fired after this season, Sumlin enters 2016 on the hot seat and then gets fired before the end of the season. I just don’t see A&M finishing in the top three in the SEC West in ’15 or ’16, not with Alabama, Auburn, LSU and Ole Miss looking so strong and Arkansas on the rise. And it’s tough to justify paying a Top 5 or Top 10 salary nationally to a coach who doesn’t crack the top three in a division, no matter how tough.
Brett Weisband (@WeisbandSDS): Mark Stoops
The improvement that Kentucky showed early in 2014 turned out to be a mirage, one that earned Stoops a contract extension. If the Wildcats fail to become bowl eligible in Stoops’ third season in Lexington, it could spell doom sooner than later. There aren’t many signs that the defense, the downfall of the 2014 team, will improve next year, especially after losing Bud Dupree. Stoops will have to count on Patrick Towles and Boom Williams taking huge leaps forward to carry the offense, as well as rapid improvement from an offensive line that was among the worst in the SEC.
A graduate of the University of Florida and founder of Saturday Down South, Kevin is a college football enthusiast.
