Even after Will Muschamp firing, CBS Sports lists 2 more SEC coaches who sit on hot seats
Will Muschamp became the first SEC head coach to get fired this season, as the Gamecocks parted ways with him Sunday night.
Could other programs follow suit and make a coaching change this year?
CBS Sports latest hot seat rankings say at least one other coach could be fired: Vanderbilt’s Derek Mason. According to the outlet, LSU’s Ed Orgeron also sits on a seat that is quickly heating up.
CBS lists Mason as a “win or be fired” coach with just 4 games remaining.
“In 2010, Harbaugh hired a Minnesota Vikings defensive backs coach at Stanford who showed promise. That was Harbaugh’s last season before going to the 49ers, but Mason endured. New coach David Shaw made him defensive coordinator. That’s where Mason made his bones as an elite defensive scheme. For the most part, he has not been able to replicate that expertise at Vandy. Pity. Forget coaches, Mason is one of my favorite people. Maybe COVID-19 and Vandy’s budget keeps it from making a move, but an 0-6 start and 3-15 record over his last 18 games (1-13 SEC) isn’t a good look. Gosh, it’s hard competing in the SEC. Preseason rating: 5”
The Commodores have played some downright forgettable football under Mason. Several players have transferred, and COVID-19 has greatly impacted Vanderbilt throughout the season to where it barely has enough players eligible about every week. The Commodores sit 0-6, and they still face Florida, Tennessee, Georgi and Missouri, likely all losses. Mason would need to pull an upset for 2 to get his hot seat rankings reduced.
CBS lists Orgeron’s hot seat ranking as “pressure is mounting.”
“The Tigers weren’t expected to repeat or even come close. Who would be after a 15-0 season? But this season has been a series of unfortunate events. The program couldn’t stand the loss of all that talent and those coaches. The defense has been a sieve. Myles Brennan was hurt, then the quarterback job was opened up for competition. Defensive coordinator Bo Pelini, well, he’s no Dave Aranda. So far. Then there was USA Today’s bombshell regarding allegations of ignored sexual abuse by players. It’s hard to remember Coach O is the reigning national coach of the year. This was going to be a down year to begin with, but this down? Maybe an assumed bounce back in 2021 shouldn’t be assumed.”
Orgeron is safe based on 2019 alone, but the bombshell USA Today report has folks talking.
Derek Mason should get a pass in my opinion. The best you could possibly hope for would be 2-8 in an all SEC season. I think Vanderbilt should see what he can do in a normal season before they give him the boot.
Everyone knew that LSU was going to stink it up this year, they lost way too much talent to the NFL and opt outs. Bo Pelini needs to go and never return to major college football. If Orgeron gets canned it is going to be because of off field issues.
The previous 4-5 regular seasons haven’t shown what Mason can do?
What’s realistic for Vandy, the James Franklin or Derek Mason era? I’d suggest that at Vandy, if you graduate your players, stay out of scandal and make a bowl game every dozen years, you meet expectations. If they fire Derek Mason, the next good coach will leave for a better opportunity or the next coach like Mason will also be fired. Vandy, you are what you are.
I agree with both of you. Vandy in no way should be in the SEC but they are. It’s obvious just about the only people who care about football at that school are the players, coaches, and the school’s accountants. Vandy is like Kansas, a place where coaches go to wither or move on to a better opportunity. Derek Mason is not going to be fired after this year. I bet the university president doesn’t even know they’re playing football.
Whoa, pump the brakes. Vandy went to the NCAA World Series last year and they don’t belong in the SEC?
“Everyone knew that LSU was going to stink it up this year”
Is that why they were preseason #6?
How is Pruitt not on this list?
Would expect that Gus was on here as well. Auburn simply has too much talent to be so fickle.
Orgeron gets a pass. If they are this bad again next year, then yeah, he is gone. They simply lost way too much this year to reload and go on.
I could see Mason getting fired, but doubt it.
Agree – LSU could not reasonably recover from the loss of talent in 2020. Not sure 2020 is the best year to turn the heat up on Coach O.
Coach O just won a natty. Now we’ve got Covid. Having O on a hot seat isn’t smart.
Pruitt should be let go. He has more resources than just about anybody. He’s only had a small success here and there.
Freeze can get UT straight and USCjr as well. Carolina better get an offensive head coach like a Freeze.
Why does a head coach have to get an offensive head coach? Saban seems to be doing okay. Dabo seems to doing pretty well with his special teams background. Offensive gurus like Malzahn, Leach and Morris haven’t exactly set the world on fire.
They should get a head coach who knows how to build a staff and let them coach.
Dabo played as a receiver at Alabama so his mindset is offense.
Dude, Dabo couldn’t put a game plan together offensively for a quarter of a game. He’s a CEO type coach, managing other coaches and making the right hires.
Pending the results of the allegations about the LSU football program, Coach O be given a pass for this season. It is way too early to talk about his seat warming up. Now, if 2021 is this bad, then I would definitely expect 2022 to be a critical year for him.
I also think Pruitt should be given a pass for this year, but 2021 should be crucial to his future as Tennessee’s HC.
I don’t think this is all about LSU not being good this year… I think it has something to do with these scandals on why they may fire his ass.
Unless they hire Joe Brady back as OC with a butt load of money LSU is not going to right the ship with Orgeron. I remember LSU fans bragging how they would skip a beat after losing Brady, Arnada and that talent. How did that work out.
UT fans should just silt in silence. It’s not that LSU lost pretty much everyone they also had a young team with no spring ball and Covid related fall issues. They should be better and clearly lack leadership but your take is idiotic.
How is stating the truth idiotic? Many LSU fans were confident all the way until the MSU kickoff. Every reason you listed existed at that time.
Exactly. There were LSU fans declaring Myles Brennan the Heisman trophy winner.
+1. Alabama fans are crazy about football; LSU fans are just crazy.
It only takes one game for most coaches to go from the penthouse to the outhouse. Vandy has seldom won anything but non conference games and this season with all the issues should not be considered for Mason. But Pruitt and Malzahn have no excuse. Malzahn wins just enough to keep his job as if beating LSU this year was some great accomplishment. If Coach O is fired it won’t be because of his won lost record.
Mason could take over UT and they would look better. Pruitt at Vanderbilt would look even worse.
Boondock…that one cuts like a knife but I agree with you 100%
You forget it is an accomplishment to win “just enough” to keep your job in the cannibalistic SEC. Malzahn also has 3 wins over Saban @Bama, nobody else has more and only Miles has 3.That being said AU fans are not going to keep putting up with bad losses to unranked teams!
Derek Mason really gets a raw deal. His school has the highest academic standard to get in (even after lowering it for athletes), no facilities and a apathetic fan base. Throw in the facts that his QB is a true freshman & Covid-19 issues. Not sure why anyone would expect more. They don’t always play well but they always play hard.
Orgeron is Gene Chizik 2.0
Coach Mason has reached his expiration date at Vanderbilt. It’s not like the next guy will move the needle much if any and maybe move it the wrong way, but the recruiting has gotten stale. James Franklin got some 4-stars and even broke through with a top 25 class before the legal issues that led to 4 convictions changed the Vanderbilt athletics paradigm.
I have heard rumors that they already know who they plan to interview if the buyout is made, and Mason is dismissed. The rumor is that Charlotte head coach Will Healy is the leader in the clubhouse. He can recruit and has a lot of contacts in the state and in Alabama and Georgia, where very few local high school stars have an interest in Vandy. He took over an Austin Peay program that had not won a game in ages and won 8 games in year two. He took Charlotte to a bowl last year in his first season.
His coaching style is similar to his college coach, Dave Clawson, and Clawson has done an admirable job at Wake Forest. He wouldn’t be my first choice, but he could improve the program just enough to make it halfway respectable.
If it were my job to hire the next coach, I would be looking at former big names like Rich Rodriguez and Jim McElwain, two former P5 head coaches that will not be getting offers from any other P5 school again. Maybe Mike MacIntyre would finally be interested after not having an interest in the past. His dad produced Vandy’s best SEC record since before WWII, and he came within a quarter of actually winning the SEC in 1982, when Georgia came from behind in the final 12 minutes to win.
There is a chance that Vanderbilt could have new football, men’s basketball, and women’s basketball coaches after the next seasons conclude in the three sports. Mason could be fired. Jerry Stackhouse could take a pro job as he lobbied hard to get one this year, and Stephanie White has performed worse than Bryce Drew did and could be fired.
Tim Corbin is safe, but he’s most likely retiring from coaching and getting into a front office position if the Nashville Stars Major League expansion franchise is awarded or a team like Tampa Bay, Baltimore, or Oakland relocates to Nashville. It’s no longer a secret that Nashville is #1 and Portland is #2 in MLB’s list of potential cities for expansion or relocation.
LH61, I have two differing opinions of your take. McElwain is not coming back to the SEC to coach any team, especially in the East to play the Gators every year. He is coaching the type or level of school now that he can be successful with. And the Tampa Bay Rays were the talk in relocating, but i doubt thats happening with them being in the World Series this year.
LH…Rich Rod or McElwain…ooh you are really raking the bottom of the barrel to even consider those two(2) coaches. Plus they would not go anywhere that they know they have no chance to win many games ever.
My reasoning is that no other school in P5 is going to ever hire these guys again. Their only chance to get paid $2.5-3 million again might be Vanderbilt.
I have had the fortune of attending some coaching seminars in the past. One of those seminars involved the coaching staff at Middle Tennessee State in Murfreesboro. One of the people that talked was retired coach Boots Donnelly. The first thing he said that day was, “The first rule of being a good coach is to get a job at a school where you can win, even if they haven’t been winning recently.”
At the time, Gerry Faust had taken Notre Dame down to its worst performance in modern times, and he was on the verge of being fired. Boots said that was the perfect job to take, and the next guy would take them to another national title.
Vanderbilt is the opposite, and Mason took the job at the absolute worst time, as Vandy was at its best in modern times. And, the next guy is likely to do little or no better or even worse. Other than a retread, who would be desperate enough to sacrifice his chance to get a top-level job? Nick Saban would not turn this program around in 2021 or 2022 if he took the job in January, so I don’t see Chadwell, Napier, Venable, Leipold, or any of the hot commodities attempting to get this job. It leaves:
1. Old Retread like Rich Rod or McElwain wanting one final semi-big paycheck
2. FCS coach getting up there in age and unlikely to get a FBS job at a winnable school
3. Out of work NFL coach that thinks he can out-teach and win.
4. A coordinator at another FBS school that doesn’t have much of a rep and isn’t in line to be a head coach any time soon.
5. A triple option coach like Monken or Lunsford.
If you were the AD, or the head of the Parker Firm, and you had to recommend somebody to the Board of Trust with your reputation at stake, who would you recommend that would actually want the job?
Vanderbilt is the bottom of the barrel.
My 100% opinion is that Vanderbilt should be in D3 and drop the ruse that athletics matters, when we all know the only thing that matters is that direct deposit on July 1. It won’t be all that large next year, and Vanderbilt will be deep in the red.
Vanderbilt’s athletics are good. Their football is at the bottom, but not their athletic program.
Take the Ranys name out your mouth, #1. 2, I’ll sh!t in my hat the day f’ng Nashville pulls a MLB team. Atlanta isn’t going to allow it, and they’re essentially the Gatekeeper for Southern baseball teams, good luck with that… You bringing up McElwain essentially let me know how ridiculous your thought process is anyway, so whatever.
slakm I beg to disagree. I don’t just state opinions. I make statements like the one I made above because people that matter have told me that Nashville is #1 on the expansion-relocation list.
As for Atlanta, you need to include St. Louis and Cincinnati as well. All three cities claim this market, #28, as part of their outer market. They have the opportunity to say “no”, but they are just cutting off their hand to spite their face. They can charge a fee to the expansion franchise and make extra money in addition to the expansion fee. Personnel with the Reds and Cardinals actually stated a likely approval for Nashville.
There are big money and big politics involved here. From what I have heard, they are looking at a minority as the principle owner, and Michael Jordan and/or Oprah Winfrey have been discussed. Jordan has businesses here, and Winfrey lived here as a youth, went to Tennessee State, and worked as a newscaster at the local CBS affiliate at the start of her career.
Others involved in this venture include former pitcher Dave Stewart, Tony LaRussa, former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, entertainer Justin Timberlake, former Titan Eddie George, The Negro League Hall of Fame, former Red Sox GM Dave Dombrowski, billionaire real estate tycoon John Loar, Vandy coach Corbin, and rumors are that Theo Epstein resigned from the Cubs to become a part owner of a potential Nashville franchise. The group already has elaborate campus plans for a retractable dome stadium, music venues, retail, and residential housing on the riverfront adjacent to Nissan Stadium. They have spent a couple million dollars already, so this isn’t a joke.
In addition, Orioles owner John Angelos has been trying to sell the Orioles to a local ownership group for almost two years, and there have been no takers. Oriole Park at Camden Yards is the Mecca of second generation classic parks, but it is in the wrong neighborhood. Night games are dangerous. Angelos bought a house in 2019 in the county where I live. A Baltimore sports beat writer leaked that Angelos had quietly been looking at commercial real estate tracts big enough to build a ballpark.
Most importantly, Commissioner Rob Manfred basically stated at a past all-star game that Nashville was the perfect city for the next round of expansion after stadium issues were settled at Tampa and Oakland.
100 people a day are moving to the city, and with the country music and incredible tourism, baseball goes hand in hand. Pre-covid, tourists spent about $7 billion in Nashville in 2019 and was expected to grow by 8-9% in 2020 before the China Flu. On an average night pre-covid, more than 40,000 tourists stayed in a hotel, motel, or VRBO. They all cannot congregate on Lower Broad. A lot of them wound up at First Horizon Park, where the Sounds led the nation in attendance with a terrible Texas Rangers PCL team.
FWIW, Nashville now has a considerably higher cost of living index than Atlanta or any other Southern city. People with money have moved in, and people with money can buy expensive things like season tickets to MLB.
I am anxious to read your sensical rebuttal to this.
Too. Much. Adderol.
Slow down a bit.
Ed O on this list is a joke. He built the champion no other LSU coach could do. Not counting Les Miles’ Natty when he won it after everyone else in contention lost.
Not really. What O did was simply preside over a team of mega talented players and do the easiest pressers on the planet after GI Joe went out and tossed 5 touchdowns and 480 yards a day.
The Chizik comparisons are appropriate; he won’t come anywhere close to recapturing that kind of magic—especially with Saban and Fisher in the West.
He’s a dead man walking.
My question is why Pruitt is not leading this list?
Coach O not going anywhere. 75% Tiger fans are displaced from hurricanes and one of worst C19 states. Last thing on people minds is college football
Pruitt wasn’t on the list? Did I miss his name. He is way out of his element. I don’t know what his love affair with Guarantano is, but the idea that JG gives the Vols the best chance of winning is ridiculous. He gives them the best chance to lose after the opposing coaches make adjustments.
Looks to me like Jeremy Pruitt is next to be fired. Especially if he loses to Vandy.
Think there shouldnt been in firing in South Carolina or any one else in the hot seat this has been a screwed up year with missed games pratt practices this year really shouldnt of been played but there was a lot of money to be loss if they didnt. Let’s give every coach a Mulligan this year and hope Covid is gone next year
Will be interesting to see the temperature of Malzhan’s seat after playing Bama and Tex A&M. And don’t forget, he received two early christmas gifts from the Ref’s in the Arkansas and Ole Miss Games. The Arkansas game should have been 100% a loss…NO DOUBT ABOUT IT!
If Vandy gets anybody half good like James Franklin they will just get snatched away. Vandy just needs to keep Mason and live with it.