Rivals.com National Recruiting Director Mike Farrell and National Recruiting Analyst Adam Gorney don’t always see eye to eye. In this edition of Rival Views, the two debate which head football coach sits on the hottest seat now that Hugh Freeze is no longer in charge at Ole Miss.
FARRELL'S VIEW: Brian Kelly, Notre Dame
Usually an SEC coach is the safest bet, but with Freeze out the door I’ll go with Brian Kelly at Notre Dame. Coming off a 4-8 season and breaking in a new quarterback, Kelly has quite a challenge ahead of him and many impatient boosters watching closely.
Kelly’s fiery sideline temper and throwing players under the bus was fine when he was pushing for a playoff spot, but after numerous mistakes last season I think another disastrous year would signal the end of his tenure in South Bend. And by disastrous I mean I think it would take a losing season, but that could certainly happen.
Kevin Sumlin has been forewarned by his athletic director at Texas A&M, and I think guys like Bret Bielema at Arkansas, Steve Addazio at Boston College and maybe a Pac-12 coach like Todd Graham at Arizona State or Jim Mora at UCLA could be considered under serious fire. But Notre Dame has a target on its back like no other program in the country, and many will be watching to see how Kelly’s troops react to last year.
GORNEY'S VIEW: Kevin Sumlin, Texas A&M
The SEC is as cutthroat as it comes in college football, and if a coach does not produce results immediately he will be fired. That’s the way of the world, especially when these coaches command multi-million dollar contracts. Win now or get out.
That is the situation Texas A&M coach Kevin Sumlin finds himself in this season. He’s without a doubt the coach on the hottest seat, especially because he coaches in such a competitive league.
Sumlin is 44-21 since taking over in College Station, which by itself is pretty respectable, but dig deeper and the numbers are ugly. Three 8-5 seasons in a row. The Aggies haven’t had a winning record in SEC play since Sumlin’s first season in 2012.
There have been collapses and disappointments along the way, and it seems like the head honchos at Texas A&M have had about enough.
It’s no surprise A&M athletics director Scott Woodward said this spring, “Coach knows he has to win and he has to win this year.”
The translation of that is: Make major improvements or you’ll be gone after this season.
The problem is Texas A&M needs to find a new quarterback this season, and losing No. 1 overall NFL Draft pick Myles Garrett doesn’t help the pass rush.
Brian Kelly at Notre Dame, Tennessee’s Butch Jones, maybe even Todd Graham at Arizona State and others are on the hot seat for sure. But Sumlin is at the top of the list if the Aggies have another lackluster season.
