Three-Point Stance: What are Vols waiting for? SEC hot seats, Heisman

Rivals.com National Recruiting Director Mike Farrell’s thought-provoking Three-Point Stance is here and he’s confused why Butch Jones is still working, looks at other SEC coaches in trouble and reviews his Heisman list.

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What is Tennessee waiting for? I really want to know. Can someone tell me?

The Vols are 0-5 in the SEC, they lost to Kentucky for the second time since 1985 and we all know Butch Jones is gone by the end of the year. There is zero chance Jones is back as the head coach of the Vols next year, so why are we prolonging the agony here? Especially after Florida made a bold and decisive move in firing Jim McElwain and are off to a slight head start when it comes to finding their replacement.

So what’s my hurry? After all, unless they are pursuing a coach currently out of work like Chip Kelly, what’s the advantage? The advantage is to send a message to your alumni, boosters and fan base that losing isn’t acceptable at a place like Tennessee. Jones has a career record of 33-26 and is an awful 14-23 in the SEC. He’s gone from 5 wins to 7 wins to 9 wins (back to back) and now to a 3-5 record and things are trending in the wrong direction. So why annoy the fan base and keep him employed, especially when one of your SEC East rivals canned their coach for his incompetence (the death threat issue was just a great excuse).

The fine fans in Knoxville deserve a better product than the one currently on the field and even with an easy schedule to end the year (aside from LSU), this Vols team will likely finish out of a bowl game. So to Tennessee Athletic Director John Currie, it’s time to do your job and end this debacle as the Vols have become a running joke in college football this season as Jones future sways in the wind. Put the man out of his misery and help your fan base start to move forward. It’s time.

Other SEC coaches are in trouble as well, perhaps more than we thought at the beginning of the season.

None are in the dire straits that Jones finds himself in, but with McElwain gone and Jones surely done by the end of the season, I could see two or three more coaches added to the mix from the conference. With the first ever early signing period here in recruiting, this is a bad time for schools to make changes, but it will likely be necessary. Here are the coaches on the Hot Seat in order.

• Kevin Sumlin, Texas A&M – When your AD is on record putting you squarely on the Hot Seat, you have to top this list and after last weekend’s performance against Mississippi State, the coaching strategy of Sumlin is once again under scrutiny. The Aggies are still 5-3 and have a winning record in the SEC, but with Auburn and LSU on the schedule, they could finish 7-5 and that probably won’t be enough to save him. Heck even 8-4 might not do it and probably shouldn’t.

• Bret Bielema, Arkansas – The Hawgs are awful, plain and simple. Crushing losses to South Carolina, Alabama and Auburn have done the damage this season and Arkansas has given up 45 points or more in half of their games and 35 or more in every conference game. Arkansas has gone 3-9, 7-6, 8-5 and 7-6 in four full seasons under Bielema and will likely finish below .500 this season. It’s time for a change.

• Gus Malzahn, Auburn – Another coach in the SEC West in trouble? Yep. Malzahn has close losses to Clemson and LSU he can cling to, but with expected losses to Georgia and Alabama upcoming, can he survive if he goes 8-4? Possibly. But what if the Tigers fall to Texas A&M and he goes 7-5? He’d surely be gone at that point I would assume. Don’t be fooled by Auburn’s 6-2 record and 4-1 conference mark. Some bad losses could be coming.

• Barry Odom, Missouri – Odom is a tough call because this is only his second year. But a 7-13 record and 2-10 in the SEC is pretty bad and Missouri has taken zero steps forward on defense, his forte, this season. This job might not be a fit for him and Missouri might know it.

With the Farrell Freshman Fifteen this week, I’ll pass on my Farrell Freshman Five but will focus on some additional freshmen in my Friday column. So let’s take a look at the Heisman race after a week off because so much has changed in the course of one weekend. Here are my Heisman leaders as of today.

• Baker Mayfield, Oklahoma (last at No. 2) – Some still have Barkley No. 1 while others have written Barkley off, but I decided to just switch Mayfield and the talented PSU running back at least for now. Mayfield has been the most consistent quarterback in the country and the performance over Ohio State is looking much better now, right?

• Saquon Barkley, Penn State (last at No. 1) – He had a good game against Ohio State with two touchdowns, so I don’t understand many people writing him off, but he did slide a spot as he was shut down for the most part aside from his two big plays. But he’s still my No. 1 running back for the Heisman.

• Josh Adams, Notre Dame (last NR) – He makes his debut on the list after another amazing game against NC State and I put him ahead of Love because Love missed a game this past week. Adams has a better shot than Love anyhow playing for Notre Dame, especially if they make a run to the playoff.

• Bryce Love, Stanford (last No. 3) – Love slides a spot for missing a game but that takes nothing away from his amazing season so far.

• JT Barrett, Ohio State (last No. 4) – I have Barrett lower than some despite my pre-season prediction he’d win this thing mainly because I still want to see a bit more. His game against Penn State was amazing, his stats are ridiculous, but I still remember the Oklahoma game.

• Khalil Tate, Arizona (last NR) – Had he started the season, he might be higher. Hhis numbers are amazing, but he’s playing for Arizona, so that hurts his chances. Put him on a better team and he’d get more attention.

• Mason Rudolph, Oklahoma State (last No. 5) – You can’t count out Rudolph as many have especially heading into this weekend. But if he doesn’t have a huge game in a huge win over OU, he’s gone.

Fell off: Jonathan Taylor, Wisconsin, Minkah Fitzpatrick, Alabama