Rank the ACC Hot Seats

Remember when all the football coaches in the ACC were hot commodities? Seems like a million years ago. Anyway, more than half of the ACC’s 12 head coaches face varying levels of grumbling. How do you rank them? Here’s my list, from hottest seat to (relatively) coolest:

Coker, Groh, Bunting, Amato, Friedgen, Gailey, Roof.

About BJD95

1995 NC State graduate, sufferer of Les and MOC during my entire student tenure. An equal-opportunity objective critic and analyst of Wolfpack sports.

'06 Football Chuck Amato General NCS Football

75 Responses to Rank the ACC Hot Seats

  1. Wulfpack 09/18/2006 at 9:20 AM #

    1. Coker – Perhaps the fired assistants weren’t really the problem
    2. Groh – Not looking good, the Cavs are struggling Wolfpack style
    3. Friedgen – He was pretty good with Vanderlinden’s boys
    4. Amato – Where’s Rivers when you really need him
    5. Bunting – Basketball season can’t start soon enough
    6. Roof – Roof is meeting those low expectations in Durham
    7. Gailey – Needs a nice run in a down ACC this year

  2. packpigskinfan23 09/18/2006 at 9:22 AM #

    Roof will keep his job… Duke hasnt been good in a long time, and he hasnt been the coach long either. He also really got screwed bad by that kid who apparently cant write his own paper!!!

    I feel bad for Coker. The ‘Noles game was a close one and could have gone either way, and Louisville is NASTY this year. Unfortunatly for him Miami fans have less patience for less then stellar teams then we do.

  3. Sam92 09/18/2006 at 9:25 AM #

    i don’t think bunting’s seat is all that hot. the chapel hill fan base has lower expectations around football

    it perplexes me why amato’s seat isn’t hotter

  4. Trout 09/18/2006 at 9:30 AM #

    Gailey? I think GT is looking good so far. They should have beaten ND, and destroyed a Troy team that took FSU to the wire.

    Coker (may not last the season), Roof (sorry, but winless doesnt cut it, even at Duke), Amato (higher than Groh because Groh’s financial buyout is so much higher than Amato’s), Groh, Bunting (hasnt said anything stupid yet, at least give him that), Freidgen (still has an ACC title in his pocket, none of the others on this list have that),

  5. BJD95 09/18/2006 at 9:34 AM #

    The grumbling about Gailey has to do with his overall performance, not specifically this year. I have heard that the fans and alumni can’t stand him.

    And I think the “close home loss” to ND just lot alot of its former luster.

  6. wxpack 09/18/2006 at 9:35 AM #

    Coke, because Miami’s expectations are so much higher than anyone else. Then I would rate in the following order…. Bunting, Amato (if he doesn’t stick his foot back in his mouth), Groh (buyout will be an issue) and then Roof (what expectations for Duke football/)

  7. BoKnowsNCS71 09/18/2006 at 9:41 AM #

    This year:
    Coker — fans that (unrealistically) expect championships every year.

    Next year:
    Groh maybe. After 6 recrutis 1/3 of them did not qualify. Their program will be weaker. Fans can’t take losing to VT all the ime.

    Down the line:

    Bunting has spirit but UNC expectations were bigger this year. Fans were telling me they were going to win their division. But so far Defense (his forte) has disappeared this year. Rutgers is good but Furman lit them up. 100 point games are for basketball. I think they give him some more time.

    Chuck — cooler heads prevail. Good recruits down the line. The West Coast offense shoudl take hold next year. It took 3 years for Fresno State (Cignetti now at UNC) to get the WC offense working and understood by offensive players and Fresno was good after that. Trestman will face the same. The future is looking better. Don’t focus on this year.

    Gailey – doing well. Friedgen — underachieving. They will go to bowls. Alums will settle down for a while.

    Roof. Hey they’re Duke. No one shows up at the games. Their contributing alums love basketball. They realize they are the Northwestern of our league. Maybe a good team every 10 to 15 years. Coach isn’t the problem. Admission standards and lack of a history makes it an undesirable team for the best recruits. Even Paulus wouldn’t play FB.

  8. Trout 09/18/2006 at 9:41 AM #

    Gailey’s situation at GT is probably alot like Sendek’s was at NC State. Consistently wins but not in a big way, gets pummeled by bigtime rival (UGA), does things the right way, has solid support of the AD and Chancellor, many of the fans rumble though.

  9. BoKnowsNCS71 09/18/2006 at 9:53 AM #

    Firing Gailey would be stupid. He has a solid team. Goes to bowls, nothing steller but always has a shot at doing well. HOwever, next year he loses Reggie Ball and typically for most mid-level teams losing a QB who has played for 4 years and playing the back up results in a down season. (exceptions might be USC with a huge stable of talent) Fans may start getting antsy in 2-3 years if they miss some bowls or are non-competitive.

  10. choppack1 09/18/2006 at 9:56 AM #

    Here’s how I’d rank ’em:
    1) Coker – The hurricane program is on a steady downward spiral since his national championship.

    2) Amato – May not have needed high dollar donor support to withstand a year of 3-5 or worse. OL is a problem, and we’ll lose 3 of 5 starters. So if you think this year’s line is struggling…At present, it’s just hard to be excited about the future of wolfpack football under Amato. We may have seen it peak in year 3.

    3) Groh – He took over a solid UVa program and has had highly regarded recruiting classes. Has big buyout which may delay this for another year or two, but boy, do these Cavs appear to stink this year!

    4) Bunting – Roy Williams has effectively saved his job. His decent conference record and wins over rivals likely keeps his job for this year unless they win 4 or less.

    5) Gailey – Alumni don’t seem to care for him. However, all he does is go 7-5 every year. Amato, Groh and Bunting would take that record this year and be thrilled.

  11. joe 09/18/2006 at 10:01 AM #

    The problem with Amato , Groh, and Bunting is they were hired as alums after other guys turned the job down. The AD gets into panic mode and finds an alum because they are afraid of anyone else turning the job down.

    Does anyone recall a coach that was the 2nd choice (or 3rd, 4th, etc.) that was an alum that did really well? There might be a few cases but there have been a lot of really bad ones – such as Matt Doherty.

  12. Trout 09/18/2006 at 10:03 AM #

    I dont think Groh was UVA’s 2nd choice. And according to “rumor,” both choices #1 and #2 for NC State were alums as well (Cowher, Donnan).

  13. BJD95 09/18/2006 at 10:04 AM #

    Trout – good point re gailey/Sendek. Had never thought of it, but does make sense.

  14. joe 09/18/2006 at 10:19 AM #

    Friedgen is another alum coach who’s not doing too well. I can’t recall who else was on the MD list when he was hired.

    I think there is WAY too much emphasis placed on hiring an alum.

  15. choppack1 09/18/2006 at 10:22 AM #

    At least Fridge has proven he can win the ACC. However, much like Amato, it appears when he puts his “stamp” on the program, the old results come back…

  16. Wulfpack 09/18/2006 at 10:25 AM #

    ^Not with his own boys.

  17. redfred2 09/18/2006 at 10:26 AM #

    Coker- Five years, a record of 53-9, two appearances in the Nat’l Championship game, and an undefeated season. That is absolutely abmisbal.

    The guy is an absolute slouch.

    Sure Miami, put him in the car, then kick him to curb on any campus anywhere in NC when you do. The “U’s” version of “what have you done for lately” is beyond any of our wildest dreams.

  18. packof81 09/18/2006 at 10:30 AM #

    All those fine, fancy, new facilities really lean on the football program to produce. Wherein much is given, much is expected. If winning seasons aren’t forthcoming, the grumbling will become shrill.

  19. BoKnowsNCS71 09/18/2006 at 10:41 AM #

    Whle I hate to say it. If we had a coach who could accomplish an ongoing winning record we wouldn’t have him long. hate to admit that but….

    Our most sucessful coaches were Holtz (left for the Jets). Bo Rein (left for LSU, We fired Reed and Kiffin after 4 years of mediocre years. Sheridan came in with an established coaching staff who had worked together for years. Had a great first season, a lousy second and then goodd years until he just “quit”. O’Cain was the best 5-6 and 6-5 coach in the ACC.

  20. choppack1 09/18/2006 at 10:47 AM #

    “Think we could swap Amato for Coker?”

    I’d rather have Amato. Coker has access to the best talent around. If you are worse than 9-2 at Miami on a regular basis, you aren’t doing your job.

  21. packpigskinfan23 09/18/2006 at 10:54 AM #

    ^EVERYONE has to have a down year SOMETIME!! Coker does a great job. I would LOVE to have him as part of the NCSU team… but Amato is our man for now. if we win 2 more games this year, he will be next year as well.

  22. Texpack 09/18/2006 at 11:04 AM #

    In 7 years Amato has “built” a 3-9 program that has losses to the MAC and C-USA back-to-back. Why are we discussing anything other than who the next coach should be?

  23. redfred2 09/18/2006 at 11:04 AM #

    The reality of the matter is, how many teams in Swofford’s new landscape CAN be consistent year after year? There is a hard number, and conference play will not allow for anything otherwise.

  24. class of 74 09/18/2006 at 11:14 AM #

    Sorry, but others miseries should not make our situation any better. I do agree that Coker seat is red hot due to the school’s past and expectations going forward. The others mentioned much less so than Coker.

  25. nycfan 09/18/2006 at 11:28 AM #

    My list:

    A. Coker – He’s out unless they run the table, and even then I’m not so sure. Miami fans consider him second rate and they don’t want a slide into relative obscurity

    B (tie) – Groh — UVa fans have been grumbling for a while now and the start of this season has not been encouraging. He has reminded me a lot of Mack Brown with all the puffing up of recruiting success, but he’s not coming through with the wins (it took Brown a while to do so, as well, but I don’t think UVa fans have any patience for Groh right now).

    B (tie) – Amato – You guys have poured a lot of money into his pockets, his staff and into facilities, and he has shown a certain amount of disdain for the fans. Bottom line, though, his teams keep making the same stupid mistakes and so does he; plus, there is that blood in the water feel from Senek’s departure.

    D. Bunting – If the Heels can win 5 -6 games, he saves his job; we’ll see how possible that really is. He has the “Sendek cover” of you can’t fire him, just look at the incoming recruits for NEXT year! Plus, there is the double whammy of not wanting to invest in a buy-out and coaching search until there is some one trusted to handle that in the AD position. But a LOT of Tar Heels are getting sick of the poor play and the constant claims that the game plan was right, the execution was wrong. If the team doesn’t get near that .500 mark, though, look out — knives will be out.

    E. Roof – I’m not sure Dook cares enough to oust him. Besides, who wants that job?

    F. Gailey — Tech looks poised for a 7-8 win year. Alumni may not love him, but I think this is a tough year to pull off an ouster.

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