Since we ran our kind of “Just For Argument’s Sake” related to Bill Cowher in this entry, ESPN’s article today was worth sharing with you.
Three interesting items related to college football coaches are included in the piece that was very interesting. The crux of the second item is included below:
Many of us have been saying for months that there will be a lot of firings in the coming months, simply because only 11 I-A jobs changed hands after last season.
That low turnover didn’t happen because athletic directors became more patient. If anything, they are noticeably less patient.
History has shown that a low number of changeovers is followed by a higher number. In the past 20 years, there have been six seasons in which 14 or fewer jobs came open.
On four of those occasions, the number of jobs that came open increased by 10 the following year.
However, they are governed by won-loss records, which is why I’m not as confident anymore that a lot of furniture will be needed for this year’s I-A Musical Chairs.
• Of the 62 teams in the six conferences that get automatic bids to the BCS, 48 already have at least four victories.
• Of the 14 coaches with three or fewer wins, six are in the first or second year at the school.
• At least two of the remaining eight, Mark Mangino of Kansas and Glen Mason of Minnesota, have received new contracts this year.
I think the permanent addition of the 12th game to the college schedule has given a break to coaches who otherwise might have been on the hot seat. The remaining weeks of the season, in which the three- and four-win teams will have to climb into bowl contention by winning conference games, might make some more coaches vulnerable. But the revolving door doesn’t appear to be turning quite as fast as predicted.
