Big Ten Spring Coach Hot Seat Rankings
14. Kirk Ferentz, Iowa
Three straight bowl wins, a ten-win season, a rock-solid program that keeps on producing, everything keeps on rolling under Ferentz. If it’s possible, Ferentz continues to be underrated and underappreciated.
Record With Team: 162-104
2019 Big Ten Spring Hot Seat Ranking: 12
2018 Big Ten Spring Hot Seat Ranking: 14
– Full Schedule Analysis
13. Greg Schiano, Rutgers
He can go 0-12 in his first season back at the Rutgers helm and no one will blink – that’s how much work there is to do. He went 3-20 in his first two years in 2001 an 2002, and he’ll get plenty of time to put this together.
Record With Team: 68-67 with Rutgers from 2001-2011
– Full Schedule Analysis
12. Paul Chryst, Wisconsin
Three Big Ten West titles in four seasons, a 4-1 run in bowl games and a trip to the Rose Bowl last season – he can afford one bad season and be fine. It would be nice to get over the hump and win the conference, but the Badgers have found the right fit.
Record With Team: 52-16
2019 Big Ten Spring Hot Seat Ranking: 9
2018 Big Ten Spring Hot Seat Ranking: 12
– Full Schedule Analysis
11. Pat Fitzgerald, Northwestern
He’s a made man and he’ll be there as long as he wants to be the Northwestern head coach as long as he wants to be, but … yuck. It wasn’t just going 3-9 a year after going to the Big Ten Championship, it was being 3-9 and totally miserable.
Record With Team: 99-78
2019 Big Ten Spring Hot Seat Ranking: 14
2018 Big Ten Spring Hot Seat Ranking: 10
– Full Schedule Analysis
10. P.J. Fleck, Minnesota
Now it’s about staying power. It took him two years to build Minnesota up into a spot to be nationally special, but can it stay there? 2019 was fantastic, but that can’t be a one-off like Syracuse’s 2018 season appeared to be.
Record With Team: 23-15
2019 Big Ten Spring Hot Seat Ranking: 7
2018 Big Ten Spring Hot Seat Ranking: 6
– Full Schedule Analysis
9. James Franklin, Penn State
With three 11-win seasons, three top ten finishes, and three trips to New Year’s Six games in the last four years, he should be given a whole lot more credit than he receives as one of the nation’s elite head coaches. But you know how this works at Penn State – go 7-6, and people get grouchy.
Record With Team: 56-23
2019 Big Ten Spring Hot Seat Ranking: 6
2018 Big Ten Spring Hot Seat Ranking: 9
– Full Schedule Analysis
8. Ryan Day, Ohio State
Oh sure, he came up with a phenomenal first year as he came within an interception of taking his team to the national championship, but – see James Franklin – we know how this works at Ohio State. Anything less than fantastic – especially if there’s a loss to Michigan – and people get grouchy.
Record With Team: 16-1
2019 Big Ten Spring Hot Seat Ranking: 2
– Full Schedule Analysis
7. MEl Tucker, Michigan State
Colorado should’ve been better than 5-7 last season. He’ll get the smallest bit of a grace period with a Michigan State program that needs a little reworking, but 5-7 won’t fly in East Lansing, even if it is his first season.
Record With Team: 0-0
2019 Pac-12 Spring Hot Seat Ranking: 7 (with Colorado)
– Full Schedule Analysis
6. Jeff Brohm, Purdue
Yeah there were injuries. Yeah there’s more talent in place now. Yeah this is still a great head coach who players love to play for. However, he has gone from seven wins to six to four in his three seasons. He’s not going to get fired with a bad year, but the trend has to reverse.
Record With Team: 17-21
2019 Big Ten Spring Hot Seat Ranking: 10
2018 Big Ten Spring Hot Seat Ranking: 11
– Full Schedule Analysis
5. Tom Allen, Indiana
He finally got Indiana back over the hump and into a bowl game after two 5-7 seasons. But a third five-win campaign in four years stops the momentum cold, and anything worse is a real problem for him.
Record With Team: 17-19
2019 Big Ten Spring Hot Seat Ranking: 4
2018 Big Ten Spring Hot Seat Ranking: 3
– Full Schedule Analysis
4. Lovie Smith, Illinois
Let’s just cut through the hoo-ha. Illinois had a miraculous final few minutes against Wisconsin, and Michigan State flat-out gagged. Smith got the team to a bowl game, but he was this close to a 4-8 season. As is, he’s still just 15-34.
Record With Team: 15-34
2019 Big Ten Spring Hot Seat Ranking: 3
2018 Big Ten Spring Hot Seat Ranking: 2
– Full Schedule Analysis
3. Mike Locksley, Maryland
The problem isn’t just that Locksley went 3-9 in his first year at Maryland, and it isn’t that the team got worse as the season went on – to be fair, there was a youth movement. It’s that he’s now 6-40 overall – combined with his time at New Mexico – and last season was his best one as a head man.
Record With Team: 3-9
2019 Big Ten Spring Hot Seat Ranking: 8
– Full Schedule Analysis
2. Jim Harbaugh, Michigan
The guy has 47 wins as a head coach at Michigan, just one of his 18 losses came to a team that didn’t finish with at least ten wins, and his greatest crime is that he can’t beat an Ohio State program that’s among the elite of the elite right now. But … four straight bowl losses, five straight losses to the Buckeyes, no Big Ten titles, no Rose Bowls, no College Football Playoff appearances.
Record With Team: 47-18
2019 Big Ten Spring Hot Seat Ranking: 6
2018 Big Ten Spring Hot Seat Ranking: 1
– Full Schedule Analysis
1. Scott Frost, Nebraska
When Willie Taggart got fired at Florida State, he had the exact same record Frost had at the time at Nebraska. He’s still the favorite son, and everyone desperately wants him to succeed, but the talent still isn’t there, and two straight losing seasons in Lincoln isn’t okay. He’s not going to get canned with another bad run, but 2021 will be FLAMING hot seat time without at least a bowl appearance in 2020.
Record With Team: 9-15
2019 Big Ten Spring Hot Seat Ranking: 13
2018 Big Ten Spring Hot Seat Ranking: 13
– Full Schedule Analysis