Anyone who knows anything about football knows that head coaches play an integral role in the game itself as well as with the team’s overall success. It makes one wonder why, then, that so many at the college level are being fired in the middle to end of this football season. Are the coaches actually lacking the skills to lead the teams toward victory, or is it something more?
Avid football fan Mr. Will Coatie, a security officer at Elkhart High School, thinks he knows the answer. And, it is a simple one. “It comes down to being judged on both wins and losses. The recent firing of the many college coaches is because they just did not gain enough wins.”
With so many firings, a person would need a score card to keep up. DeShaun Foster at UCLA and Brent Pry at Virginia Tech were fired only three weeks into the season. Just following week seven, Penn State dismissed James Franklin once his team, the Nittany Lions, fell 3-3 with a loss. Job openings increased after week eight, when Florida fired college coach Billy Napier. Continuing, LSU showed Brian Kelly the door into week nine of the season. Then, on Nov. 2, Hugh Freeze became the next in this long lineup, being released from Auburn. Only Troy Taylor was released prior to season–this for compliance violations.
By date, here is this season’s “Dirty Dozen” roster of firings:
- Troy Taylor, Sanford: Mar. 25
- DeShaun Foster, UCLA: Sept. 14
- Brant Pry, Virginia Tech: Sept. 14
- Mike Gundy, Oklahoma State: Sept. 23
- Sam Pittman, Arkansas: Sept. 28
- Trent Bray, Oregon State: Oct. 12
- James Franklin, Penn State: Oct. 12
- Trent Dilfer, UAB: Oct. 12
- Jay Norvell, Colorado State: Oct. 19
- Billy Napier, Florida: Oct. 19
- Brian Kelly, LSU: Oct. 26
- Hugh Freeze, Auburn: Nov. 2
Reiterating how cut-throat this profession can be, Coatie states, “Coaching comes down to big wins and losses…not building relationships within the team.” From a player perspective, coaches need to know how to execute a win and how to build a unified team. “Though the coaches should care enough to make relationships and understandings with one another, ” Coatie inserts, “it does not always work that way. If you do not win enough, someone’s not going to be happy!”
With the transfer portal now an option, unhappy players are gravitating toward other schools that will possibly give them more playing time or offer a better program. Additionally, more and more are benefitting from the pay-to-play incentive. All of this makes building a four-year program difficult for all colleges, as it is becoming a never-ending game of musical chairs. Therefore, it is also becoming increasingly impossible to maintain a solid program.
This, in turn, places increasing financial pressure on head coaches to not fall short of perfection in order to retain their positions. After all, money talks. But, “What if one year the team wins, but the next year, you have a loss?” questions Coatie. Clearly, it’s a financial game. Yet, when the outcome of a game is to have one team win and the other lose, it is impossible for all teams to maintain an unbeaten record.
So, schools pay millions of dollars on a roll of the dice that the next head coach will be “the one” to lead them on to victory. But, when they don’t, they’re sent packing…at a very high price. The two biggest coaching buyouts are Penn State, owing James Franklin $49 million. Alongside Penn State trials, Brian Kelly is suing for a $54 million from LSU. Louisiana, however, is hoping to settle for a mere $25 million.
With college playoffs just weeks away, it will be interesting to see how many more head coaches will sidelined. And, with so many vacancies heading into the championships, will the bowl games truly reflect a team’s ability to play or merely its ability to play “the game”?
And, football is clearly a game. However, it’s no longer about the numbers on the scoreboard. Apparently, it’s now all about the numbers in the bank.
