Following is our early watch list of "coaches on the hot seat" entering 2004.
Dirk Koetter, Arizona State...After an inspiring run to the Holiday Bowl in 2002 and QB Andrew Walter generating peripheral Heisman mention, Sun Devil fans were talking BCS before last season. But aside from teasing supporters with a 59-14 early October blowout of Oregon, ASU fizzled away like an Alka-Seltzer in '03 in a rash of blown assignments and dropped passes. The impatient Sun Devil boosters (who fired Bruce Snyder in 2000 after a string of bowl appearances) crave for a return to the Frank Kush glory years of the late '60s and '70s, and the big-money Sun Angel Foundation is reportedly ready to go shopping for another Kush (good luck) if Koetter doesn't turn things around.
Gary Crowton, BYU...BYU ranked 102nd in total offense last season, suffered its first shutout in 28 years, and is off back-to-back losing campaigns. That's not what Cougar supporters were used to seeing in LaVell Edwards' long and successful tenure, and that's why Gary Crowton is more than a little nervous coming into 2004. Crowton is taking matters into his own hands, assuming offensive coordinator duties for this season, a move MWC sources tell us at least puts Crowton back into his own element. They say it's a bowl game or bust for Crowton.
Gary Barnett, Colorado...In a situation not too dissimilar from Rick Neuheisel's precarious perch at Washington last summer, Barnett could still bite the bullet before the season kicks off in the wake of the off-field shenanigans in Boulder. He's on suspension at this writing, and if he gets back on the sidelines and survives into fall, the last thing he needs is to give administrators a football-related excuse to fire him.
Ron Zook, Florida...That one-sided loss to Iowa in the Outback Bowl made it another uncomfortable offseason for Zook in Gainesville, who has lost 10 games in his two years in charge of the Gators after Steve Spurrier lost only 19 in the previous 9 seasons. And now that Spurrier is free from the Dan Snyder prison in Washington, and rumors are running wild that the 'ol ball coach is going to take over his old job after this fall. True or not, Zook has to produce a Spurrier-like season to temporarily quiet the countless Florida backers who still believe he wasn't the right guy for the job.
Ron Turner, Illinois...Injuries helped wreck the Illini a year ago when they lost and failed to cover their last nine in progressively ugly fashion. But regional observers are nonetheless quick to point out that the talent base in Champaign-Urbana has dropped dramatically since Turner's Sugar Bowl team in 2001. And the athletic department can't afford more empty seats than filled ones at big Memorial Stadium much longer.
Gerry DiNardo, Indiana...Indiana is no football factory, but even the Hoosiers have lost their patience lately with gridiron mentors like Bill Mallory & Cam Cameron who did a lot more than DiNardo has his first two years (5-19 total). Big Ten sources report DiNardo will test the patience of administrators with another 2 or 3-win season.
John Bunting, North Carolina...Tobacco Road sources inform us that the Tar Heels are not going to sit on their hands and become a perennial also-ran in the ACC with Miami and Virginia Tech now further strengthening the football side of the loop. Bunting barely survived last year's 2-10 debacle, and rumors are already circulating that big bucks Carolina boosters might make a run at Spurrier or another high-profile name if the Heels falter again.
Brian Knorr, Ohio...The clean-cut, former Air Force quarterback was considered a fairly hot commodity when he ascended from Bobcat offensive coordinator after Jim Grobe moved to Wake Forest in 2001. But it hasn't worked out too well, and even though there were some signs of life at the end of the '03 campaign, Knorr is only 7-28 in his three years as HC and has seen Ohio fall even further behind the MAC's upper echelon since he took over. Patience likely runs out after '04 if Knorr's option can't close the gap with the MAC's big boys.
Buddy Teevens, Stanford...Cardinal boosters knew all along that the main reason nice-guy Teevens was hired on The Farm after Tyrone Willingham left for Notre Dame two years ago was an old friendship with AD Ted Leland, who hired a young Teevens at Dartmouth in the mid '80s. Teevens had some successes with the Big Green, but he has unfortunately struggled as a I-A coach, as his combined 17-61 record at Tulane ('92-96) and Stanford would attest. On The Farm, results have been desultory, as Teevens and his staff have not proven they can design and effectively implement an effective offense in one of the most attack-minded conferences in the country. And don't think football isn't a priority at Stanford, especially with the Cardinal dropping consecutive Big Games to hated rival Cal. Teevens barely survived last year's disappointing 4-7 mark that ended with a no-show 57-7 loss to Notre Dame. He probably has one more chance to fix things.
Keith Gilbertson, Washington...After the Rick Neuheisel fiasco unfolded last summer, AD Barbara Hedges, sensing the program needed stability at a time of controversy, decided that promoting offensive coordinator Gilbertson to the head spot and awarding him with a multi-year contract was the proper thing to do. No wonder few Husky backers asked Hedges to reconsider her retirement announcement a few months later after a bickering bunch of UW footballers underachieved for "Gilby" last fall. But shrewd Pac-10 insiders have known for years that the gruff Gilbertson, whose work was subpar in last HC assignment at Cal from '92-95, is a career assistant ill-suited to the rigors of a big-time head coaching job. And the "Husky Nation" is ready to make a move unless things improve dramatically (which looks unlikely). Gilbertson's buyout won't be quite as prohibitive after this season, and the time will be right for a change under a new AD. Will Dan Hawkins leave Boise State?
From The Gold Sheet.
Dirk Koetter, Arizona State...After an inspiring run to the Holiday Bowl in 2002 and QB Andrew Walter generating peripheral Heisman mention, Sun Devil fans were talking BCS before last season. But aside from teasing supporters with a 59-14 early October blowout of Oregon, ASU fizzled away like an Alka-Seltzer in '03 in a rash of blown assignments and dropped passes. The impatient Sun Devil boosters (who fired Bruce Snyder in 2000 after a string of bowl appearances) crave for a return to the Frank Kush glory years of the late '60s and '70s, and the big-money Sun Angel Foundation is reportedly ready to go shopping for another Kush (good luck) if Koetter doesn't turn things around.
Gary Crowton, BYU...BYU ranked 102nd in total offense last season, suffered its first shutout in 28 years, and is off back-to-back losing campaigns. That's not what Cougar supporters were used to seeing in LaVell Edwards' long and successful tenure, and that's why Gary Crowton is more than a little nervous coming into 2004. Crowton is taking matters into his own hands, assuming offensive coordinator duties for this season, a move MWC sources tell us at least puts Crowton back into his own element. They say it's a bowl game or bust for Crowton.
Gary Barnett, Colorado...In a situation not too dissimilar from Rick Neuheisel's precarious perch at Washington last summer, Barnett could still bite the bullet before the season kicks off in the wake of the off-field shenanigans in Boulder. He's on suspension at this writing, and if he gets back on the sidelines and survives into fall, the last thing he needs is to give administrators a football-related excuse to fire him.
Ron Zook, Florida...That one-sided loss to Iowa in the Outback Bowl made it another uncomfortable offseason for Zook in Gainesville, who has lost 10 games in his two years in charge of the Gators after Steve Spurrier lost only 19 in the previous 9 seasons. And now that Spurrier is free from the Dan Snyder prison in Washington, and rumors are running wild that the 'ol ball coach is going to take over his old job after this fall. True or not, Zook has to produce a Spurrier-like season to temporarily quiet the countless Florida backers who still believe he wasn't the right guy for the job.
Ron Turner, Illinois...Injuries helped wreck the Illini a year ago when they lost and failed to cover their last nine in progressively ugly fashion. But regional observers are nonetheless quick to point out that the talent base in Champaign-Urbana has dropped dramatically since Turner's Sugar Bowl team in 2001. And the athletic department can't afford more empty seats than filled ones at big Memorial Stadium much longer.
Gerry DiNardo, Indiana...Indiana is no football factory, but even the Hoosiers have lost their patience lately with gridiron mentors like Bill Mallory & Cam Cameron who did a lot more than DiNardo has his first two years (5-19 total). Big Ten sources report DiNardo will test the patience of administrators with another 2 or 3-win season.
John Bunting, North Carolina...Tobacco Road sources inform us that the Tar Heels are not going to sit on their hands and become a perennial also-ran in the ACC with Miami and Virginia Tech now further strengthening the football side of the loop. Bunting barely survived last year's 2-10 debacle, and rumors are already circulating that big bucks Carolina boosters might make a run at Spurrier or another high-profile name if the Heels falter again.
Brian Knorr, Ohio...The clean-cut, former Air Force quarterback was considered a fairly hot commodity when he ascended from Bobcat offensive coordinator after Jim Grobe moved to Wake Forest in 2001. But it hasn't worked out too well, and even though there were some signs of life at the end of the '03 campaign, Knorr is only 7-28 in his three years as HC and has seen Ohio fall even further behind the MAC's upper echelon since he took over. Patience likely runs out after '04 if Knorr's option can't close the gap with the MAC's big boys.
Buddy Teevens, Stanford...Cardinal boosters knew all along that the main reason nice-guy Teevens was hired on The Farm after Tyrone Willingham left for Notre Dame two years ago was an old friendship with AD Ted Leland, who hired a young Teevens at Dartmouth in the mid '80s. Teevens had some successes with the Big Green, but he has unfortunately struggled as a I-A coach, as his combined 17-61 record at Tulane ('92-96) and Stanford would attest. On The Farm, results have been desultory, as Teevens and his staff have not proven they can design and effectively implement an effective offense in one of the most attack-minded conferences in the country. And don't think football isn't a priority at Stanford, especially with the Cardinal dropping consecutive Big Games to hated rival Cal. Teevens barely survived last year's disappointing 4-7 mark that ended with a no-show 57-7 loss to Notre Dame. He probably has one more chance to fix things.
Keith Gilbertson, Washington...After the Rick Neuheisel fiasco unfolded last summer, AD Barbara Hedges, sensing the program needed stability at a time of controversy, decided that promoting offensive coordinator Gilbertson to the head spot and awarding him with a multi-year contract was the proper thing to do. No wonder few Husky backers asked Hedges to reconsider her retirement announcement a few months later after a bickering bunch of UW footballers underachieved for "Gilby" last fall. But shrewd Pac-10 insiders have known for years that the gruff Gilbertson, whose work was subpar in last HC assignment at Cal from '92-95, is a career assistant ill-suited to the rigors of a big-time head coaching job. And the "Husky Nation" is ready to make a move unless things improve dramatically (which looks unlikely). Gilbertson's buyout won't be quite as prohibitive after this season, and the time will be right for a change under a new AD. Will Dan Hawkins leave Boise State?
From The Gold Sheet.
