 Coaches on the Hot Seat entering 2008 season Every head coach will tell you that pressure comes with the territory. Twenty-four hours and seven days in a week are simply not enough to keep boosters happy, court recruits, handle administrative issues, update systems, control player behaviors (and, sometimes, their disciplinary problems), improvise to overcome injuries, organize practices and game plans and, in some cases, call plays. Yet, every year, there are a handful of coaches who add to these pressures that of an unhappy (often, impatient and/or fickle) fan base or athletic department which demands a (often unreasonably) successful season - or else. Here are a few coaches who, justifiably or no, enter 2008 feeling a little more pressure than the typical team-skipper: 1) George O'Leary, Central Florida: Entering his fifth-year at UCF and coming off of a 10-3 season, one would not expect to see O'Leary on a list such as this. The reason for his inclusion is, simply, the fall-out from Ereck Plancher's death this past spring following a substantial team-conditioning event. Several players anonymously reported to a local newspaper that Plancher fell near the end of the work-out and received derision from the coaches rather than immediate help and sympathy. Regardless of whether those players were accurate in their report, the fact is that two players quickly left the team (including Plancher's roommate [and suspected starting guard next season], Cliff McCray, and last year's #2 tailback, Phillip Smith) and there are apparent cracks in team unity. A teammate's death is often a rally-point for a team but the setting seems different at UCF. Besides dealing with emotional chaos, the team must replace a tailback who was only the nation's leading-rusher last season (Kevin Smith - 2,567 yards, 29 touchdowns) as well as their starting quarterback and four of its top offensive linemen. Throw in road trips to Boston College, Miami (Fla) and Tulsa and a repeat of last year's record seems unlikely. That could be a problem in an athletic department that took its lumps supporting Coach O'Leary following Plancher's death. 2) Greg Robinson, Syracuse: Robinson has won only seven games in three seasons at Syracuse. Meanwhile, he has tallied 28 losses. Last year, the Orange finished last in the Big East in twelve separate statistical categories and, nationally, only one team finished worse than the 'Cuse in rushing offense, sacks and sacks-allowed. In total offense and total defense, Robinson's team finished in the bottom-ten. Former University of Minnesota coordinator, Mitch Browning, was brought in to take over the offense and he trashed the complicated west-coast offense which was clearly a poor fit for the team's personnel. The defense will struggle again this season though they are skilled at linebacker. There are no gimmes in the Big East schedule (road games against WVU, South Florida, Rutgers and Cincy) and non-conference tilts against Northwestern (away), Penn State (home) and Notre Dame (away) lend little room to breathe. It is a stretch even to find four wins in this schedule. 3) Ron Prince, Kansas State: Coach Prince has learned that it is never easy to follow a legend. Bill Snyder created a figurative paradise in the middle of the desert - he built and sustained a winning program which defied explanation. Coach Prince has not been able to repeat Snyder's results (12-13 after two seasons) though, in fairness, who could? Either in deference to Snyder's famous construction techniques or out of sheer desperation, Prince signed 19 JUCO-transfers to his most recent recruiting class. To Prince's credit, many of those recruits are highly-touted and skilled and could immediately fill team needs. However, JUCO-transfers are often unpredictable and a schedule which includes road-trips to Louisville, Texas A&M, Kansas and Missouri as well as home games against Texas Tech, Nebraska and Oklahoma seems to contain at least five losses next year. 4) Ty Willingham, Washington: Regardless of whether it was reasonable, after three seasons, Husky fans expected a composite record greater than 11-25; particularly, out of a coach being paid an annual salary of nearly $1.5 million. His best season was 2006, when Washington went 5-7. Last year's 4-9 record at least produced freshman dual-threat quarterback, Jake Locker - a player upon which Willingham will rely to get through 2008. Locker completed fewer than half of his passes but he also threw for over 2000 yards and nearly ran for 1000 (986 [13 scores]). He must improve this season and somebody needs to step up as a replacement for Louis Rankin at tailback. Few teams will field a defensive front as green as Washington, a potential problem since UW will face high-octane offenses all year (Oregon, BYU, Oklahoma, Arizona, Oregon State, USC and Cal). Add in a Notre Dame team that is likely to be much-improved (how could they be any worse?), and it seems unlikely that the schedule will surrender more than six wins. That may not be enough to prevent a regime change in Seattle next winter. 5) Mike Stoops, Arizona: Stoops enters his fifth season in Tucson with a school career mark of 17-29. Not exactly what the athletic department had in mind. His pedigree bought him some additional time and patience but the latter could expire at the end of this season if the Wildcats cannot pull off a winning season. The coaching seat got toasty last year when the 'Cats started out 1-2, with the losses coming against BYU and (unexpectedly) New Mexico. Only four more wins were squeezed out of the season from that point and subsequent losses to Stanford and Arizona State left the fan-base decidedly sour once winter arrived. An inexperienced defensive line, combined with the loss of one of the nation's top cornerback duos (Antoine Cason and Wilrey Fontenot), leaves little to inspire on the defensive side of the ball. Fortunately, for Stoops, offensive coordinator, Sonny Dykes, has nearly every starter from last year available (10) as he enters year-two of his installation of a Texas-Tech style offense. The 'Cats may be involved in a load of shoot-outs in 2008 and only Heaven knows whether they'll end in Stoops' favor. Arizona scheduled USC as its homecoming opponent which virtually assures a loss in that game but there are no more imminent losses on the schedule. Arizona is capable of winning enough games to get to a bowl game. Frankly, it could come down to coaching… 6) Nick Saban, Alabama: What!!!?? He's only in his second season!! Well, the combination of the nation's highest salary, the nation's most impatient and fickle fan-base, the recent signing of one of the nation's top recruiting classes and the hangover of 2007's season-ending collapse (which included losses to Mississippi State and Louisiana-Monroe) is potentially-explosive. Expectations are high in Tuscaloosa - really high. Julio Jones has not caught a pass for the Tide yet he is regarded as the program's savior (even though his quarterback is an overachiever without an extraordinary arm and no clear starter at tailback). Saban is larger-than-life and has extraordinary accomplishments to back up the hype - and that is part of the problem; the very reason the fans expect perfection even without perfect ingredients. Alabama is talented, but not across the board, and the team is at least a year away from fielding the kind of talent the fans seem to think exists at the Capstone. A schedule which includes an opener in Atlanta against Clemson (possible ACC-Champs) and road games to Georgia, Tennessee and LSU, as well as the typical season-ending Iron-Bowl match-up against Auburn will not be kind to the Tide. If Auburn wins its seventh in a row this year, Saban may find himself more interested than even he expected in the inevitable job openings that arise every December and January and his departure may be aided rather than cursed.
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