SB Nation: Coaching Hot Seat Over/Unders
So today, some of SB Nation's CFB writers took a look at the over-unders for a few college football teams with coaches seemingly on the hot seat, essentially to say if a coach would be fired if they were around that number.
While most of the names/comments revovle around guys you might expect: Sumlin, Kingsbury, RichRod, Gus Malzahn, Jim Mora, there was one section that caught my eye, for... reasons.
Michigan State: 6.5 wins
At 90-42, Mark Dantonio is in the conversation for the best coach in Michigan State history. But there is a sense that the program took advantage of some down years from Michigan and Penn State, and is now on the decline with the big three in the Big Ten East all climbing. Dantonio’s 2016 team was not young, yet went just 1-8 in Big Ten play. Still, is there any chance Dantonio is done if his Spartans barely make a bowl game?
Alex: Here’s a question for Michigan State: Could you do better? I don’t really see it. It’s not like MSU is a bad job, but Dantonio has a track record that will have been interrupted for two seasons. If the Spartans think they can convince someone great to come battle with Jim Harbaugh, Urban Meyer, and James Franklin, in a fine but not incredible recruiting area, they might fire Dantonio. I doubt they think that.
Godfrey: Remember John L. Smith? This job can get really difficult really quickly. The problem is that Dantonio failed to turn 10-win seasons into elite recruiting, and now Michigan and Penn State have reorganized and lapped Sparty in talent. MSU seems destined to regress from its Rose Bowl run. How much is to be determined, and this is a difficult job to hire for.
Srsly.
not sure they can do any better. If they win 6 games this year and make a bowl I would think he is very safe. Now if they have another 3-9 record, well things might start to warm up for him, but still think they would give him another year.
1 - We are 20-6 since he took over - ties for 7th best out of the Power 5 schools with FSU and Okie State - only Alabama, Clemson, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Stanford and Wisconsin are better (Wisky is 21-6)
2 - Of our 6 losses, only the 2nd half of the 2015 OSU game where we were just too depleted to handle Elliot was bad. Losing at Utah at night on a pick 6 with a QB making his first start and a fumbled snap were the 2 losses year one and we know the 3 late losses this year. We haven't really had many lucky breaks go our way - if Iowa missed their kick and NC State makes their's to beat Clemson, we might have been in the playoff too - so let's not act as if we are light years behind.
3 - we have 2 almost empty recruiting classes to deal with - despite that I still expect us to win 8 games minimum and maybe 10 or 11.
People have really short memories of Hoke and RR to bitch about how things are going now
Honestly asking. Would you define the program Hoke left behind as elite? Because I wouldn't. Just as the Texas that Mack Brown left Charlie Strong was not elite and the FSU Bowden left Jimbo wasn't elite.
"So you think that if Michigan loses to Ohio State this year, Michigan will consider firing Jim Harbaugh? Quit being an ass."
Well, to be fair, if you take away Hoke's lone victory against an interim Luke Fickell (which even then was barely a victory), him and RR both had 3 opportunities and went 0-3 and got fired. If Harbaugh craps the bed and goes 0-3 I wouldn't be surprised to hear people calling for his head. I won't be one of them, I'm just saying don't be surprised.
This is Michigan, every fan, and Harbaugh himself - demands excellence. We aren't supposed to say "Oh, 10-3 is great because we were 5-7 two years ago." There is neither yesterday, nor tomorrow, there is only now, and right now Michigan showed it was close last year, but not close enough, I'm not expecting the 2017 team to move mountains but if we lose to Ohio State again, the thought of "Jim can't win the big one" is a valid thought, doesn't mean it's true, but it's an opinion outsiders could, and are allowed to have. Doesn't mean he should be fired or have his head called for, but no one is immune to criticism.
Agree, but context is important.
In 2015, 10-3 truly was great, given the context of that team's talent level and where they had been.
In 2016, we significantly underachieved and thus did not have a successful season despite having the same record.
Both of Harbaugh's games against OSU had a trip to a Big Ten title game on the line. Hoke and RR usually played OSU for moral victories.
That Michigan lost, granted, 2016 was close, 2015 was the worst ass kicking I have seen in that game since Rich Rod's final game vs OSU.