As far as I know Jackie is the only one that is set to retire, but here are some coaches on the hot seat:
Mercury's Rising
Tommy Bowden, Clemson - This week's game in Winston-Salem was a pivotal one for Bowden, and his Tigers responded with a demoralizing 45-17 loss to Wake Forest. Job security has long been an issue that's followed Bowden, and the calls for his ouster reached a crescendo after Saturday's defeat. He can ill-afford a third straight seven-win season that ends with a loss in a second-rate bowl game. The 5-4 Tigers finish with Florida State, Duke and South Carolina.
Verdict: Gone
John Bunting, North Carolina - What in the world has happened to the UNC football program? Despite being blessed with great facilities and good recruiting classes in recent years, the wheels have completely come off over the past year and a half. During that span, the Heels have won just four of 21 games and defense - Bunting's supposed forte - has been the primary culprit.
Verdict: Gets one more year to turn things around.
Tom Cable, Idaho- Cable's contract expires at the end of the year, and it's highly doubtful he'll get an extension when this season ends. The 1-8 Vandals are staring at a third straight ten-loss campaign, which is a surefire way to get your coach canned.
Verdict: Gone
Mike Debord, Central Michigan - The Chippewas entered this season confident they'd improve on last year's 4-8 record. After nine games, it doesn't look like it's going to happen. CMU has just three wins - two against I-AA programs - and is 1-4 in MAC play. If he's not back for a fifth year, part of Debord's undoing will have been his inability to develop a reliable quarterback.
Verdict: Gone
Keith Gilbertson, Washington - The untimely dismissal of Rick Neuheisel put the Huskies and Gilbertson in a very difficult position. Considering the circumstances, the University did the best it could by tabbing the only assistant with head coaching experience. Gilbertson would have needed to be perfect to retain this job and that certainly hasn't happened. Top candidates will be lining up for this plum job once Gilbertson is dismissed.
Verdict: Gone
Brian Knorr, Ohio - The success of the MAC this season only makes floundering programs like Ohio look like more of an underachiever. Wins have been scarce, attendance at Peden Stadium continues to drop and a 2-10 season is a distinct possibility. Last week's loss to Buffalo was a harsh reminder of how far the program has slipped since Jim Grobe left for Wake Forest.
Verdict: Gone
Gary Nord, UTEP - After getting blown up by Cal-Poly Sept. 6, it was an upset Nord didn't get ridden out of town the very next day. The Miners have shown improvement over the past month, but moral victories don't commonly salvage the job of a coach with a .193 winning percentage over the past three seasons.
Verdict: Gone
Dean Pees, Kent State - After starting 3-2, the Flashes have lost four straight. This week's game at Ohio is a key one for the sixth-year coach because a trip to Bowling Green will follow. If the administration decides to go in a different direction, it'll probably make a move after this year. Coaches usually don't get canned in the final year of their contract and Pees' expires in 2004.
Verdict: Gone
Ron Turner, Illinois - Losing is one thing. Getting embarrassed every Saturday is a completely different animal. An off year from a coach that won the Big Ten just two years ago might have been acceptable if the team was mildly competitive, but that hasn't been the case for the 1-9 Illini. There's been absolutely no fight in this team since conference play began in September.
Verdict: Gone
Bobby Wallace, Temple - It's anybody's guess what athletic director Bill Bradshaw will do with Wallace after this season. He's a respected coach, who's trying to raise the dead in Philadelphia. Temple's a football graveyard that's on the cusp of losing its conference affiliation, but last week's blowout loss to Rutgers may have been the final straw.
Verdict: Returns in 2004
Needs a Strong Finish
Lee Owens, Akron - Akron's had their moments this year, nearly upsetting Wisconsin and UConn and blowing out Central Florida. It remains to be seen whether six or seven wins from a squad that returned a plethora of starters will be enough to save his job. A 34-20 upset of Marshall last October bought him another year, but the Zips weren't as fortunate Saturday, losing to the Herd 42-24.
Verdict: Returns in 2004
Paul Pasqualoni, Syracuse - Athletic director Jake Crouthamel, a long-time supporter of Pasqualoni, continues to be in the coach's corner. It's possible, but still highly unlikely, that that'll change if the 4-3 Orangemen slip below .500 for the second straight season. With so much uncertainty swirling around the program and the conference, Crouthamel sees Pasqualoni as a much-needed source of stability.
Verdict: Returns in 2004
John Robinson, UNLV -For a time, it looked like Robinson might vie for Mountain West coach of the year honors. That was before a three-game losing streak, which may have squelched any bowl hopes and dampened a once-promising season. Still, unless he decides to step down, Robinson is probably back for another season. President Carol Harter really likes the coach and new athletic director Mike Hamrick said he has no plans of making any immediate coaching changes.
Verdict: Returns in 2004
Chris Tormey, Nevada - After stunning Washington at Husky Stadium Oct. 11, Tormey looked like an absolute lock to be back next season. However, over the past two weeks, the Pack has blown second-half leads to Louisiana Tech and Rice and virtually dropped out of the WAC title chase. Now 5-4 and staring at games with Fresno State, Hawaii and Boise State, Nevada is in danger of a complete collapse that could cost Tormey his job.
Verdict: Returns in 2004.
Randy Walker, Northwestern - Walker has done a commendable job guiding a young Cat team to a 4-5 record with three weeks remaining. The centerpiece of that success was last week's 16-7 victory over then-No. 20 Wisconsin. Can Northwestern fire a coach that takes a three-win to bowl-eligibility? We'll find out if they can win two more games.
Verdict: Returns in 2004
Ron Zook, Florida - Zook's up. Zook's down. His status is harder to figure than a trig problem. These days, the coach is at his highest point since arriving in Gainesville following road wins over LSU and Arkansas and Saturday's critical upset of Georgia. Maybe more than any other coach in America, Zook needs to finish 2003 on a positive note.
Verdict: Returns in 2004
Enjoying Some Shade
Chan Gailey, Georgia Tech - They've taken a young team and molded them into a contender for ACC runner-up. Credit Gailey with hiring defensive coordinator Jon Tenuta, who's been the architect of one the league's best defensive units. Gailey's safe, but fans still stew over last year's 51-7 beating from Georgia. They're anticipating a much better showing Nov. 29.
Verdict: Returns in 2004
Greg Schiano, Rutgers - Rutgers at 4-4 is akin to most other programs being 8-0. Fresh off their first Big East victory in four years, the optimism surrounding the program is higher than it's been in a long, long time. Schiano's getting major contributions from his young kids and becoming bowl-eligible at 6-6 is a shockingly realistic goal.
Verdict: Returns in 2004
Frank Solich, Nebraska -
Could get burned in 2004
Gary Barnett, Colorado - Barnett's start slow, finish strong MO was tolerable when the team was actually finishing strong and contending for Big XII crowns. That won't happen this year from a team that the coach dubbed his most talented before the season began. Barnett's secure, but some kind of staff shake-up in December is a possibility.
Phil Bennett, SMU - No one doubts Bennett has a tall order in Dallas, but 18 losses in his first 21 games and an 0-9 start this year is wholly unacceptable. The recruiting class that got rave reviews earlier this year better pay dividends next season or Bennett's stay at SMU will be short-lived.
Jeff Bower, Southern Miss - Bower's been living off the program's success in the 90s for the past couple of years. The Eagles haven't won a league title since 1999 and they've watched schools like TCU, Louisville and Cincinnati catch up or surpass them during that time. Bower, whose team is 4-0 in C-USA, can reverse this trend with a conference championship in 2003.
Mack Brown, Texas - One of these years, the weighty UT expectations and losses to Oklahoma are going to catch up with Brown. It's a reality that will probably haunt the coach until he wins his first national or conference championship with the Longhorns. In the short term, coordinators Greg Davis and Carl Reese are in far more tenuous positions.
Gary Crowton, BYU - It's taken less than two years for Crowton to make the transition from wunderkind to whipping boy in Salt Lake City. The Cougars are in the midst of a second straight disappointing season, and the coach and his staff are absorbing the blame. In these parts, fans aren't used to losing or toothless offenses, and it'll be Crowton's job to reverse both quickly. Athletic director Val Hale gave a vote of confidence to his coach last month, but that was before Thursday's 50-12 loss to Boise State.
Buddy Teevens, Stanford - It's still early, but it's beginning to look like the Buddy Teevens experiment at Stanford is a failure. The Cardinal are just 5-13 under his watch and the offense, which was supposed to be a poor man's Florida, has been just plain poor. Last year's 30-7 loss to rival Cal was the school's first in eight years. A similar result in three weeks could spell trouble on the Farm for the second-year coach.
