Menu
What's new
By:
Filters
AllBuffs | Unofficial fan site for the University of Colorado at Boulder Athletics programs

This is a sample guest message. Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

  • Prime Time. Prime Time. Its a new era for Colorado football. Consider signing up for a club membership! For $20/year, you can get access to all the special features at Allbuffs, including club member only forums, dark mode, avatars and best of all no ads ! But seriously, please sign up so that we can pay the bills. No one earns money here, and we can use your $20 to keep this hellhole running. You can sign up for a club membership by navigating to your account in the upper right and clicking on "Account Upgrades". Make it happen!

PAC-12 2016 Coaching run down. Hot Seat or Not.

BlackNGold

BlackNGold

Club Member
It is that time.
Most of the coaches in the conference will survive this season because there are few hot seats. Spoiler alert - non-objective review of the Colorado HC>

I will start with the North
Sonny Dykes, Cal - Entering his 4th season at Cal. Got the Bears to 8 wins but they were not an impressive 8 wins. And that included having a #1 pick in the draft at QB. The Cal team still seems to have a lot of holes in it. His recruiting has been solid but it does not always appear on the field. New contract deal in the off season probably means he is safe for now. But fans are going to be upset and the patience thin with a so-so season.

Mark Helfrich, Oregon - a nine win season last year is below Duck fans expectations. Lack of a QB will make another 9 Win season unlikely. Recruiting has been Solid except for the QB position unfortunately the Oregon O is built around that position. His seat is not hot but it is warm. Safe for this year but could be coaching for his job next year.

Gary Anderson, Oregon State - did not understand the move from Wisconsin to Oregon State. Horrible first year but most understand that Riley left the cupboard pretty bare. Safe for now because he is rebuilding but rebuilding at Oregon State is a very tough job.

David Shaw, Stanford - Might be the best coach in the PAC12 and he is totally safe. His recruiting has been at the top of the conference. Seat will not even get warm. His name is always mentioned for openings.

Chris Peterson, Washington - Some think he may be the best coach in the PAC12 but his teams have not broken away from the pack losing 6 games in each of his first 2 seasons. His recruiting has been okay but Husky fans expect more. He needs a good year in 2016 or his seat in really warm in 2017 - safe for this season.

Mike Leach, Washington State - great season last year has probably put the nay sayers at bay for at least a year. Leach is safe for now. His recruiting has been lackluster but he is a system guy so recruiting is not always important. The WSU fans are happy to have him.

Now the South -

Rich Rodriguez, Arizona - a 7-6 season last year did not make Wildcat fans happy, but his overall record at the school keeps his seat quite comfortable. Recruiting has not been great and fans want more in that area. Another mediocre or worse year and his seat could get very warm.

Todd Graham, Arizona State - a 6-7 season last year put him on the edge of the hot seat. Many consider him to be a top coach but ASU is known for its impatience. Recruiting has been solid under Graham ( usually in the top half of the conference). He won't get fired this year but could be in a very hot position with another .500 season.

Mike MacIntyre, Colorado - the one coach in the conference who should be on the hot seat but probably isn't. Two conference wins in 3 seasons and most coaches would be gone. Colorado fans (the ones that are left ) put being a nice guy on the top of their coaching criteria so pressure on the AD does not exist. Recruiting has been poor under MacIntyre. MacIntyre is not on the hot seat unless he goes winless in the conference (something he has done before). Expect him to coach his final season in 2017.

Jim Mora, UCLA - Interesting case, he won 8 games last year and many think he under achieved (something UCLA football is known for). His recruiting has been outstanding, going neck and neck with USC most years. No one is calling for his head but he is not getting ringing endorsements either. One of the top coaches in the PAC12 (IMO) and is safe for now but an 8 win season will get the boo birds out in LA.

Clay Helton, USC - Not a popular choice with the USC fans but really in his first year (hard to count the interim tag year). He is safe for 2016 but another 8 win season and he will be on the hot seat. Recruiting has been good with the limited time frame but that is almost a given with USC. Actually will be the situation that I am most interested to see unfold this year. Can Helton be a good HC?

Kyle Whittingham, Utah - IMO, one of the top coaches in the PAC12. Seems to win no matter what obstacles are thrown at him. High staff turnover, unsupportive AD, etc. He just gets it done. He is very safe from most perspectives but his clashes with the AD could make life tough for him.
 
Last edited:
I don't think any coach is truly on the hot seat.

Think Shaw and Dykes will be looking to jump this offseason.
 
Graham reminds me of Jerry Glanville. That is not a compliment.
 
"Colorado fans (the ones that are left ) put being a nice guy on the top of their coaching criteria so pressure on the AD does not exist."

ouch
 
Darian3Hagan said:
"Colorado fans (the ones that are left ) put being a nice guy on the top of their coaching criteria so pressure on the AD does not exist."

ouch
Click to expand...

While I do not totally agree with BnG, I had to laugh about MacIntyre mentioning "high expectations" today at the media day.
 
BlackNGold said:
You read my longest post of the year and that is your take away....
Click to expand...

That's how it always is. Longer, informative posts are appreciated but don't seem to generate a lot of responses (and everyone's a critic).

Thank you, though. I was trying to think about what to say in response, but the thing is that it just doesn't look like we have much instability in the Pac-12 coaching ranks heading into fall camp. That will change as the season progresses, as it always does. I think there's more chance of people leaving for other jobs than there is of many coaches getting fired, though.
 
Buffnik said:
That's how it always is. Longer, informative posts are appreciated but don't seem to generate a lot of responses (and everyone's a critic).

Thank you, though. I was trying to think about what to say in response, but the thing is that it just doesn't look like we have much instability in the Pac-12 coaching ranks heading into fall camp. That will change as the season progresses, as it always does. I think there's more chance of people leaving for other jobs than there is of many coaches getting fired, though.
Click to expand...

I was just giving him a hard time. Overall there are a lot of good coaches in the PAC 12. Some may not like Graham or RichRod (and even leach) but their body of work shows them to be good coaches. I look at the 5 coaches in the South we go against and Helton is an unknown (with lots of talent) and the other 4 are all top coaches, IMO.
 
I'd like insight on why you feel Mac is safe. I don't. I haven't since a new AD came in to the prior guys hire.
 
BlackNGold said:
I was just giving him a hard time. Overall there are a lot of good coaches in the PAC 12. Some may not like Graham or RichRod (and even leach) but their body of work shows them to be good coaches. I look at the 5 coaches in the South we go against and Helton is an unknown (with lots of talent) and the other 4 are all top coaches, IMO.
Click to expand...

That's interesting. I think the crop of coaches in the PAC 12 to be comparatively bad versus the other conferences.

Helton seems like a reach to me. Helfrich has Oregon in reverse. Dykes has shown nothing.

Leach, Rich Rod, and Mora are ok, but seem to always deliver odd losses.

Peterson may turn out great. Too early to tell, given history of Boise coaching tree. Similar situation with Gary Anderson, but I agree with you that Oregon State was an odd move for him and a tough turnaround.

Graham is such a massive dick that I don't think he can build long term success anywhere. And he not a Nick Saban dick, he's just a dick.

Wittingham and Shaw seem to be the best in the league.
 
pcbuff said:
I'd like insight on why you feel Mac is safe. I don't. I haven't since a new AD came in to the prior guys hire.
Click to expand...

Fair enough. I am hearing that Rick George is going with "we were in a deep hole and it is going to take a long time to get out." excuse.

In reality at most schools it is the big donors who put pressure on the AD to make a coaching change. The more vocal donors have stepped back (ten bad years will do that to you) and other big donors have taken a hands off approach - sending their donations in but not being too visible in public. CU has not had donors to the athletic department that were high profile since the days of Jack Vickers and Bob Six and they both got burned by CU. Neither Benson nor DiStefano have much stomach anymore for making a sweeping change. So overall there is little pressure on George to make a change.

Everything is a snapshot in time. If CU struggles and people start ridiculing the program the AD may be forced to act but today they are hoping to skate by. And that may happen because if the Broncos stay interesting (QB controversy, Playoff hunt, etc.) no one will be making any noise about CU.
 
BlackNGold said:
Fair enough. I am hearing that Rick George is going with "we were in a deep hole and it is going to take a long time to get out." excuse.

In reality at most schools it is the big donors who put pressure on the AD to make a coaching change. The more vocal donors have stepped back (ten bad years will do that to you) and other big donors have taken a hands off approach - sending their donations in but not being too visible in public. CU has not had donors to the athletic department that were high profile since the days of Jack Vickers and Bob Six and they both got burned by CU. Neither Benson nor DiStefano have much stomach anymore for making a sweeping change. So overall there is little pressure on George to make a change.

Everything is a snapshot in time. If CU struggles and people start ridiculing the program the AD may be forced to act but today they are hoping to skate by. And that may happen because if the Broncos stay interesting (QB controversy, Playoff hunt, etc.) no one will be making any noise about CU.
Click to expand...
Damn. I want every kid playing for his job this season. I'm tired of this!
 
I agree Black&Gold - Wittingham has always been one of my favorite (all Time) coaches, he's a good one IMO
 
Helfrich had better start delivering or OU may look to make a change.

Graham will be looking elsewhere (he always is).

I think Whittingham may be gone as well, either he will find another gig, or he will be shown the door. He does seem to get it done, but I think he has worn out his welcome at UU.

Rich Rod, hard to say, he would have to have a big collapse to not be back next year.

Dykes wants out. He sees the writing on the wall with Cal's new standards. He was chasing every job that opened up last year, he is going to do the same this year. I would not be surprised if he jumped to Baylor, if they would let him.

Everybody else is safe.

MikMac, well, he will likely be back barring a monumental collapse. Since he will likely be able to point at a OSU win, and at least two OOC wins, that will probably be enough to get another year. Personally, I think CU will be in the 4-5 W range, and it doesn't look to me like anybody in authority really cares enough to force a change. Maybe that is the right way to go, personally, if CU can only muster 2 P12 W's, that would be 4 in five years. I don't know how you can stomach that, but then again, it isn't my show to run.
 
Whittingham would have been my choice here had we canned Hawkins in 2009 like we should have. I think it would have been awkward to do that in the year heading into PAC 12 play in 2011, but it would have worked in 2010.

No sense crying about it at this point, though.

I tend to agree that nobody in this conference is on the hot seat now. If UCLA or Oregon have really disappointing years, like 5-7 type seasons, I could see a change made there.
 
I'm beginning to feel that MacIntyre will be back in 2017.

The big question is who would RG replace MacIntyre with?
 
Jalapeno said:
I'm beginning to feel that MacIntyre will be back in 2017.

The big question is who would RG replace MacIntyre with?
Click to expand...
certainly ... look at the recruiting for 2017
as long as CU doesn't lose to csu and they get a couple of PAC 12 wins he's gold
 
Creebuzz said:
That's interesting. I think the crop of coaches in the PAC 12 to be comparatively bad versus the other conferences.

Helton seems like a reach to me. Helfrich has Oregon in reverse. Dykes has shown nothing.

Leach, Rich Rod, and Mora are ok, but seem to always deliver odd losses.

Peterson may turn out great. Too early to tell, given history of Boise coaching tree. Similar situation with Gary Anderson, but I agree with you that Oregon State was an odd move for him and a tough turnaround.

Graham is such a massive dick that I don't think he can build long term success anywhere. And he not a Nick Saban dick, he's just a dick.

Wittingham and Shaw seem to be the best in the league.
Click to expand...

I disagree. If I look at the Big 10 the top 3 coaches are pretty good - Meyer, Harbaugh and Dantonio. After that there is no one that blows me away - I would put Ferentz and Fitzpatrick below most of the coaches in the PAC12. Big 12 has Stoops, Patterson and Snyder - after that Gundy and then no one. SEC has some very good coaches.

Overall I would say the PAC 12 lacks a premier name - like a Meyer, Saban, Stoops, but the PAC has a lot of solid coaches that would make many top list.

I also don't think Mora is an egotist. He has been around for awhile and knows how tough the business can be. He turned down the Texas job a few years ago and there are not many jobs out there that are a step up from UCLA.
 
It never crossed my mind before, but is there a world where Whittingham jumps over to the other side of the rockies after this year? Our AD and Admin are offering plenty of support and it seems like he'd be welcome if we have another **** year.
 
BlackNGold said:
I disagree. If I look at the Big 10 the top 3 coaches are pretty good - Meyer, Harbaugh and Dantonio. After that there is no one that blows me away - I would put Ferentz and Fitzpatrick below most of the coaches in the PAC12. Big 12 has Stoops, Patterson and Snyder - after that Gundy and then no one. SEC has some very good coaches.

Overall I would say the PAC 12 lacks a premier name - like a Meyer, Saban, Stoops, but the PAC has a lot of solid coaches that would make many top list.

I also don't think Mora is an egotist. He has been around for awhile and knows how tough the business can be. He turned down the Texas job a few years ago and there are not many jobs out there that are a step up from UCLA.
Click to expand...

Shaw is at least on the level of Dantonio. Petersen is in that conversation. What the Pac-12 lacks, though, is a coach who has won a national championship.
 
TimmyDUBs said:
It never crossed my mind before, but is there a world where Whittingham jumps over to the other side of the rockies after this year? Our AD and Admin are offering plenty of support and it seems like he'd be welcome if we have another **** year.
Click to expand...
I would be surprised at that one.

Don't know if it is true, but Bohn supposedly reached out to KW during the last coaching search and KW had no interest. That could just be yet another unfounded coaching rumor so, FWIW.
 
leftybuff said:
I would be surprised at that one.

Don't know if it is true, but Bohn supposedly reached out to KW during the last coaching search and KW had no interest. That could just be yet another unfounded coaching rumor so, FWIW.
Click to expand...

I never heard Whittingham but things were getting desperate so it could of happened. I know he reached out Tedford and to Belloti and they both said no.
 
BNG, best assessment of MacIntyre I've read, couldn't agree more.

Other than Shaw I think the Pac-12 lacks high end coaches. Peterson has not yet proven himself at the big boy level. Mora is an enigma, he needs to win big with Rosen these next two years to be more than a top end of the middle kind of guy. Nobody else even belongs in the high end conversation. Mostly a bunch of decent coaches. Other than Pete Carroll the Pac-12 has not had a consistent top end coach in way too long.
 
BlackNGold said:
I disagree. If I look at the Big 10 the top 3 coaches are pretty good - Meyer, Harbaugh and Dantonio. After that there is no one that blows me away - I would put Ferentz and Fitzpatrick below most of the coaches in the PAC12. Big 12 has Stoops, Patterson and Snyder - after that Gundy and then no one. SEC has some very good coaches.

Overall I would say the PAC 12 lacks a premier name - like a Meyer, Saban, Stoops, but the PAC has a lot of solid coaches that would make many top list.

I also don't think Mora is an egotist. He has been around for awhile and knows how tough the business can be. He turned down the Texas job a few years ago and there are not many jobs out there that are a step up from UCLA.
Click to expand...

Fair enough. Perhaps i am looking at the top too much. I can just remember thinking back a year or so ago and thinking that Jerry Kill would be the best coach in the PAC.
 
Mac2 is on the hot seat. Rick don't like losers. If Mac2 is a loser (4 wins or less) then the Buff signal will be lit looking for a new head coach.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top