Coaching Update

The Coaching Carousel has been updated with the upcoming UNLV and San Jose State openings.

Several other jobs will open up in the next few weeks, so I'll make some predictions about what could happen in each conference.

ACC: Florida State needs to beat Maryland at home this weekend or beat Florida in the finale to keep its bowl streak alive. I think Bobby Bowden wants to stick around one more year, but missing out on a bowl may be what pushes him out. Maryland and Virginia will almost definitely make a change. Maryland has tabbed OC James Franklin as the head coach in waiting, but it's also possible to see them gut the entire staff regardless if they want a blank slate.

Big 12: Eight teams are bowl eligible and three others could become eligible. The only team that definitely isn't going to the postseason is the only job that might come open. Colorado is 4-7, and more importantly doesn't seem to be improving under Dan Hawkins. Mike Sherman at Texas A&M is a longshot, but they only need to beat Baylor this weekend to get to six wins. The Aggies have been very erratic, but they have improved in Sherman's second season. It's possible that neither program will make a move for financial reasons.

Big East: Louisville is probably coming open this offseason. Steve Kragthorpe hasn't had anywhere near the success that Bobby Petrino had previously, hovering just under a .500 record. The move might not be based entirely on the on-field results. Louisville is expanding its stadium to hold 60,000 in 2010, including many luxury boxes and premium seats. The administration may want to make a splashy hire to get the fanbase excited and help sell the premium tickets. No other coach in the conference will get fired, but Brian Kelly at Cincinnati will be mentioned for every elite job that comes available.

Big Ten: Michigan is an interesting situation. After making 33 straight bowl games, Michigan is a very likely loss to Ohio State away from missing the postseason for two straight seasons. When the only conference win is against Indiana, the fanbase is going to be restless. Couple the lack of success with an ongoing NCAA investigation, and the Rich Rodriguez era could meet an abrupt end. I would say Ron Zook might be on the hot seat at Illinois, but the AD has said the Zook's job is safe for next season.

C-USA: Tommy West at Memphis is already out. Mark Snyder might be back on the host seat after back-to-back conference losses to UCF and Southern Miss. At one point, Marshall was leading to win the East division and was on the way to win 7-8 regular season games. Now they are back at .500 and a move might be made even if they go bowling. George O'Leary looked like a possibility earlier in the season, but knocking off #15 Houston should go a long way. UCF is looking at a 7-8 win season and probably an invite to the nearby St. Petersburg bowl. Mike Price at UTEP could be gone. The administration and fanbase are probably sick of the early and midseason potential prior to the annual November collapse. A loss to Rice this weekend may seal his fate.

Independents: Army and Navy are safe, so that just leaves Notre Dame. The Irish's four losses have come by a combined 18 points, but most of the wins have been close too. Most of Weis's critics wouldn't be quite so loud if he didn't lose home games to Syracuse and Navy.

MAC: Stan Parrish at Ball State might not make it to his second season, after taking a 12-2 team to a 1-9 record with likely losses in the final two games. The good: they've been competitive, losing seven games by 10 or fewer points. The bad: some of those close losses were to North Texas at home, FCS member New Hampshire, and Army. The only other possible firing would be J.D. Brookhart at Akron, who is mired in a 2-8 season and four years removed from their last bowl game.

Mountain West: Mike Sanford at UNLV is gone. Mike Lockley could be gone after just one season due to a combination of blowout losses and an embarassing scandal. They haven't won a game all season. The loss to rival New Mexico State was the first since 2002. Oddly enough, they played BYU very close last week, so maybe the team is improving and Locksley will be given a second chance.

Pac-10: Paul Wulff at Washington State could be gone after two seasons. They've barely improved in year two of his system. The offense is averaging fewer than 14 points per game, and the defense is giving up 39 ppg. I don't know how patient the adminstration can be with Wulff.

SEC: Every job should be safe. Rich Brooks at Kentucky is almost 70 years old and may be on retirement watch. Also, every season it seems that there are rumors that Steve Spurrier is going to retire, although he always denies them.

Sun Belt: David Elson at Western Kentucky is already gone. Steve Roberts at Arkansas State has had a disappointing season with several close losses, and it is taking a long time for Todd Dodge at North Texas to get his system working. Regardless, both coaches should be safe this offseason.

WAC: Dick Tomey at San Jose State is retiring at the end of the season. No other job should become avaiable.