I know this isn't going to make me a bunch of friends, but oh well. The good
news (for me) is that anyone who wants to call and blast me for putting them on
this list is going to have to wait a little while since my cell phone slipped
out of my pocket this morning when my wife was dropping me off to pick up our
other car (yes, I blew out a tire the other day when I hit a curb).
Since I'll have a story on a dozen coaches on the proverbial hot seat coming
out this afternoon, I figured I'd put something out with the coach with the
most pressure on them in each conference. We'll start with the BCS leagues:
ACC
Sidney Lowe, N.C. State - It's one of those "be careful what you wish for"
deals. Wolfpack fans ran Herb Sendek out of Raleigh despite five consecutive
NCAA tournament appearances. Lowe is 51-46 in his three seasons without an NCAA
tournament bid and this is a make or break year.
BIG EAST
Jerry Wainwright, DePaul - The Blue Demons didn't win a single Big East game
this past season and are 49-72 in his four seasons since taking over the
program. Wainwright, who had success at UNC Wilmington and Richmond prior to
his arrival in 2005, revamped his entire staff with a collection of Chicago
guys this past offseason, but it may be too late to turn things around.
BIG TEN
Todd Lickliter, Iowa - He's not on the verge of being let go, but Lickliter
needs to start the process of getting things going in the right direction after
a 28-36 mark in his two seasons. It didn't help that he lost four players due
to transfer - including guards Jeff Peterson and Jake Kelly - two of his top
three scorers.
BIG 12
Greg McDermott, Iowa State - He's got a long-term deal, but the former Northern
Iowa head man still needs to - especially with the return of star Craig
Brackins - put up a winning season. In three seasons, he's finished 7th,
11th and 10th in the Big 12.
PAC-10
Ernie Kent, Oregon - It seems as though Kent has been on the hot seat forever
and he probably would have been history this past offseason if Mark Few had
agreed to take the job. The Ducks were just 8-23 last season and finished in
the cellar of the Pac-10.
SEC
Jeff Lebo, Auburn - After four consecutive seasons of missing out on the
postseason, Lebo led the Tigers to a 24-win campaign and an NIT berth. However,
he'll still have to make certain that Auburn doesn't go back towards the bottom
of the SEC.
A-10
Dereck Whittenburg, Fordham - The Rams coach has virtually nothing going for
him these days. He lost his second-best player, Mike Moore, and his best
player, Jio Fontan, is leaving despite the school's reluctance to release him.
Fordham finished 12th in the A-10 two years ago and was 3-25 overall
and 1-15 in league play last season.
AMERICA EAST
Ted Woodward, Maine - The Black Bears were 8-21 last season, pushing Woodward's
career mark in Orono to 53-93 in his five seasons.
ATLANTIC SUN
Tony Ingle, Kennesaw State - The Owls finished 7-22 overall last season and
3-17 in the league - the program's fourth season in the A-Sun. The four-year
league mark stands at 29-45.
BIG SKY
Brad Huse, Montana State - The Big Sky appears stable coaching-wise for the
next year, but Huse needs to get the Bobcats in the top half of the league for
the first time since he took over in 2006. Montana State hasn't been bad in his
three seasons with a 40-51 mark, but the Bobcats haven't broken through,
either.
BIG SOUTH
Barclay Radebaugh, Charleston Southern - The Buccaneers are 40-78 in his four
years at the helm and have averaged nine victories per season over the past three
years.
BIG WEST
Pat Douglass, UC Irvine - He's the school's all-time
winningest coach, but the Anteaters have been mediocre of late. In fact, UC
Irvine hasn't finished more than three games over .500 since 2003 - and
Douglass' team was 12-19 last season.
CAA
Pat Kennedy, Towson - It was somewhat surprising the former Florida State and
DePaul coach made it through the offseason. He's 40 games under the .500 mark
in his five seasons leading up the Tigers program.
C-USA
Matt Doherty, SMU - Things haven't exactly worked out well since he was forced
out of Chapel Hill. Doherty needs to win this season after a 46-74 mark in four
seasons - including a 9-21 campaign and a last-place finish in C-USA last
season.
HORIZON
Jerry Slocum, Youngstown State - The Penguins haven't had a ton of success over
the years and Slocum has struggled to a 41-78 mark in his four-year tenure.
IVY
Terry Dunn, Dartmouth - There's not a ton of turnover in the Ivy, but Dunn
needs to have a quality season after a 9-19 campaign a year ago that pushed his
career mark with the Big Green to 34-75.
MAAC
Tom Parrotta, Canisius - The Golden Griffins were 11-20 last season and
finished in ninth place in the league - and the program is 29-64 in his three
years since taking over.
MAC
Charles Ramsey, Eastern Michigan - The Eagles are 42-81 in the four years since
Ramsey took the reigns. Eastern Michigan was 8-24 last season and 6-10 in
league play.
MEAC
Gil Jackson, Howard - The Bison finished in 10th place last season
and Jackson has averaged nine wins in his four years at the helm.
MISSOURI VALLEY
None - There's honestly not a coach in the league with any legitimate pressure
to have to win this season.
MOUNTAIN WEST
Tim Miles, Colorado State - There really isn't anyone in the league in jeopardy of being fired, but Miles needs to take another step in turning things around. The Rams were 7-25 in his first season and 9-22 last season.
NORTHEAST
Dave Calloway, Monmouth - Calloway has been at the school for a dozen years and
had success early in the decade, but the program is just 27-65 in the last
three seasons.
OHIO VALLEY
Mike Miller, Eastern Illinois - Miller had his most successful season in his
four-year tenure and still was just 12-18 overall. The Panthers head man is
23-63 overall and 17-43 in OVC play.
PATRIOT
I initially posted Lafayette's Fran O'Hanlon in this space because he hasn't had a winning record in the last five years, but then found out he has a long-term deal in place through 2017 or so and isn't in any danger - for now. He's obviously a class guy and should be alright - as long as the next five years aren't like the past five.
SOUTHERN
Jeff Jackson, Furman - The Paladins finished 6-24 overall last season and 4-16
in SoCon play. In his three seasons, Jackson is 28-63 overall and 18-40 in
league play.
SOUTHLAND
Doug Davalos, Texas State - The Bobcats are coming off a decent 14-16 season,
but have a 36-52 mark in Davalos' three seasons.
SUMMIT
Matt Brown, UMKC - Brown has only been the head coach for two years, so he
should be fine for the time being. However, he'll need to begin to make strides
in the win-loss column after a 7-24 mark and a 3-15 league record last season -
one which followed a 11-21 record during his rookie campaign.
SUN BELT
Kermit Davis, Middle Tennessee - The Blue Raiders are 118-96 in Davis' seven
years, but the expectations are high and Middle hasn't won a regular-season
title or a tournament championship in his tenure.
SWAC
Tony Harvey, Texas Southern - Harvey has only been in charge of the program for
one year and was 7-25 this past season, but it's how he handles himself on and
off the court - and the fact that he wasn't hired by current athletic director
Charles McClelland that could have pressure on him to win sooner rather than
later.
WAC
Steve Cleveland, Fresno State - The former BYU coach has endured two terrible
seasons that have his overall school record at .500. But the Bulldogs have won 13 games each of the past two
years and have just one NIT appearance in his four seasons at the helm.
WEST COAST
None - Much like the Missouri Valley, I couldn't find a single coach that is in
any legitimate jeopardy this season.