August 12, 2004
The Coaching Hot Seat: Part IV - Conference USA
This will be a multi part series, showcasing the last 3 seasons of results of
various major football conferences, and how secure certain coaches will be in
retaining their jobs at the end of this season and beyond. Also, I've
highlighted what schools, if any, are shifting conferences before the 2005
season. Remember that moving conferences typically means more money, which ratchets up the pressure cooker that college coaches find themselves in today.
Part IV - Conference USA
Army - (leaving to be an Independent in 2005)
Head coach: Bobby Ross (1st year: 0-0)
- 2003 - 0-13
- 2002 - 1-11
- 2001 - 3-8
Cincinnati - (leaving to the Big East in 2005)
Head coach: Mark Dantonio (1st year: 0-0)
- 2003 - 5-7
- 2002 - 7-7
- 2001 - 7-5
East Carolina
Head coach: John Thompson (2nd year: 1-11)
- 2003 - 1-11
- 2002 - 4-8
- 2001 - 6-6
Houston
Head coach: Art Briles (2nd year: 7-6)
- 2003 - 7-6
- 2002 - 5-7
- 2001 - 0-11
Louisville - (leaving for Big East 2005)
Head coach: Bobby Petrino (2nd year: 9-4)
- 2003 - 9-4
- 2002 - 7-6
- 2001 - 12-2
Memphis
Head coach: Tommy West (4th year: 17-19)
- 2003 - 9-4
- 2002 - 3-9
- 2001 - 5-6
South Florida - (leaving for Big East in 2005)
Head coach: Jim Leavitt (8th year: 51-26)
- 2003 - 7-4
- 2002 - 6-5
- 2001 - 5-6
Southern Miss
Head coach: Jeff Bower (14th season: 89-62-1)
- 2003 - 9-4
- 2002 - 8-5
- 2001 - 6-5
TCU - (leaving for Mountain West in 2005)
Head coach: Gary Patterson (4th year: 27-11)
- 2003 - 11-2
- 2002 - 10-2
- 2001 - 6-6
Tulane
Head coach: Chris Scelfo (6th year: 26-34)
- 2003 - 5-7
- 2002 - 8-5
- 2001 - 3-9
UAB
Head coach: Watson Brown (10th year: 47-54)
- 2003 - 5-7
- 2002 - 5-7
- 2001 - 6-5
Boatloads of turnover, and more ahead this season in C-USA, both coaching wise and team wise.
TCU, Army, Cincinnati, Louisville and South Florida all leave for greener pastures this season, while Marshall, Central Florida, Tulsa, Rice, SMU and UTEP will join in the fun next season.
New to the C-USA coaching scene this season are Mark Dantonio and Bobby Ross.
ECU's John Thompson dumped a good portion of his staff after a terrible season, being his second season the Pirates AD is apt to give him some leeway, but if ECU continues it's reverse slide, it'll get mighty hot in Greenville.
Watson Brown's been the UAB head man for years of mediocrity, while Jeff Bower has been the head man at Southern Miss for all of that schools ups and downs, neither has job worries at this point. Tommy West finally got things turned around at Memphis, while Art Briles is mildly succeeding at bringing back the glory heydays of Cougar football complete with plenty of gratuitous airing out of the football.
Jim Leavitt's been South Florida's only coach in the school's history, seeing as how the school has gone from I-AA minnow to BCS big fish in less than a decade, he's got it made for years to come.
Chris Scelfo's Green Wave had a down season, perhaps the result of the black cloud the Administration left over the program during the last recruiting season. The NFL QB factory that Scelfo's developed should stay intact.
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