August 28, 2005

The 2005 Coaching Hot Seat - Part IV - Conference USA

With hot seat reports on the ACC, Big 10, and Big East now in the books, Part IV brings us America's Conference, er, Conference USA.

The 2005 edition of Conference USA football will have a different look and feel, thanks to the exodus of Army, Cincinnati, Louisville, South Florida, and TCU, and the arrival of Central Florida, Houston, Marshall, Rice, SMU, Tulsa, and UTEP.

Louisville, South Florida, and TCU were all considered upper division C-USA teams, so their departures will create somewhat of a vacuum atop the league standings. There should be more parity in the league, which will put pressure on a lot of C-USA coaches to contend for the title or at least win more games.

Like most conferences, in C-USA you’ll find safe coaches on teams picked to finish atop the standings, a couple of coaches who need to put up or shut up, and a number of guys that need to show some improvement or hope for the future to stay off the 2006 hot seat list. Interestingly, you’ll find two new head coaches in the league (Mark Snyder at Marshall and Skip Holtz at East Carolina) who could have shorter-than-expected honeymoons if their respective programs don’t make early strides.

Here goes:

Feeling Some Heat

Phil Bennett -- SMU

Common sense tells us that any coach with a 6-29 record over three seasons at a school should be feeling some heat. At SMU, Bennett certainly is. He made strides with a very young squad in 2004--following up a miserable 0-12 mark in 2003 with 3-8 campaign--and 22 starters return, but the Mustang faithful will expect and demand more.

SMU’s non-conference schedule is brutal (by recent Mustang standards) with Baylor, TCU, and Texas A&M on the slate. Bennett probably needs three conference wins, and perhaps four, to avoid the unemployment line.

George O’Leary -- UCF

An 0-11 season has a way of cutting short a honeymoon, even when you’re a coach with a winning track record like George O’Leary. The good news: O’Leary has nowhere to go but up in 2005. The bad news: stout early-season non-conference dates with South Carolina and South Florida, combined with the Golden Knights’ entry into the deep, talent-rich C-USA East will make the going tough for Coach O in Orlando.

O’Leary faces the added pressure of an administration intent on elevating the program and building a new stadium. Steady, solid improvement would seem to make O’Leary the perfect public face for such an effort. Another abysmal season could lead to a quick hook and to UCF looking for a newer, fresher face.

Safe…For The Moment

Mark Snyder -- Marshall

The former Ohio State defensive coordinator returns to his alma mater, succeeding the retired and very successful Bob Pruett. Snyder’s no stranger to the Herd faithful, having enjoyed a standout playing career there during the 1980’s, which should provide him with an instant reservoir of goodwill. However, Thundering Herd fans have been spoiled by a long run of success--having not suffered a losing season since 1983--and expect to be instant contenders in C-USA, just as they were when they entered the MAC in 1997 with a championship season.

Snyder has big shoes to fill and will initially face an uphill climb, as the Herd returns only six starters and is considered to be a notch below Southern Miss, UAB, and Memphis in the new C-USA East. Marshall also faces two rugged non-conference challenges in dates with Kansas State and Virginia Tech.

The new coach can expect to be cut some early slack with a young team that has considerably less talent than the Marshall squads of the recent past, but expect the leash to be pretty short at this traditionally winning program.

Chris Scelfo -- Tulane

In a move that surprised some observers, Tulane extended Scelfo’s contract by two years after last season. The agreement lasts though 2009. The extension was partially thanks in part to a late season surge by the Green Wave, as Scelfo’s squad won four of its last six contests in 2004 after an abysmal 1-4 start.

Tulane returns plenty of offensive firepower, and should be competitive in the new C-USA West. The contract extension alone probably makes Scelfo a safe bet to return in 2006, but a non-winning 2005 would quickly send him right back to the hot seat.

Steve Kragthorpe -- Tulsa

To his credit, Kragthorpe has steered the Golden Hurricane to its only winning season in the past thirteen years. Unfortunately, he followed up that 2003 mark with a less-than-stellar 4-8 season last fall. After 2003, he was considered a hot up-and-comer among college football coaches and his name was thrown around as a candidate for some big school openings. Can he regain that luster in 2005?

Kragthorpe runs an innovative offense that lights up scoreboards, as proven by last season’s 45-42 near-miss against Top 15 WAC powerhouse Boise State and a season ending victory over fellow C-USA entrant UTEP that wrapped up the year on a promising note.

With a fresh contract extension in hand, Kragthorpe should be able to keep the natives happy with a solid rebound season.

Skip Holtz -- East Carolina

The honeymoon is on for newly minted ECU head coach Skip Holtz. As former ECU boss John Thompson learned, however, honeymoons without wins at ECU can prove to be short. The Pirates need to make strides in 2005 if Holtz is to avoid a two-seasons-and-out repeat of the Thompson era. Four wins (and perhaps as few as three) should be enough to buy him some time and extend the honeymoon beyond 2006.

Art Briles -- Houston

The Briles era got off to a solid start in 2003 with a 7-6 campaign, but the Cougars took a step backward in 2004 to 3-8. An experienced UH squad looks poised for a solid rebound. C-USA coaches seemed to echo that notion when they picked Houston to finish a solid second in the West this fall.

The fact that Briles is a UH alum who had a stellar playing career there, coupled with a less punishing non-conference schedule than last year (no Miami, no Oklahoma) and a weaker C-USA West, gives him a bit of breathing room. However, another losing season would turn up the heat.

Ken Hatfield -- Rice

Ken Hatfield enters 2005 as the dean of C-USA West coaches, entering his twelfth season at the Owls helm. Despite coming off three consecutive losing seasons, Hatfield’s career track record of success gives him job stability less experienced coaches wouldn’t have.

Opening up with a revamped offense and non-conference road tilts at UCLA and Texas won’t make for a smooth beginning, but expectation aren’t terribly high at this Houston school, so patience will be the key word. Patience won’t last forever, but the smart money is on Hatfield hanging around for a while.

Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere:

Tommy West -- Memphis

The skinny: West has rejuvenated the Memphis program with two consecutive bowl appearances, and just inked a new extension through 2008 that bumps his base pay for $800,000 per year. His job is safer than safe right now, though continued success may get him a look or two from more prestigious schools that might be hiring. He seems to love being at Memphis and, after a rocky tenure at hot-house Clemson, just might stay put for a long time.

The catch: Expectations have never been higher in Tiger Town, so West will need to park the Tigers at or near the top of C-USA for the next couple of seasons to further cement his safe status.

Watson Brown -- UAB

The skinny: Watson Brown is THE public face of UAB football, and the Blazers are coming off a breakout 7-5 season that included a first-ever bowl trip. It never hurts the ol’ job security when the head coach does double-duty as the AD, as Brown does. That lofty perch, and Brown’s advancing age likely mean he’ll someday retire from the Blazers’ helm on his own timetable.

The catch: UAB’s football has historically been a huge drain on the University’s budget, and not everyone in Birmingham is convinced of or is supportive of its long-term future. Those recent success makes it less realistic, the termination of the entire program is more likely than the termination of Brown alone.

Jeff Bower -- Southern Miss

The skinny: Bower has long been respected as a top-flight coach that gets more with less every season. The Golden Eagles’ helm seems to his as long as he wants it, and--judging from the number of times he’s rebuffed overtures from bigger programs--he seems to want it.

The catch: Don’t look now, but East division rivals Memphis and UAB appear to be gaining ground on Southern Miss, and newcomer Marshall promises to be no pushover. Bower earned his spurs by contending for league titles and upsetting the BCS big boys. However, just as former East Carolina head coach Steve Logan learned, to keep your job as a “giant killer”, you have to keep knocking off the giants.

Mike Price -- UTEP

The skinny: As Coach Price himself proved at Alabama, most coaches are only one night of sin away from the unemployment line. That aside, however, Price is on very solid ground in El Paso, having electrified the program with an 8-4 turnaround season. UTEP football tickets are selling like hotcakes, as the Miners are a consensus pick to win the C-USA West and to perhaps make noise in the Top 25 polls. Price and the Miners seem to be a match made in heaven, and his track record of past success insulates him from pressure, should be team take an unexpected step backward.

The catch: Price seems to have learned a lesson from his Alabama fiasco, so I won’t belabor that point here. However, if his 2005 Miners live up to expectations, a big school that’s hiring will undoubtedly be tempted to make Price an offer. A scenario such is that is a far greater threat to his longevity in El Paso than anything else.

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