College football hot seats: ESPN eyes early names for 2022 season

[Coach Andy Mac]

College football's hot seat is always among one of the sport's biggest discussions. This past season, however, it was something else that sped up the carousel. There were openings at Florida, Notre Dame, LSU and USC. Huge splashes were also made, as LSU hired Brian Kelly away from the Fighting Irish and USC hired Lincoln Riley away from Oklahoma. Next year could bring some more spice.

ESPN's Adam Rittenberg listed a handful of coaches on the hot seat and some others to keep an eye on.

Keep an eye on: Ken Niumatalolo, Navy; Willie Taggart, Florida Atlantic; Seth Littrell, North Texas; Willie Fritz, Tulane; Jason Candle,Toledo; Danny Gonzales, New Mexico; Butch Jones, Arkansas State.

Littrell, once a popular name for Power 5 vacancies, was 8-14 from 2019-20, and the Mean Green started this past season 1-6, but rallied to win their final five games and reach the postseason.

read more:  https://247sports.com/LongFormArticle/College-football-hot-seats-ESPN-eyes-early-names-for-2022-season-181180302/Amp/

 

[greenminer]

IIRC, some were drooling over Fritz before we chose SL.

Edited January 23, 2022 by greenminer

[southsideguy]

SL is not on the hot seat, he survived this year he will be back next year and beyond.  

[UNTLifer]

1 hour ago, greenminer said:

IIRC, some were drooling over Taggart before we chose SL.

I believe Taggart was at WKU at that time.  I recall some folks being in Fritz's corner, yet he has performed much like SL.

[greenminer]

1 hour ago, UNTLifer said:

I believe Taggart was at WKU at that time.  I recall some folks being in Fritz's corner, yet he has performed much like SL.

Good call.  I meant the coach that ended up going to Tulane, so Fritz.

[Pavlovs Eagle]

3 hours ago, southsideguy said:

SL is not on the hot seat, he survived this year he will be back next year and beyond.  

The Old Denton crew in the Hub Club Country Club loves his country Coach Taylor Friday Night Lights approachable swagger.  Just like everyone is happy with how crappy the food has gotten up there, they're also still thrilled with the performance of the Mean Green Football Team.

They should change the Hub Club button on the Apogee elevators from "3" to "6" because most of the people up there just want to "Hit 6" every year.

 

[97and03]

You have to have really swallowed an agenda and just be full of bitterness to think that Littrell isn’t on a hot seat. I think we all knew he would get a pass during the 2020 COVID season (probably justified since he was starting offensive players on D just to fill the lineup due to infection/exposure). And many of us wanted him fired at 1-6 (at least I did). But once he rattled off those wins and got us to a bowl, most reasonable fans understood he was here for another season. I don’t necessarily agree with the decision but I can easily understand why Wren made that call. Imagine trying to line up donors for new AD facilities and improvements but then turning to those donors and asking for three million to fire a coach that turned around the season. (I don’t care who we beat, he adjusted the offense to give us a chance to win and give the D a chance to succeed. That’s the key in my opinion.) I knew once we beat UTsa that he just earned another year. Not crazy about it but it’s just reality. So tired of reading these bullshit “old Denton” posts with all the “woah is me, we are sad and pathetic” nonsense. It was a calculated decision by Wren Baker and it is his job on the line as well. Time to move on. If Seth isn’t successful next season, the he is gone and I don’t know how anyone doesn’t get that. 

[UNT Texas Hooligan]

7 hours ago, 97and03 said:

You have to have really swallowed an agenda and just be full of bitterness to think that Littrell isn’t on a hot seat. I think we all knew he would get a pass during the 2020 COVID season (probably justified since he was starting offensive players on D just to fill the lineup due to infection/exposure). And many of us wanted him fired at 1-6 (at least I did). But once he rattled off those wins and got us to a bowl, most reasonable fans understood he was here for another season. I don’t necessarily agree with the decision but I can easily understand why Wren made that call. Imagine trying to line up donors for new AD facilities and improvements but then turning to those donors and asking for three million to fire a coach that turned around the season. (I don’t care who we beat, he adjusted the offense to give us a chance to win and give the D a chance to succeed. That’s the key in my opinion.) I knew once we beat UTsa that he just earned another year. Not crazy about it but it’s just reality. So tired of reading these bullshit “old Denton” posts with all the “woah is me, we are sad and pathetic” nonsense. It was a calculated decision by Wren Baker and it is his job on the line as well. Time to move on. If Seth isn’t successful next season, the he is gone and I don’t know how anyone doesn’t get that. 

 

Agreed. I don't know how some people don't think he's on the hot seat next season. I really think a lot of people who try to argue he isn't on the hot seat/can't be fired next season are just trolling.

[southsideguy]

All he has to do is be at 500 to continue on here.  He has an easy schedule to do it with.   Those five wins this season were against teams that are bottom dwellers with the exception of UTSA.   UTEP was a paper tiger because they had an easy schedule to pump up their win total.  The bowl game was reminder of what this team was before the winning streak. 

I won't have to worry about it next year, I am not going to renew my season tickets.  I will go to the Vegas game just because my wife wants to visit her family and I can escape them for the evening.  

Edited January 23, 2022 by southsideguy

[RBP79]

2 hours ago, southsideguy said:

All he has to do is be at 500 to continue on here.  He has an easy schedule to do it with.   Those five wins this season were against teams that are bottom dwellers with the exception of UTSA.   UTEP was a paper tiger because they had an easy schedule to pump up their win total.  The bowl game was reminder of what this team was before the winning streak. 

I won't have to worry about it next year, I am not going to renew my season tickets.  I will go to the Vegas game just because my wife wants to visit her family and I can escape them for the evening.  

Well not defending SL but our #1 RB decided not to play in the Bowl Game which changed the offensive game plan. If he played I feel certain the outcome would of been different....

I would of been begging him to play...maybe Seth did.

 

 

 

 

[greenminer]

If we weren't going to all these bowls with 4-6 wins, would we still keep SL?

I wonder if the sheer volume of bowls being handed out like candy are negatively impacting college football, allowed ADs across the country (the ones sitting at appx. 0.500 for the season) to celebrate one postseason game, and keep a coach they would otherwise be trying to fire. 

Edited January 23, 2022 by greenminer

[Graddean]

Dean Smith was hanged in effigy twice during his fourth year at North Carolina by students. 

[NT80]

2 hours ago, greenminer said:

If we weren't going to all these bowls with 4-6 wins, would we still keep SL?

I wonder if the sheer volume of bowls being handed out like candy are negatively impacting college football, allowed ADs across the country (the ones sitting at appx. 0.500 for the season) to celebrate one postseason game, and keep a coach they would otherwise be trying to fire. 

No.   Participation trophies are no reason to retain a coach with an overall losing record as such coach.   

[greenjoe]

I hate to see North Texas fans attempt to influence the decisions Wren makes by threatening to not buy season tickets.  The most important thing Mean Green fans can do to support our program us to join the Mean Green Scholarship Fund, buy season tickets, and attend home games.  To do otherwise is to be another car driving past Apogee at 70 mph.  

[untjim1995]

18 hours ago, NT80 said:

No.   Participation trophies are no reason to retain a coach with an overall losing record as such coach.   

I'm assuming the 80 part of your username is the year you graduated from here. Mine is 95 because that is when I graduated. At no time in our lives of following this place has retaining a coach here not been about money. Hell, our practice fields are named after a coach who lost 24 more games here than he won. Participation trophies, winning a subpar conference, making a bowl game with less than a winning record, or anything else are all reasons thrown out there by the AD, BOR, or homer fans that like the coach to sway opinion as to why a coach isn't being fired in a revenue sport here. In reality, if the AD would simply say, "It's all about the lack of funding and support here. I can't fire anyone because we cannot afford it or the university chooses not to spend money towards it. It's the simple.", I think the fans would appreciate the candor. We all know what the true situation is here, where about 2% of the alumni care to even follow the team. Hell, it might just influence a few or more to actually give more to help the AD out with this stuff, much like the Portland State debacle made the UNT 17 open up the wallets to get rid of McCarney on the spot. 

[NT80]

1 hour ago, untjim1995 said:

I'm assuming the 80 part of your username is the year you graduated from here. Mine is 95 because that is when I graduated. At no time in our lives of following this place has retaining a coach here not been about money. Hell, our practice fields are named after a coach who lost 24 more games here than he won. Participation trophies, winning a subpar conference, making a bowl game with less than a winning record, or anything else are all reasons thrown out there by the AD, BOR, or homer fans that like the coach to sway opinion as to why a coach isn't being fired in a revenue sport here. In reality, if the AD would simply say, "It's all about the lack of funding and support here. I can't fire anyone because we cannot afford it or the university chooses not to spend money towards it. It's the simple.", I think the fans would appreciate the candor. We all know what the true situation is here, where about 2% of the alumni care to even follow the team. Hell, it might just influence a few or more to actually give more to help the AD out with this stuff, much like the Portland State debacle made the UNT 17 open up the wallets to get rid of McCarney on the spot. 

Excellent post.  To follow North Texas sports for a long period of time one must usually be satisfied with a good achievement for every multiple disappointments in the program.  We are not unlike many programs at our level that revenue, or lack of, determines what improvements can be made and how fast.  More candor would certainly be welcome, but as I recall from the Gene Stallings' total NT Athletics program review under RV, candor is not pretty sometimes.  

[UNTLifer]

2 hours ago, untjim1995 said:

I'm assuming the 80 part of your username is the year you graduated from here. Mine is 95 because that is when I graduated. At no time in our lives of following this place has retaining a coach here not been about money. Hell, our practice fields are named after a coach who lost 24 more games here than he won. Participation trophies, winning a subpar conference, making a bowl game with less than a winning record, or anything else are all reasons thrown out there by the AD, BOR, or homer fans that like the coach to sway opinion as to why a coach isn't being fired in a revenue sport here. In reality, if the AD would simply say, "It's all about the lack of funding and support here. I can't fire anyone because we cannot afford it or the university chooses not to spend money towards it. It's the simple.", I think the fans would appreciate the candor. We all know what the true situation is here, where about 2% of the alumni care to even follow the team. Hell, it might just influence a few or more to actually give more to help the AD out with this stuff, much like the Portland State debacle made the UNT 17 open up the wallets to get rid of McCarney on the spot. 

Although the department just reported a profit and WB was signed to an extension with a hefting raise?  I don't think money is the issue.  In 1980 or 1995?  Yes, absolutely, but not current day.

[LongJim]

On 1/23/2022 at 2:42 AM, 97and03 said:

But once he rattled off those wins and got us to a bowl, most reasonable fans understood he was here for another season.  (I don’t care who we beat, he adjusted the offense to give us a chance to win and give the D a chance to succeed. That’s the key in my opinion.)

Do you think this happened because of good coaching, or can it be attributed to everything SL learned from Graham Harrell?

[untjim1995]

48 minutes ago, UNTLifer said:

Although the department just reported a profit and WB was signed to an extension with a hefting raise?  I don't think money is the issue.  In 1980 or 1995?  Yes, absolutely, but not current day.

There is a difference between having money and choosing to spend money. We have it, yet we decided to keep our coach who had yet another losing season and lost another bowl game, this time in his own back yard to a spare MAC team.

I think the reality is that we all have to understand that 2022 is make-or-break for SL because he has only 1 year of a buyout. If he wins 7+ games, he's getting extended, at least 3 or 4 more years. If he doesn't, we buy him out and we move on because its affordable enough to do for the leadership. But this schedule ahead is cush...easiest one I've ever seen us play as a FBS program by a mile. We should go 7-6 at a minimum. winning 8 or 9 games is very possible.

[DeepGreen]

5 hours ago, untjim1995 said:

In reality, if the AD would simply say, "It's all about the lack of funding and support here. I can't fire anyone because we cannot afford it or the university chooses not to spend money towards it. It's the simple

I've always said, if every living teacher that ever graduated from UNT would donate $25-50 a year to Athletics we would never have a money issue.

[NM Green]

No way Seth gets more years for a 7 win season in 2022. Seth has run his course in Denton but we have to be partners this year.  Even if Seth pulls off a UTSA run he doesn’t get extended. It’s a marriage of convenience at this point. Its one more year.   Balls out and get us into a New Year’s Day six game or go bowling in Frisco again or just beat smu and UTSA. 2022 is the epitome of a transition year with new coach in waiting I believe. 
 

if Seth exits on an upbeat note meaning championship and bowl win we’ll all have a good Christmas.

GMG

[untjim1995]

12 hours ago, NM Green said:

No way Seth gets more years for a 7 win season in 2022. Seth has run his course in Denton but we have to be partners this year.  Even if Seth pulls off a UTSA run he doesn’t get extended. It’s a marriage of convenience at this point. Its one more year.   Balls out and get us into a New Year’s Day six game or go bowling in Frisco again or just beat smu and UTSA. 2022 is the epitome of a transition year with new coach in waiting I believe. 
 

if Seth exits on an upbeat note meaning championship and bowl win we’ll all have a good Christmas.

GMG

Man, I don’t see any way he gets let go of after next year if we 7 games. The Lovelace’s think of SL as a son. They’re not gonna just divorce those feelings and money. And we aren’t gonna let them, as we need their cash.

SL got the easiest schedule he could’ve asked for to earn an extension next year. He deserves to be let go of if he can’t win 7 games against it. But 7 games won here shows another year of improvement and it would represent only the 7th winning season since 1995. That ain’t getting you fired in Denton. That’s getting you extended, which is probably another 3-4 years added to his current contract.

[UNT Texas Hooligan]

2 hours ago, untjim1995 said:

Man, I don’t see any way he gets let go of after next year if we 7 games. The Lovelace’s think of SL as a son. They’re not gonna just divorce those feelings and money. And we aren’t gonna let them, as we need their cash.

SL got the easiest schedule he could’ve asked for to earn an extension next year. He deserves to be let go of if he can’t win 7 games against it. But 7 games won here shows another year of improvement and it would represent only the 7th winning season since 1995. That ain’t getting you fired in Denton. That’s getting you extended, which is probably another 3-4 years added to his current contract.

Even if he won 7 games next season, I think if he's loses his bowl game, he's out. At what point do you realize we have reached a ceiling with a coach? I would hope it's after a 6th bowl loss and zero hardware in the trophy cabinet after 7 seasons. 

[UNTLifer]

On 1/23/2022 at 2:42 AM, 97and03 said:

You have to have really swallowed an agenda and just be full of bitterness to think that Littrell isn’t on a hot seat. I think we all knew he would get a pass during the 2020 COVID season (probably justified since he was starting offensive players on D just to fill the lineup due to infection/exposure). And many of us wanted him fired at 1-6 (at least I did). But once he rattled off those wins and got us to a bowl, most reasonable fans understood he was here for another season. I don’t necessarily agree with the decision but I can easily understand why Wren made that call. Imagine trying to line up donors for new AD facilities and improvements but then turning to those donors and asking for three million to fire a coach that turned around the season. (I don’t care who we beat, he adjusted the offense to give us a chance to win and give the D a chance to succeed. That’s the key in my opinion.) I knew once we beat UTsa that he just earned another year. Not crazy about it but it’s just reality. So tired of reading these bullshit “old Denton” posts with all the “woah is me, we are sad and pathetic” nonsense. It was a calculated decision by Wren Baker and it is his job on the line as well. Time to move on. If Seth isn’t successful next season, the he is gone and I don’t know how anyone doesn’t get that. 

This is spot on.  Great post.

On 1/23/2022 at 3:04 PM, RBP79 said:

Well not defending SL but our #1 RB decided not to play in the Bowl Game which changed the offensive game plan. If he played I feel certain the outcome would of been different....

I would of been begging him to play...maybe Seth did.

How did it change the game plan?  I saw the same offense I watched all year.

[RBP79]

13 minutes ago, UNTLifer said:

This is spot on.  Great post.

How did it change the game plan?  I saw the same offense I watched all year.

Hmmm..Guess when your leading rusher doesn't play makes no difference. 

32 attempts for 80+ rushing and 32 or so attempts at passing .... I thought this team relied on rushing to move the ball.

 

 

 

Edited January 25, 2022 by RBP79