Troy Calhoun and 30 other FBS coaches “can’t be touched” this season, according to a CBS Sports columnist’s analysis of job security. (US Presswire photo by Ron Chenoy)
All good speculative offseason college football posts need a gimmick, and CBSSports.com’s Dennis Dodd has a great one: Ranking every Football Bowl Subdivision coach’s job security.
The 2012 Coach Hot Seat Ratings include few surprises — Nick Saban’s job at Alabama is safe, oddly enough — and they bode well for Air Force head man Troy Calhoun, who joins Saban and 29 other coaches with 0.0 ratings, or “can’t be touched.” That’s an improvement from a 0.5 score last year.
Navy’s Ken Niumatalolo went the opposite direction after posting his first losing season at Navy, moving from a 0.5 in 2011 to a 1.0 this year. Army’s Rich Ellerson got the worst news of the academy bunch, moving from a 0.5 to a 3.0 (“on the bubble, feeling pressure”). The 2.5-point leap for Ellerson, whose Black Knights went 3-9 in 2011 after reaching a bowl game and finishing 7-6 in 2010, was topped only by Oregon’s Chip Kelly (0.0 to 3.0), Syracuse’s Doug Marrone (0.5 to 3.5) and Idaho’s Robb Akey (1.0 to 4.0). Dodd ranks 30 coaches at 3.0 or higher.
Former Navy head coach Paul Johnson checked in at 1.0 (“very safe”) with Georgia Tech.
Dodd’s fellow CBS Sports writers Bruce Feldman and Brett McMurphy weighed in with thoughts and analysis on the rankings. Leave your say in the comments below: Are the academy coaching jobs safe? Should they be?
