Which coaches are facing the most pressure to produce in 2021
Every year there are a few schools who enter the season with coaches on the hot seat. Maybe that hot seat implies the common perception that a coach will be fired at season’s end. Or it could mean if results don’t come this year, next year they could lose their job if things don’t turn around. The lukewarm seat.
Either way, the goal is to not be considered for this list next year.
Below is who I believe fits the above definitions entering the 2021 season.
Jim Harbaugh – Michigan
We start with the obvious one in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Harbaugh is entering his seventh season as the head coach of the Wolverines. The program is coming off its worst record under his guidance after finishing 2-4 in 2020. Some fans thought he would be shown the door after last year, but he actually came back to the program with a four year extension.
Even though he was given the extension, the contract allows the school to move on fairly easily if things don’t work out. The deal cut guaranteed money from Harbaugh so more could go to hiring assistant coaches.
Now, after flipping more than half of the coaching staff this off-season, Harbaugh has to get the Wolverines back to a competitive level again.
Michigan doesn’t lack the talent to compete as Harbaugh has recruited well while in charge of the program. However, with a new staff bringing new ideas and working to get more out of the talent than the prior staff did, this is the last window of opportunity for Harbaugh.
What benchmarks Harbaugh needs to hit this year to see another year is anyone’s guess. Though a good spot to start would be beating your in-state rival MSU, while achieving a victory over Washington or Penn State. It’s probably too soon to be expecting a win over the Buckeyes.
Scott Frost – Nebraska
It is a shame what this once dominant program has become. For a fan base as large and passionate as Cornhusker fans are, they deserve more.
Scott Frost returned to Nebraska as head coach, after playing quarterback for the school in the mid-90’s. After the successful run as head coach at UCF, their was much hype when he returned to Lincoln in December of 2017.
As we enter the 2021 season, which will be Frost’s fourth season at the helm, the Cornhuskers must show improvement.
Many fans of the team understood it would take time to build the program in the image Frost wanted. But while those prior years had the excuse of working through that process, it’s now time for production.
For Frost and the Cornhuskers, a successful season may simply entail a bowl bid at the end of 2021. The last time the program was in a bowl game was 2016, when they lost to Tennessee 38-24 in the Music City Bowl.
If the team can qualify for any bowl, it should validate that Frost should stay to continue growing the program. If not, Nebraska could be back to square one of a rebuild with a new staff.
Jeff Brohm – Purdue
If someone were to ask me on the street if Jeff Brohm would be let go if the team doesn’t do well next season, I would answer no. But if they don’t do well, his chair could be the hottest in the conference with his contract being the only thing keeping him from losing it.
Brohm’s story is one of a reverse trajectory, unfortunately. His first two years as head coach of the Boilermakers saw each season end with bowl appearances. With a 13-13 record after two years, rumors swirled that he could leave for the Louisville job when it opened up that off-season.
Ultimately, Brohm elected to stay with Purdue, signing a contract extension through 2025. The contract at the time made him one of the highest paid coaches in the sport.
Then Purdue went 4-8 in 2019. The 2020 season was basically a smaller version of 2019, as the Boilermakers went 2-4.
Some Purdue fans went from fretting the potential loss of Brohm to another program, to now wondering if they are stuck with him till it’s more manageable to cut up the contract.
If Brohm wants to change the narrative, he most likely has at least this year and next to do so. Getting close, if not achieving, six wins is key. Anything below five wins and fans may call for his canning, no matter what the contract states.
Mike Locksley – Maryland
Locksley showing up on this list may surprise some people, and I am not saying he is in danger of losing his job by the end of the season. As mentioned above though, he may have a lukewarm seat, and here’s why.
Maryland under Locksley has done a fine job bringing in talent via both the transfer portal and through recruiting. There was the transfer of quaterback Taulia Tagovailoa to the Terrapins from Alabama, and this past recruiting cycle saw the Maryland staff land the 18th best class in the country. In that class they landed the number one linebacker recruit, Terrence Lewis.
On paper, the Maryland roster has promise and fans of the Terrapins are excited for the the fall.
But what if Maryland doesn’t make a dent in the highly competitive East division? There of course is the big three, OSU, PSU, and Michigan, Maryland will still have to contend with. Not to mention Indiana is no pushover anymore, Rutgers is doing some fine things in terms of roster building, and Michigan State could surprise with their revamped roster.
This will be Locksley’s third season in charge of Maryland football. Entering into this season, his record stands at 6-17 overall
If Locksley has the Terrapins battling to stay out of the basement in the East by season’s end, he may be feeling very uncomfortable entering into 2022.
James Franklin – Penn State
Ok, maybe this one surprises you.
James Franklin is another case of someone who isn’t in danger of losing his job at season’s end. His situation though could very well turn into a blaze if 2021 goes off the rails.
Penn State has a strong argument that their program was one of the hardest hit in the entire country thanks to Covid-19. No one in that fan base wants to go through that joy-ride again.
After finishing the year 4-5, most fans out there are willing to look at this season as a fluke. A blip on the radar to bigger and brighter things when everything returns to normal. All James Franklin has to do is return the program to its 2019 and 2018 forms.
Franklin has given no one reason to doubt he won’t be able to accomplish that. I, for one, believe that Penn State will be challenging Ohio State for the East crown.
Though, if Penn State doesn’t recover, and they limp to some middle of the road season…
Well there’s that blaze I was talking about.