SEC Football ‘Hot Seats’ and heads already rolling
By Ronald Evans
The SEC Football coaching carousel is already in motion. The casualties so far have been assistant coaches. Often assistants become scapegoats for more serious problems in a program. That does not seem to be the case at Auburn when wide receivers assistant, Cornelius Williams departed last week.
The more recent firing was the defensive line coach at Missouri. After the Tennessee Vols ran around, over and away from Missouri Saturday, for an inexcusable 458 yards, someone on the staff had to go. Defensive line coach, Jethro Franklin became the guy. He may not be the last on Eli Drinkwitz’s staff.
Counting down to the ‘Hottest Seat in the SEC’ are five coaches. They are mostly, but not solely assistant coaches.
SEC Football Hot Seats
No. 5 – Darrell Dickey – Texas A&M Offensive Coordinator
The Aggies are staggering and the only thing guarding Jimbo against a hot seat is big buyout dollars. That and a reluctance to admit the foolishness of throwing massive dollars at him in his first contract and subsequent extension.
Barring what now looks like what would be a major upset Saturday night in College Station, the Aggies will go to 0-3 in the SEC. The well-traveled Dickey, whose one head coaching gig produced a 42-64 record at North Texas, is the most likely College Station scapegoat.
If not Dickey,
No. 4 – Mike Elko – Texas A&M Defensive Coordinator
Elko has a reputation as a top DC. He made marked improvement in Notre Dame defenses before Jimbo Fisher hired him four seasons ago. Defense is not the problem in College Station, but it has not quite lived up to preseason optimism. The Aggies have the fourth-best pass defense in the SEC, but just the ninth-best run defense. They are No. 2 among SEC football teams in Scoring Defense at 12.6 points per game. It would make zero sense to fire Elko. But after Saturday night, already burning anxiety in College Station could explode, with only Jimbo safely in a bunker.