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The 2021 college football regular season has wrapped up and this is officially where hot seat speculation starts to wind down. At this point in the season, several prominent names usually featured on this list have been removed from their positions. Others have been given the vote of confidence for at least another year, while a third group is awaiting its fate as the season. Here are the list of jobs that could open up with the regular season done, and are worth monitoring for college football fans going forward.
Manny Diaz, Miami
This is a big job, and Diaz’s resume clearly shows he hasn’t done enough to justify sticking around. However, the landscape looks quite grim at the moment when it comes to quality candidates. The big names are locking up extensions at their current schools, while several other programs like USC and LSU hold more weight than the Canes. If Diaz survives, he’ll enter next season with a “win or else” directive under a new athletic director in Coral Gables.
Mike Norvell, Florida State
Norvell saw his team lose is disastrous fashion to a Florida team which just parted ways with Dan Mullen. However, the embattled coach did manage to get to five wins despite his rocky start. The university is dealing with financial issues and entering a coaching search with USC, LSU and Florida might not be in the budget this offseason. If Norvell returns, he’ll have the same directive as Diaz would if the Hurricanes coach comes back.
Geoff Collins, Georgia Tech
Georgia Tech isn’t going to pull the plug on the Geoff Collins experience just yet. It was understood that the overhaul of the Yellow Jacket football program would be a yearslong process and Collins would get time to fully transition Tech out of Paul Johnson’s option-dominated scheme into something more modern. However, the transition hasn’t been pretty in Atlanta. Georgia Tech hasn’t shown much tangible, on-field progress in three years under Collins and a 45-0 shutout loss to UGA on Saturday was the capper on a miserable 3-9 campaign. Again, Collins will get his time, but he needs to get a move on and start showing major steps forward in 2022.
David Shaw, Stanford
It was another down season at Stanford for Shaw, who is starting to feel the pressure build after a successful run until recent seasons. The Cardinal have had resources and cache but recruiting has been an issue due to the school’s lofty academic standards. Unlike some of the other coaches on this list. Shaw has had some success early in his tenure. That might be enough to allow him to stick around through one more coaching cycle.
Justin Wilcox, California
Cal is not in the business of competing for national championships in football every year but the program does have a baseline for success. Wilcox seemed to be on an upward trajectory after his first three seasons before plummeting to four wins over the last two seasons. The Bears can still get a win when they play USC next week, although that won’t get them to a bowl game. The only way Wilcox gets a reprieve is if the administration decides the COVID pandemic played a big hand in the team’s recent failures. Wilcox’s name has also been floated around for the Washington opening, so Cal’s decision could be made for them by a Pac-12 North rival.