Week 6 of the 2023 college football season saw some massive results impacting the big picture, headlined by Oklahoma’s victory over Texas and Louisville’s triumph over Notre Dame. There were also some games which saw coaches on the hot seat sliding further towards the exit door. Here’s a look at which coaches are under the microscope after another disappointing week.
Sam Pittman, Arkansas
It’s just not happening for the Razorbacks. Pittman had an opportunity to take down Ole Miss and saw his team give up 10 unanswered points to close out the fourth quarter in another loss. This is the fourth week where things seemed to be going right before taking a turn at the worst possible time. If Pittman didn’t have KJ Jefferson back at quarterback, these struggles might’ve been more acceptable. The Arkansas athletic department is going to have to re-evaluate things after this season.
Brent Pry, Virginia Tech
I sympathize with Pry, who has been put in a ridiculous situation. The Hokies are doing something wrong when it comes to resources, because they should not be getting passed up by Duke, North Carolina and Louisville on the football field. If the new directive here is to do more with less, I don’t know how any coach can succeed. Pry might be able to push his way to Year 3 but does he really want to stick around?
Dino Babers, Syracuse
Babers ended up in this column last week after a loss to Clemson, largely because he was in this spot last year and the season spiraled. Now, the Orange have back-to-back losses and the Week 6 setback wasn’t even close. It doesn’t get any easier with Florida State up next. While Babers did give Syracuse a jolt, it’s clear he has hit his ceiling with this program.
Honorable mentions
- Following up a legendary coach in any sport is difficult. It’s especially tough in college football when even one loss can end your hopes of achieving something big. Kansas State’s Chris Klieman has not been able to build on his 10-win campaign from a year ago. Losing on the road against what turned out to be a good Mizzou team is fine. Losing to this Oklahoma State team is not. The Wildcats are expected to be a factor in the new Big 12, and Klieman needs to show he is still the man for the job.
- Texas A&M is not going to fire Jimbo Fisher, and losing to Alabama is actually not really a reason to be on this list on its own. However, when you spend more on a coach than most programs, you should win when you get the fundamentals right. The Aggies won the turnover battle and Alabama committed 14 penalties to A&M’s four, yet Nick Saban walks off the field with the only result people care about. How does that work?
- As the kids say, Mario Cristobal found out.