Hot Seat Week 12: Dan Mullen’s downward spiral continues as more jobs open up

It hasn’t been a great season for members of this column. We’ve already seen several coaches previously on this list get fired, with Jimmy Lake and Justin Fuente being the most recent to find themselves out of a job. With every passing week, the pressure continues to build on coaches who can’t seem to get out of the hole they’ve dug. Here are the guys on notice after Week 12.

Dan Mullen, Florida

It’s really hard to put Mullen’s mishaps into the proper context, but Bill Connelly did a great job with this tweet.

In a 24-23 overtime loss to Missouri, Mullen consistently played not to lose only to end up losing. Florida now goes into a Week 13 game against Florida State with both programs fighting to be bowl eligible. Quarterback Anthony Richardson has removed any mention of “Florida Gators” from his Twitter profile, which is only a bad thing. Remember when this team was a few plays away from taking out Alabama? It’s gone hilariously south for Mullen in a span of seven weeks, and there’s no way he survives even if the Gators do get to six wins.

Geoff Collins, Georgia Tech

This situation isn’t quite as high-profile as Florida’s, but Collins has been on the way down for a long time. His journey at Georgia Tech essentially came to an end at the hands of Notre Dame in a 55-0 loss. The Irish left no doubt that Collins needs to go. The Yellow Jackets get Georgia next week in what is sure to be another rough outing for the team. There’s been no progress in three seasons and it’s time for a change.

Steve Sarkisian, Texas

This is starting to become like Nebraska. Every week, there’s a new way to lose a game. Texas was in a position to get a win over West Virginia but didn’t make the one stop it needed to in a crucial moment. The loss to the Mountaineers also means Texas won’t play in a bowl game for the first time since Charlie Strong’s tenure. Tom Herman got fired for this?

David Shaw, Stanford

Shaw was a model of consistency over his first eight seasons at Stanford. The Cardinal won a whopping 82 games during the span and never finished a season with less than eight wins. Over the last three seasons, Shaw has won 11 games. Stanford lost 41-11 to California, a program set to fire its coach Justin Wilcox after a disappointing season there. If Shaw survives, he enters next season under immense pressure.

Rod Carey, Temple

Hey, so is anyone paying attention to what’s going on at Temple right now? The Owls have had a horrendous 2021 season, falling to 3-8 on Saturday after getting thumped 44-10 by Tulsa. But the on-field product takes a backseat to the fact that they’ve experienced a mass exodus of top players in recent weeks, including former Georgia quarterback D’Wan Mathis jumping into the transfer portal. Former Florida running back Iverson Clement took to Twitter to blast head coach Rod Carey and strength coach Brad Ohrt for their treatment of him. Things aren’t good in Philadelphia right now and the Carey-era may be coming to its end.

Honorable mentions

• Mike Norvell and Manny Diaz are still here, even after victories in Week 12. Both these guys should be gone at the end of the season, although Norvell is the safer one due to Florida State’s administrative problems. It’s going to be a tough offseason to secure a great coach but that doesn’t mean the current coach gets a pass.
• Dino Babers’ Syracuse team got blown out by NC State 41-17 on Saturday and at 5-6, the Orange’s bowl eligibility hinges on their ability to take down ACC Coastal division champion Pittsburgh next week. Babers is probably safe regardless because if Syracuse were to open, they’d be well down the list of job openings and would have a tough time finding a worthwhile replacement. Still, his tenure in upstate New York has flatlined.