Basketball Coaches Making Their Last Stand

For a handful of college basketball coaches out there this season is their last stand…the last time they will get to prove to fans and the administration that they’re worth that multimillion dollar contract. Yes people, I’m talking about the dreaded “hot seat”. And no one is feeling the burn from being on the hot seat quite like Tennessee’s Bruce Pearl.

His seat is hotter than a grill on the 4th of July and to make matters even worst, he might be the only coach in the nation who isn’t under contract. So he has no contract..which means the school can fire his ass without it costing them a dime, he is under investigation be the NCAA for a bevy of violations…not to mention he lied to investigators, and his team’s already lost to DII Indianapolis in an exhibition game this year.

Pearl better hope this loss is a fluke and not a sign of things to come because he is a subpar season away from the back of the unemployment line.

Pat Knight - Texas Tech: A couple of weeks ago at Big 12 media day he was quoted as saying, “this is either a get-an-extension or a get-fired type of year” and I like it. He’s not skirting around the issue, he’s on the hot seat this year and he’s being a man and taking the pressure head on…it’s just too bad for him he will crumble under that very same pressure midseason. He’s only been at Tech 2.5 years, but in that time he’s got a 37-42 record and is a lowly 11-31 in conference play. There is no turning this boat around for him, the only course of action for the school is to get a new captain.

John Pelphrey – Arkansas: John’s biggest mistake is he met expectations too soon. His first year as head coach of the Razorbacks he led them to a winning record and 2nd round of the NCAA tournament…the last two years, two losing seasons (28-34 overall, 9-23 SEC) and not even an NIT appearance. Fans have a very short memory, so I’m afraid if he can’t recapture that magic from 2008 this might be his last year at Arkansas.

Ed DeChellis – Penn State: Ed here was on the hot seat much of last year and he starts this year off on it again. This will be his 8th season as the head coach of the Nittany Lions and in that time he only has two NIT appearances and one winning season…he stinks, but for some reason Penn State has trouble firing struggle coaches (cough* cough* JoPa).

Karl Hobbs – George Washington: Its tough to fire the man that put your program on the map, but that’s exactly what George Washington might have to do if he continues to stink up the gym like he has been the past 3 years. After making the tourney for the 3rd straight time in 2007 his team has finished no higher than 10th in the A-10 since.