FanNation - The Republic of Sport

     We're now past the halfway point in this college football season, and everyone's pretty much figured out which teams are contenders and which are pretenders. At this point in time decisions about coaching changes are beginning to be made. Who's staying, who's going? Although it is often difficult to predict the future of most coaches by just looking at their record, here are 5 coaches that without a doubt must have a turnaround if they wish to be the leaders of their respected teams next year:

Dan Hawkins, Colorado - One of my most disappointed teams this season has been the Colorado Buffaloes. A team I predicted to go 10-2 and win the Big 12 North had already lost 2 games after playing non-BCS schools Colorado State and Toledo to start the season. Colorado is currently 2-4, giving Coach Hawkins a 15-28 record in 4 seasons in Boulder. This is a far cry from the 53-21 record he put up as the head coach at Boise State. Of course, the competition Boise State faces weekly doesn't compare to who Colorado must play. At this point in time it appears that Hawkins' head coaching career in a BCS school will end much like his predecessor at Boise State Dirk Koetter, who was fired after six seasons at Arizona State.

 Ron Zook, Illinois - Illinois is a team, much like Colorado, that I expected was an upset away at an undefeated season. However, things have went horribly in Champaign, as QB Juice Williams has been unreliable, resulting in his benching last week. Illinois is 0-5 against FBS schools this year, and the only win they can brag about is a 45-17 win over Illinois State. Illinois has struggled against real competition, posting nine straight losses against FBS opponents. For the second time in his head coaching career, I say that Zook gets the hook.

Stan Parrish, Ball State - Last year's 12-2 season for the Ball State Cardinals seems so far away at this point in time. The Cardinals are currently 0-7, including a 17-23 loss to I-AA New Hampshire. I believe that the promotion of offensive coordinator Stan Parrish to head coach last year was a knee jerk reaction to head coach Brady Hoke leaving for San Diego State, and so far this year it looks like it's been a huge mistake. If the Cardinals go from 12-2 to 0-12, I strongly believe that Stan Parrish will not get another year as head coach.

Neil Callaway, UAB - Callaway, who was formerly the offensive coordinator at Georgia before taking over as the Blazers head coach, has basically taken UAB from being contenders to a team that basically win against all I-AA teams and win 2-3 conference games each year. By this time in his tenure, Callaway should have his players and his systems should be in full effect. However, it doesn't appear to be this way. The Blazers are currently 2-4, and I think it's highly possible they could finish 2-10. that would mean five straight losing seasons for UAB, and three under Callaway's lead. I never thought that any college football team would miss Watson Brown, but UAB definately is. If they really want to, I think they will have a chance to bring back the man that built their program this offseason.

Steve Kragthorpe, Louisville - Kragthorpe's tenure at Louisville has probably been the most surprising of any head coaching hire I can think of since I've started watching and blogging about college football. Kragthorpe, who turned a Tulsa team that had went 1-10 the year before he was hired into an 8-5 team and a team that would become yearly contenders in the C-USA, has done nothing but struggle as the Cardinals head coach. Prior to his arrival at Louisville, the Cardinals worst record since 1998 was 7-6. That's better than either of Kragthorpe's two full seasons as head coach here, and the way it looks it will still be better than this season's final record. Three losing seasons won't cut it, and I think Kragthorpe might be calling up the Buffalo Bills and asking for his old job as QB coach once the season is over.