It took until almost the end of the regular season last year for the first Power Four head coaches to be fired. Only four jobs became available in total, five if you do count Troy Taylor being forced out of Stanford during the spring. Those jobs would were North Carolina, Purdue, UCF and West Virginia. Three weeks into the college season and two Power Four jobs are now open: UCLA and Virginia Tech.
Both DeShaun Foster and Brent Pry were ousted after brutally bad 0-3 starts to their respective campaigns. A Friday night home loss to New Mexico was the end of the line for Foster at UCLA. A loss at home to in-state rival Old Dominion on Saturday is why Pry is no longer employed by Virginia Tech. Tim Skipper is serving as the interim for UCLA, while Philip Montgomery is doing that for the Hokies.
Let's take a look at the latest head-coaching odds for both teams from an overall Georgia standpoint.
What are the latest odds for the UCLA Bruins' next head coach?
To replace Foster at UCLA, these head-coaching candidates all have +2000 odds or better to do that.
- Jon Gruden: +400
- Deion Sanders: +500
- Kenny Dillingham: +600
- Justin Wilcox: +800
- Tommy Rees: +1000
- Dave Aranda: +1200
- Jimbo Fisher: +1200
- Jon Sumrall: +1400
- Ryan Silverfield: +1600
- Alex Golesh: +1800
- Brent Key: +2000
- Tony White: +2000
Not only are Georgia coordinators Mike Bobo and Glenn Schumann nowhere to be found at the top of the list for UCLA, but they are not even on the board! Bobo coached out on the West Cost before at Colorado State. Schumann is in his mid-30s and is supposedly ready to lead his own team. The fact Jon Gruden and Deion Sanders are the top two candidates for this job shows how much of a joke it is.
Nick Saban, Urban Meyer, Pete Carroll, Troy Aikman and Rick Neuheisel have better odds than them.
What are the latest odds for the Virginia Tech Hokies' next head coach?
And here is what the latest betting odds suggest to be the candidates to replace Pry in Blacksburg.
- Jon Gruden: +400
- Shane Beamer: +500
- Justin Wilcox: +600
- Ryan Silverfield: +700
- Alex Golesh: +800
- Will Stein: +1000
- Jimbo Fisher: +1200
- Charles Huff: +1400
- Jon Sumrall: +1400
- Brian Newberry: +1600
- Bob Chesney: +1800
- Dave Doeren: +2000
- GJ Kinne: +2000
Gruden at the top of this list is dumb, but what are the chances of Shane Beamer coming home? It would be a huge ask for him to fix the program his father Frank once built up. Cal's Justin Wilcox being a top-four candidate for both jobs stands out. Maybe Ryan Silverfield, Alex Golesh or Will Stein jump at this opportunity? Bobo and Schumann not being on the board here is quite damning of them.
The Virginia Tech job is a better fit for both, and neither could even come close to making the board...
Mike Bobo and Glenn Schumann are nowhere to be found on betting odds
So for as good of a college football program as Georgia is, why are neither Bobo or Schumann even seen as candidates for two very bad Power Four jobs? Well, it might be that they are not the even best coordinators. It feels with Schumann that Kirby Smart holds his hand the whole time. When he has to run a competent defense by himself, he cannot do it. Smart eventually bails him out big time.
As for Bobo, he may be Smart's peer and one of his best friends, but he feels like a one-and-done college head coach if there ever was one. Was there anything he ever did at Colorado State that let anyone know that he deserved a second opportunity? It may present itself to him at some point, but he is never taking either of these jobs. It is because his son Drew is starting along the offensive line.
Overall, what transpired vs. Tennessee is why neither Bobo or Schumann should be seen as serious head-coaching candidates. Bobo gets inside of his own head as a play-caller multiple times a game. Schumann might as well create a jump to conclusions mat like Tom Smykowski did in Office Space because ,"What would you say ... you do here?!" The guy who invented the pet rock made millions!
Unfortunately, last Saturday was proof that Smart needs to stop being so loyal to his Georgia friends.