It has begun.
Normally we are just discussing hot-seat rankings at this point in the year, but firing season opened early in 2014, as we barely made it out of Week 5 before the first major dismissal of the season. Kansas fired Charlie Weis on Sunday, and he won't be the last coach to get a pink slip.
The writing was on the wall for Weis the day he was hired. I can't think of many head coaches who were nearly universally panned when they took a job, but the former New England Patriots offensive coordinator certainly was. That he was canned was no surprise, but the timing was. Losing badly to Texas typically doesn't bring the ax, but these are strange times in the Big 12.
After reports of him falling asleep in a meeting surfaced and he frantically changed offensive styles before the season, Weis' end in Lawrence appeared imminent. But it was also an illustration of why he failed (again) in college. As a head coach, you're in charge of nearly every aspect of a program, and that includes establishing a concrete identity that's dictated by one's overall coaching philosophy. As far as I could tell, Kansas only established itself as a poorly coached, losing football team under Weis.
Several hundred miles to the south of Kansas, however, was a great example of what athletic directors need to note when hiring new coaches. At AT&T Stadium, Arkansas vs. Texas A&M represented not just a clash of styles, but a look at two programs that have firmly told the world what they're all about. Kevin Sumlin was a successful coach at Houston prior to his arrival in College Station, but the Aggies have taken on a swagger that few can match in college football. Their head coach recruits in a "Swaggercopter" for crying out loud. Johnny Manziel's success and being able to draw on the SEC brand have certainly been contributing factors, but when discussing teams you want to play for, Sumlin's Aggies are leaps and bounds ahead of where they were under his predecessor. This year's squad feeds off that, and you could see that the players felt they were going to win the game vs. Arkansas all along despite being down two touchdowns late in the contest.
Across the field, the Razorbacks have quickly turned into one of college football's most improved teams under Bret Bielema. Although they are still searching for their first conference win in nearly two years, their play is one reason why the SEC West reigns supreme as the toughest division in the sport. They laid a beat-down on a Power Five team on the road in defeating Texas Tech 49-28, and nearly knocked off a top-10 team on Saturday. Reshaping the roster has helped tremendously, but Bielema's insistence on going against the trend of spread offenses to become a power-running team is what gives the program great potential.
Many thought the 44-year-old was crazy to leave Wisconsin after three straight Rose Bowl berths. Bielema might end up with the last laugh after pulling Arkansas out of a gigantic hole left behind by Bobby Petrino. The Razorbacks are near mirror images of those championship Badgers teams, complete with two top-tier running backs in Alex Collins and Jonathan Williams, a massive offensive line (left tackle Dan Skipper is 6-foot-10) and solid defensive play. Over time, Bielema will bring in even better athletes, but it's a testament to his style that the team has improved so much from Year One to Year Two with few personnel changes.
We've seen time and time again coaches fail because they don't truly know what they want to do when put in charge. Successful turnarounds stick to a script established by the head coach, be it Pete Carroll at USC, Jim Harbaugh at Stanford or Nick Saban at Alabama. Good coaches know what they want to do, take a few lumps early on and then ride the wave of success.
If you're an athletic director making a hire this offseason, you might want to keep that in mind. If you need a reminder, just pop on tape of Texas A&M and Arkansas from last weekend and learn how important it is to establish an identity.
Stat of the week
ESPN points out that Michigan first fielded a football team in 1879. Not once in those 135 years have the Wolverines lost three times before October like this year's team has.
Stats to chew on
» Ohio State's 45 first downs against Cincinnati tied the all-time FBS record set by Texas Tech back in 2003.
» Notre Dame's Everett Golson, after a correction, came up one pass shy of tying the FBS record for consecutive completions in a game.
» USC has yet to allow a passing touchdown this season, the only team that can say that.
» Crazy note passed along from beat writer Chadd Cripe, Boise State lost to a foe from the WAC/MWC Mountain division for the first time since 1997.
» Per Auburn's SID, the Tigers have returned three punts for touchdowns in their last nine games, the same number of punt-return TDs in the 277 games before that. That dates back to 1991.
» The 14 passing touchdowns from California and Colorado in their overtime game tied an FBS record for most in a single game.
» Kaelin Clay's third punt return for a touchdown this season ties a Utah school record set by Ravens wide receiver Steve Smith Sr. back in 1999.
» Yale's win over Army was the first victory over an FBS team by an Ivy League school since 1986.
» Four of the top five FBS players in terms of points responsible for are Pac-12 quarterbacks. The lone exception is Texas A&M's Kenny Hill.
» Through five weeks of the season, we're up to 13 700-plus-yard performances by FBS offenses. We saw 21 in all of last season.
Quote of the Week
"Nothing but a snot-nosed freshman!" -- Clemson offensive coordinator Chad Morris joked, referring to record-setting quarterback Deshaun Watson.
Sound from Saturday
Tweet of the Week
Sideline standouts
Gold medal: Yale's Tony Reno, for knocking off an FBS team and celebrating the 100th year of the Yale Bowl in grand style.
Silver medal: Cal's Sonny Dykes, for capturing his first Pac-12 win in dramatic fashion a week after being on the wrong end of a Hail Mary in a loss to Arizona.
Bronze medal: UCLA's Jim Mora, for finally getting the Bruins to play a complete game in the heat at Arizona State.
Pre-snap read
Separation Saturday: We're about to find out who's for real and who's not with six games involving ranked teams. The home teams have a big advantage in this slate, but don't be surprised if top-six teams Alabama, Oklahoma and Texas A&M come out with closer-than-expected wins despite playing in hostile environments.
You can follow Bryan Fischer on Twitter at @BryanDFischer.
