Hot Seat Rankings: Neal Brown presses the Hot Seat Button

For those reading on e-mail: click 'view in browser' to see the full contents of today's post

Before we get to the rankings, I want to start with why Mack Brown isn't in this week's. I try my best to make these articles with a certain type of tone and energy. I want them to be as entertaining as they (hopefully) are informative, which leads to me inevitably taking some jabs at the coaches on the list and trying to have fun with it. It doesn't feel right to me to do that with Brown today.

North Carolina's on a four-game losing streak, punctuated by a 41-34 defeat to Georgia Tech. After trailing GT by 10 in the third, they tied it up with under a minute to go. This is how it ended:

It's a terrible way to lose, and I think everyone involved realizes the Brown era is about to be over - but it pales in comparison to what North Carolina's team is dealing with in real life. Just after the game, UNC announced that receiver Tylee Craft passed away after a two-plus year battle with lung cancer. Brown informed the players earlier in the week that Craft had "two days to two weeks," so players and coaches went to the hospital to say goodbye. The GT game was this season's Cancer Awareness game for UNC, and Craft's family was there in his honor:

Brown's postgame comments about Craft, his family, and helping his players navigate through the situation are worth listening to:

I don't know when the right time is to talk about Mack Brown's job security again, but it's not this week. Best wishes to Craft's family, and all of North Carolina Football right now.

We have to make a hard right turn and get to the rankings, but I felt like it was important to lead off with that.

1. Trent Dilfer - UAB (1-5) (Last week: 1)

UAB lost 44-10 to Army in a game that was over as soon as it started:

Army led 34-3 at halftime - piling up 312 yards (210 rushing) at over 10 yards per play. The Black Knights ran 31 plays, gaining first downs on 16 (!) of them (51%).

This is a coach who doesn't have answers:

2. Billy Napier - Florida (3-3) (Last week: 4)

If you're a long-time reader, you know I believe the second-worst thing a coach on the hot seat can do besides getting blown out is fumbling away an upset opportunity they should've won. Instead of giving your fanbase hope that you can at least compete with the big boys, it reminds them of everything they hate about you and your program. In Billy Napier's case, his team fumbled away a should've-been W against one of their main rivals.

Florida failed spectacularly on three straight possessions to end the first half, setting the stage for their eventual overtime loss. First, they got stuffed on a fourth-and-inches inside the UT 20 on a dreadful playcall:

Graham Mertz fumbled a QB sneak at the one-yard line the next drive:

Finally, an interception return (with a tacked-on personal foul) gave them the ball at the Tennessee 11 with just over a minute left in the half. By the time Mertz got sacked on third down, Florida was out of timeouts, and had to run their field goal unit on the field with under 20 seconds left. They made the kick, but had 12 players on the field:

What should've been at least a 17-0 lead stayed 3-0 thanks to awful execution, and even worse coaching. It's a miracle they even got to overtime! They messed that up, too, losing four yards and missing a field goal! Mertz is also out for the year, meaning it's finally uber-hyped freshman DJ Lagway's show - no questions asked. Having your touted freshman QB take the reigns is usually a good thing for a coach in Napier's position. You can say, "Hey, we went with the young guy and there were growing pains, but the future's bright!" – but Florida fans are already pissed that it took this long for him to be the starter, especially when he's done stuff like this:

If the Gators lose to Kentucky in the Swamp tomorrow I think Napier's gone by Sunday night.

3. Neal Brown - West Virginia (3-3) (Last week: Unranked)

You know when you let the shower heat up for a bit, but you realize there's a strong possibility it's about to scald you when you jump in? But then you jump in anyway - scalding yourself for five seconds in the process?

I've done that more times than I care to admit, and every time it happens I have to remind myself it's my fault. That's what Neal Brown metaphorically did with his job after West Virginia's 28-16 home loss to Iowa State.

Brown notably was on the hottest seat in the nation prior to last season, but saved himself by pulling a 9-4 record out of thin air. He earned a contract extension, plus got some breathing room from a fanbase ready to ship his ass out of town.

Well, all that goodwill is gone after he said this on Monday:

The actual video of the quote isn't as bad, but saying something like this is close to rule No. 1 of stuff to avoid for a coach who still isn't fully in the clear:

I get why West Virginia fans are pissed. You know a coach is in trouble when this is the reaction from local guys:

It's even worse when your biggest rival's head coach is clowning you for it:

He tried to walk back the comments yesterday, but the damage has already been done.

Neal Brown pressed the Hot Seat Button. He shouldn't've did that.