Why Your Team Should Just Fire that Awful Coach Already

Ties aren't bringing Swag back to The U, Al Golden.

By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

Here's your early Sunday reminder that coaching is pretty darn important in college football.

In fact, if there's one thing the early goings of the 2015 season have taught us, it's that a good coach can make all the difference. Thought of as a lost program without Urban Meyer and Tim Tebow the last few years, Florida is now contending in the SEC, and on the verge of a Top-10 national ranking under its first-year head coach, while Michigan has folks in Big Ten country legitimately terrified under Jim Harbaugh. This coming just a year after the Wolverines served as the Midwest's punching bag.

So, if your favorite college football team has an awful coach, why are they sticking with him? Some coaches have large buyout clauses at smaller schools, while some are inextricably linked to an athletic director or administration that doesn't want to admit a mistake.

While there are examples of coaches turning around terrible starts (Barry Alvarez at Wisconsin, Kirk Ferentz at Iowa), you have a pretty good idea of whether or not your coach is a good fit by Year 3 running the program. If he isn't producing by then, it's time for your athletic department to swallow its pride (and maybe eat a ton of money), and cut bait.

Here are just a few examples of programs thriving with a new head man, and a few others that maybe held onto their coach one year too long.

The "Patriot Way" and NFL Free Agency, So Far

By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

There is little doubt that the Patriots, led by Bill Belichick, have been the smartest team in football the last decade-and-a-half, both on the field, and in personnel decisions.

This commitment to smart play, and an unwavering support of Belichick's "process" in both the NFL Draft and free agency have come to be known as the "Patriot Way," not to be confused with the fictional "Patriot Way" that New England fans pretend exists, wherein New England does everything "the right way," doesn't cheat, and only employs choir boys (the recent suspicious case of LeGarrette Blount, SpyGate and Aaron Hernandez seem to prove all of those sentiments false).

Still, the "Patriot Way" is the league's most successful and revered process. In fact, Belichick's ability to field winning teams year-in and year-out make him not only the best coach in the NFL, but arguably the best General Manager in major American sports.

How Absurd Were the 2001 Miami Hurricanes? Could an NFL Team Afford All That Talent?

By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

As I was watching the amazing ESPN 30 for 30 documentary, The U Part 2, I was hit with a wave of nostalgia.

I grew up in South Florida, and was in high school when The U returned to national prominence in 2001, capturing a national title, bringing swag back and producing the greatest college football rap song of all time.

I also remember everybody at the time claiming that the 2001 Miami Hurricanes were the best team in college football history, and if you head back to Miami-Dade or Broward County now, they're all pretty positive they were right.

"Coach Meyer Knows What it Takes to Win:" Urban's Legend at Florida

He won a pair of BCS Championships and coached the program's most revered star, but how will Gator fans remember Urban Meyer?

By Joe Parello  @HerewegoJoe

Since former University of Florida and New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez was charged with murder, the less-than-disciplinarian management style of former Gator coach Urban Meyer has once again entered the public consciousness.

This isn't the first time Meyer has been called out for losing control of the Florida program. When current Gator coach Will Muschamp took over in Gainesville, he spoke repeatedly about a need to "change the culture," and fix the program. One of the first moves he made with that in mind was dismissing star cornerback Janoris Jenkins after the All American was arrested for possession of marijuana.

Amid a full-blown Meyer backlash, it is Jenkins' remarks from 2011 about being dismissed by Muschamp that have come to define Urban's off-field legacy at Florida.

"No doubt, if Coach Meyer were still coaching, I'd still be playing for the Gators," Jenkins told the Orlando Sentinel. "Coach Meyer knows what it takes to win."