How hot is the hot seat?

I was surprised to hear this statistic while listening to sports radio Wednesday afternoon in Oklahoma City. Think about this for a moment: There are only five current college football head coaches who have a national championship on their résumé. Five!

Out of 128 FBS head coaches, five have a national title as a head coach. Let it sink in.

The radio hosts went through the list of champions since 1999, when Bob Stoops took over the reigns at Oklahoma. Stoops is currently the longest tenured coach at his current school in college football by one day (Iowa's Kirk Ferentz was hired one day after Stoops. The Hawkeyes took their time with Stoops and the impatient coach jumped when Oklahoma offered first). There are others who have coached longer, like Bill Snyder at Kansas State, but no coach who won a championship prior to 2000 is currently still coaching.

Here are the national champions, their head coaches at the time, and where they are now:

1999 - Florida State, Bobby Bowden, retired
2000 - Oklahoma, Bob Stoops, current HC
2001 - Miami, Larry Coker, retired
2002 - Ohio State, Jim Tressel, Youngstown State University president
2003 - LSU, Nick Saban, current Alabama HC
2004 - USC, Pete Carroll, Seattle Seahawks HC
2005 - Texas, Mack Brown, retired
2006 - Florida, Urban Meyer, current Ohio State HC
2007 - LSU, Les Miles, current HC
2008 - Florida, Urban Meyer, current Ohio State HC
2009 - Alabama, Nick Saban current HC
2010 - Auburn, Gene Chizik, current North Carolina defensive coordinator
2011 - Alabama, Nick Saban current HC
2012 - Alabama, Nick Saban current HC
2013 - Florida State, Jimbo Fisher, current HC
2014 - Ohio State, Urban Meyer, current HC
2015 - Alabama, Nick Saban current HC

*Currently head coach at same school
**Currently head coach at different school

As you can see, the current college football head coaches who have national championships are: Bob Stoops, Nick Saban, Urban Meyer, Les Miles, and Jimbo Fisher.

To me, this is astonishing. There are head coaching changes ad nauseam year after year. Entering the 2016 season, there were 29 FBS schools with new head coaches, the most notable changes occurring at Georgia, Miami, Virginia Tech and USC. Nearly half the FBS head coaches (62 of 128) began coaching at their current school since 2014.

So why all the changes if only a few coaches win it every year? For one, we live in a "what have you done for me lately?" world. Coaches are viewed through a magnifying glass daily. Every decision on and off the field, every win and loss, every recruit, every detail is critiqued.

Gus Malzahn was hailed as one of the top offensive minds in football just years ago. He helped Auburn win a national title in 2010 as the offensive coordinator, then took Auburn to the national championship game in 2013 as head coach.

Just over two seasons later, his name is being mentioned as on the hot seat following 8- and 7-win seasons. Auburn began the year by losing a tough home game against the No. 2 ranked team in the country by just six points with a chance to win it on two Hail Mary passes at the end of the game. All that did was turn up the heat.

Gus Malzahn (left) and Dabo Swinney have two programs headed
in different directions, but still must answer the critics daily.
(Photo courtesy Montgomery Advertiser via AP)

Clemson coach Dabo Swinney is the coach who beat Malzahn. Swinney led his team to its first win at Auburn since 1950, yet had to answer questions at his press conference about how the fans were upset with the nail-biting victory.

"Sorry we disappointed them. That's all I can tell them. We went down there to win the game, and that's what we did," Swinney said.

This is a coach who has elevated a program from mediocrity to relevance, came within one possession of hoisting the championship trophy one game ago, and came into this season with a Heisman front-runner and No. 2 ranking. But because the Tigers didn't win big on the road in a tough environment, a portion of the fan base is a tad antsy. Even if it is a small fraction of the fan base, it's still out there. Now, Swinney isn't going anywhere anytime soon unless he chooses to do so. But the fact of the matter is, coaches aren't safe from criticism even one game removed from a national title appearance.

And there is the problem college coaches face today.

First, there are only a handful of teams with legitimate national championship aspirations every year. You can argue there are about 20 teams, roughly four each from the Power 5 conferences.

Second, of the remaining 45 teams in those Power 5 plus Notre Dame, about 30 of them think they can win it with the right ingredients; maybe not this year, but soon. The final 15 know they are not on a level playing field and are just trying to bring in money for the athletic department. Sad, but brutally true.

Lastly, those first 20 teams are all chasing the elite of the bunch - the Alabamas and Ohio States - to try to take down the programs who are already established. Those blue bloods have the ingredients baking in the oven. The teams chasing them just got home from the grocery store and are pulling out the recipe book.

It's a tough road these coaches follow. Nothing comes easy. Even when things look great, they deal with injuries or off the field distractions. The year that was supposed to be the year suddenly isn't.

And back on the hot seat goes the coach.

-BtW

Top 5 College Football Coaches

Interesting question posed on sports radio yesterday in Oklahoma City: Who are the top 5 college football coaches right now?

Callers and hosts alike stated the obvious duo: Alabama's Nick Saban and Ohio State's Urban Meyer. The other spots on the list were debated and mostly agreed upon. At the very least, arguments made were valid for any of the candidates to round out the Top 5.

A few of the names mentioned were Baylor's Art Briles, Michigan's Jim Harbaugh, Oklahoma's Bob Stoops, and LSU's Les Miles.

That got me thinking (and yes, it hurt). Who do I consider the Top 5 college coaches today? The basis for my rankings consists of many factors, but record over the last three years (this year included) weighed heavily.

*NOTE: Conference records below do not include conference championship games

1) Urban Meyer - Ohio State (4th season)
Record at current school: 44-3 overall, 26-0 Big Ten

Record since 2012: 44-3 overall, 26-0 Big Ten 

Conference titles at current school: 1

National titles at current school: 1

Ubran Meyer ranks at the top of my list.
Photo courtesy The Washington Post.

When Meyer led OSU to the National Championship with his third-string QB, he overtook Nick Saban for this spot. Again, this ranking is based on many things, mostly those being factored in the last few years. But is there a coach who has accomplished more at three different programs? He led Utah to its first BCS game and win - something no non-AQ team had done. He won two National Titles at Florida and coached Heisman winner Tim Tebow. And he's got three losses and another National Title in his three-plus seasons at Ohio State.

2) Nick Saban - Alabama (9th season)
Record at current school: 91-18 overall, 52-12 SEC

Record since 2012: 41-6 overall, 23-4 SEC

Conference titles at current school: 3

National titles at current school: 3

As aforementioned, Saban would have held the No. 1 spot had he not faltered in the Sugar Bowl last year against Meyer. But Saban is still held with the highest regard around college football. He's really 1B. Saban has four National Championships (three with Bama, one with LSU), hasn't had fewer than 10 wins in a season since 2007, and brought Bama back to glory with three championships in four years. He's won or tied for the West Division crown five of his eight full seasons. 

3) Art Briles - Baylor (8th season)

Record at current school: 60-34 overall, 35-27 Big 12

Record since 2012: 35-9 overall, 22-7 Big 12

Conference titles at current school: 2

National titles at current school: 0

Was there even a football program at Baylor before Briles? The Bears are a force to be reckoned with, and nobody thought that was possible before Briles arrived on campus. Briles has led Baylor to more Big 12 titles since 2010 than Oklahoma and Texas combined. He's got a way with Texas HS coaches - because he was one - and has built Baylor into a powerhouse. They've poured money into new facilities and he has Baylor in reloading mode. Who'da thunk it? One could argue that what Briles has done at Baylor is more impressive than any other coaching job in the country.

4) Jim Harbaugh - Michigan (1st season)

Record at current school: 5-1 overall, 2-0 Big Ten

Record since 2012: 5-1 overall, 2-0 Big Ten

Conference titles at current school: 0

National titles at current school: 0

Why is Harbaugh on this list? It is curious. I even questioned myself. In four years under Brady Hoke, the Wolverines went backward from 11-2 his first season in 2011 to 5-7 in 2014. Harbaugh has instilled a winning attitude back into his alma mater almost overnight. I realize he doesn't have the track record at the school yet, but his impressive resume at Stanford and FCS San Diego at the collegiate ranks and what he did in his short time with the 49ers give me reason enough to think Harbaugh is about to turn Big Blue into a blue-blood program again.

5) Jimbo Fisher - Florida State (6th season)

Record at current school: 63-11 overall, 37-6 ACC

Record since 2012: 44-3 overall, 26-1 ACC

Conference titles at current school: 3

National titles at current school: 1

Fisher had the unenvious task of taking over FSU following Seminole coaching legend Bobby Bowden. The Noles are back to their ways of the 1990s and the means winning championships. Fisher has won three straight ACC titles and won FSU's first National Championship since 1999. He had them in the first ever College Football Playoff. Florida State hasn't lost a regular season game since their final one in 2012. If he can control off-the-field problems, he'd be higher on my list.

Rounding out the Top 10: Dabo Swinney (Clemson), Gary Patterson (TCU), Les Miles (LSU), Bob Stoops (Oklahoma), Mark Dantonio (Michigan State)

-BtW