I say are all on the hot seat. rate one thru three most to least hot and why....I say Muschamp first then Martin and Kingston...what do you guys think?
I guess you also have to ask, SHOULD they be on the hot seat.
1) Muschamp. Yep, this coming season is a hotseat season and it should be. On the positive side, Muschamp has done a very good job recruiting, and keeping his 2020 class together after the stupid crap that was said by Board members AND the University President was pretty amazing. They could have sabotaged the whole thing with their own idiocy. I think anything less than 7 wins, and they'll be forced to make a move. It's unfortunate because USC is not in a position that it can keep changing coaches in football every few years (See Tennessee debacle) and while Muschamp was not an A+ hire, I thought he was on the right path after his first couple of years, but this year was obviously really bad. Unlike some fans, I am hoping the team does well this year so we DON'T have to fire him. The bigger question is, if not him, then who? Who could we get that would actually want to come here knowing that your 2 biggest rivals on the field and in recruiting are Top 5 teams (Clemson/Georgia) and they're not going to decline in the near future. I don't think this is a desirable place for long term coach who can be as good as Spurrier was.
2) Martin. Warm seat Right or wrong, basketball coaches aren't judged on winning percentage, winning seasons or how many times they finish in top half of the conference. If they were, Frank would be fine, because those numbers are pretty good when compared to most of our men's basketball history. Right or wrong, basketball coaches are judge on how many NCAA Tournaments they go to. Frank has 1, and his team definitely got screwed one other year. A bunch of 18 or 20-win seasons with out NCAA Tournament just won't cut it. THE BIG MISTAKE here was that members of the BOARD of Trustees were the ones who forced Ray to sign him to a long term deal during the Final Four year right then and there. So, I don't put that on Ray. Also, most people know that Frank has applied for a couple of other jobs in the last few years (I think it was UCONN and Cincy?). I like Frank, but I just wish the team could not fall apart in November and December, because they do a good job of competing most years in conference play.
3) Kingston. Not a warm seat. USC baseball is not currently one of the teams talked about for the College World Series. We are many years removed from that. That's not Kingston's fault. He got to the Super Regionals in year one, and last year was a disaster due to injuries (9 pitchers injured at one point? You can't win like that). This year he had a good class, and he'll need another good class as well. With limits on scholarships it's a lot harder to get good fast in college baseball. That's why smaller college teams can compete with the big boys, unlike other sports. The college baseball scribes all thought highly of Kingston before he got here. Give him some time to develop the layers in recruiting and USC baseball will be back in the national conversation.
4) Tanner. Is he on the hot seat, probably. Should he be? Maybe not. I know it falls on deaf ears to praise him for all the really good things he has done: Kept Dawn Staley from leaving, continued plans to upgrade all facilities, made USC 1 of only 2-dozen athletic departments in the country that operate in the black, hired a good volleyball coach....
As it relates to the "big 3" sports above: He hired Muschamp. Not a homerun but in retrospect may have been the best we could get at the time. From what I've heard, Kirby Smart had a handshake deal to come here, and by the time the powers that be could come back with the offer to his liking, Smart's agent called UGA and the rest is history. (Also, Tom Herman was NEVER coming here.)
Bottom line, if USC has to fire Muschamp, and right or wrong, they will fire Ray with him. As far as hiring baseball coaches, it's been said before and I believe it to be true: Holbrook was the right hire AT THE TIME he was hired. No doubt. It didn't work out (Just as Holly Warlick didn't work out at Tennessee women's basketball). So he was fired. Kingston was a good hire on paper, now you just have to see if it works out. Sometimes good hires don't work out.