Charley Molnar is safe in year one, but three MAC coaches might be feeling the heat if they don't get it done this season.
UMass coach Charley Molnar is safe in year one, but there are others in the MAC who aren't so lucky.We can debate until the end of time whether three years is enough to judge the progress of a college football coach. I personally believe that it would be tough to turn a program around in under four years. For coaches taking over previously successful programs, perhaps three years is enough time to truly evaluate performance.
However you slice it, there are three MAC coaches that likely need to show progress, or they could find themselves searching for new employment.
Dan Enos | Central Michigan
The Chippewas were 48-19 and 35-12 in the MAC in six years under Brian Kelly and Butch Jones prior to Enos' arrival. Since? 6-18 and 4-12 in the MAC. Perhaps Jones left the cupboard bare before bolting for Cincinnati, but the fans in Mount Pleasant have become accustomed to contending for conference titles and going to bowl games. Another three-win campaign would like seal Enos' fate.
Dave Clawson | Bowling Green
When Clawson took over in 2009, the program had had just one losing season since Urban Meyer took over in 2001. Clawson was 7-6 and went to a bowl game in his first season, but has posted a 7-17 tally since then. The Falcons return seven starters on offense and a whopping ten on defense, so progress is definitely possible, if not expected in Northwest Ohio.
Jeff Quinn | Buffalo
Quinn is probably the safest of these three, but for a school that thought it had it figured out with Turner Gill, things went back to the way they were pretty fast when Quinn took over. At 5-19 overall and 3-13 in the MAC, Charley Molnar's former boss hasn't exactly been lighting the world on fire. However, the Bulls return 16 starters, including 2011 first-team All-MAC running back Branden Oliver, so progress is achievable.
Buffalo has its quarterback, writes Bob DiCesare of the Buffalo news.
Nate Schneider of the Morning Sun has a look at Central Michigan's 2012 hopes.
Ball State is in good shape at wide receiver, writes Doug Zaleski of the Muncie Star Press. Tom Davis of the Fort Wayne News Sentinel focused on the Cardinals' young defensive back Eric Patterson — no relation to the former Red Sox outfielder who now plays for Detroit's AAA team, the Toledo Mud Hens.
Bowling Green's running backs looked good at Saturday's scrimmage, writes John Wagner of the Toledo Blade. The scrimmage as a whole was cleaner and crisper, writes Jack Carle of the Bowling Green Sentinel-Tribune.
AnnArbor.com's Rich Rezler has a nice piece on Eastern Michigan tight end Garrett Hoskins.
Kent State's defense won the team's big "jersey scrimmage," writes Stephanie Storm of the Akron Beacon Journal. The Golden Flashes are still deciding on a quarterback, writes David Carducci of the Kent Ravenna Record Courier.
Defense was also strong in Northern Illinois' scrimmage, writes Steve Nitz of the DeKalb Daily Chronicle.
Akron coach Terry Bowden told the Akron Beacon Journal's George Thomas that his team's problems were "a hodgepodge" after Saturday's scrimmage.
Western Michigan is getting the hang of its new 3-3-5 defense, writes David Drew of the Kalamazoo Gazette.