Watching the game last night got me thinking about how safe the coaches in the MAC are. Here's my take. Let me know what you think.

Nuclear
John Cooper (Miami) - Should have been fired after last season but Miami dipping into the BG cheapskate playbook decided to go with a Dead Man Walking season.

Heating Up
Rob Murphy (EMU) - I think his time is up. Almost left a few years ago and his teams, while seemingly talented, regularly do some of the dumbest things you'll see on a basketball court. Their 104-93 overall record in his time there seems acceptable until you strip away all their non-D1 wins. The resulting 85-93 record isn't as pretty. His 48-51 MAC record playing ten games a year against the West isn't anything to write home about either.

Rob Senderoff (Kent St)- His overall record isn't all that bad but I always feel like he's going to find a way to blow the close games. They just never seem to play to the level of their talent. Plus he hasn't won a MAC tournament game since 2013. I regard him as a poor man's TOS.

Tod Kowalczyk (Toledo) - Not sure how Toledo fans feel about him but I feel the bloom is off the rose. Imagine how frustrated we get about our defensive efforts and then multiply them by ten. Last year was their high water mark in defensive metrics as they rose to the level of really bad.

Mark Montgomery (NIU) - Sort of the opposite of Kowalczyk. His tough defensive teams can't score a lick. They do a terrible job of sharing the ball.

Warming
James Whitford (Ball St) - I think he's probably fine and seems to be actually building something there but this is year 4 and I'm not sure they are on the verge of getting to the next step.

Steve Hawkins (WMU) - I'm not sure he would be safe if he were the coach here but the Western fanbase doesn't seem ready to run him out of town. He feasted on the weak West for years and it bought him some security. I put him here because he seems to have lost the ability to put a good defensive squad on the floor. This will be the second straight losing season (although they might still win the West).

Safe
Saul Phillips (Ohio) - Year 3. Not all puppies and rainbows but his vision of a team is starting to take shape. I'll be interested to see what the team looks like next year when it will be all Saul players.

Nate Oats (Buffalo) - One year, one banner.

Michael Huger (BG) - One year, no banners but...

Keno Davis (CMU) - Another coach that hasn't been able to get his team to play a lick of defense. Which is odd because his teams at Drake and Providence were known for their defense. The seat may be starting to get a little warmer but for now I think he's safe.

Keith Dambrot - He's going to decide when he leaves, unless he does something stupid in the locker room again, but he may even be able to survive that. 12 straight 20 win seasons and 8 MAC tournament finals will do that for you. Not only are his teams good but they are interesting to watch. Now I have to go throw up.

I am always in a constant state of conflict when it comes to athletic success for the Redskinhawks. A part of me enjoys seeing them bumbling around the bottom of the standings with no guarantee of improvement on the horizon. Another part of me wants to see them go undefeated against everyone else but lose always against us to make it sting more. If everyone is beating up on them, does it bring as much joy? Isn't it more fun to rip wins/titles away if they are actually a legit factor?

If Cooper gets the ax and they bring in someone who is actually successful he will likely move on after a couple of seasons to a better gig.

I too have a gag reflex when typing this but Dambrot has been the model of consistency for men's MAC basketball since he took that program over. No shortage of characters (and character deficiency) on his rosters but they do notch a lot of wins. I am sure other suitors have come over the years but he seems happy at/in Akron.

Kent State was the gold standard when I was a student at Ohio with those Trevor Huffman, Antonio Gates teams coached by Stan Heath. Their Elite 8 run in 2001 still has not been topped by a fellow MAC school. They have been stuck in "above average" for what seems like a decade now. Beating them at home does still prove to be a challenge for our Bobcats and they always seem to give the Zips all they can handle and I believe their win over them a few years back allowed us to claim a share of our most recent MAC regular season title.

Will be interested to see what kind of turnover happens come March. I would imagine that no pink slips will be handed out until teams bow out of Cleveland (or after the first round if they don't make it there).

Definitely! Speaking of Geno and Jeff Boals I think we need to schedule a home and home with Stony Brook to have a homecoming of sorts! Plus it looks like they have a kid from Gahanna playing for them now...

http://stonybrookathletics.com/roster.aspx?path=mbball

I really dislike Dambrot. He always seems to recruit hoods and thugs. And he never thinks his guys commit fouls, which I think is one reason why his team mouths off a lot and draws Ts.

But gotta give him his due. He finds ways to win. And putting Marshall on DJ in the MACCG a few years ago was sheer genius. Groce didn't have an answer for it and we got creamed.

Going out on a limb here, and not sure if this means anything in terms of job security, but Senderoff has the best recruit coming into the MAC next year. From the same high school as Jordan Dartis.

2018-19 Version

IT WOULD TAKE A MIRACLE

Saul Phillips (Ohio) - 5th year and the last in his contract. Not the year you'd like to see in this scenario.

HOT

Rob Murphy (EMU)- Conference record is 30-31 during the JTIV era. 4 free wins a year helped prop his record up but mostly does anybody really care up there?

James Whitford (Ball St) - He might be okay after respectable teams the last three years but after a promising start this year has been a disaster, losing five of their last six, four of those losses to the bottom half of the league. Contract runs through 2022 so he's probably safe but his 1-5 record in Cleveland isn't doing him any favors.

Mark Montgomery (NIU)- Started the MAC season winning 3 in a row but have since lost 3 of 4, although that one win was a thriller against Buffalo. Not sure what his contract status is but he's never had a winning MAC record in 7 seasons (one 9-9 season) and was 13-23 the last years. Really needs to finish this season strong.

WARM

Keno Davis (CMU)- Contract runs through next year and hasn't had a winning conference record since 2016. 2-6 record in Cleveland.

SAFE

Nate Oats (UB) - Brass ring is coming...does he reach for it?

Michael Huger (BGSU) - Year four appears to be the charm. Looking forward to their match-up at home on Friday against the Bulls.

Rob Senderoff (KSU) - Not a big fan but his NCAA appearance two years ago bought him some time. He's had some good teams but....

Tod Kowalczyk (Toledo) - Two years ago I thought he might be on his way out but has put together two good teams since then. Teams are always fun to watch and defense has greatly improved this year.

Steve Hawkins (WMU) - Couple of years ago I thought he might be on the hot seat but now I think he leaves when he is ready although this year's team (0-7) will test that. 52-64 record over the last four seasons.

TOO SOON

John Groce (UA) - 2nd Season hasn't gone as smoothly as he would have hoped but he's safe.

Jack Owens (FU) - Paint drying offense may not be putting fans in the seats but successive wins against Akron, Ball State and BG might. Too soon to tell.