Sizzlin' Seven: Which coaches are next in unemployment line?

LSU and Purdue are the two Power Five teams that have already fired their coaches this season. Here is a look at seven others coaches who could be in danger as the college football season moves into the second half, with Rivals.com National Recruiting Director Mike Farrell weighing in on each.

RELATED: What's going on with Clemson?

Overview: Everything looked so good early in the season as Texas beat Notre Dame and the players put Strong on their shoulders. It was a feel-good moment for the Texas faithful, which hasn’t had many of those in recent years. Then the Longhorns obliterated UTEP to go 2-0. But then Texas lost to Cal, Oklahoma State and Oklahoma, giving up 50, 49 and 45 points. During that time Strong took over the defense and he really enters the most critical time of his Texas tenure. The Longhorns face Kansas State, Baylor, Texas Tech, West Virginia, Kansas and TCU, certainly not an easy slate to close out the regular season. If things don’t go well, it could close out Strong, too.

Farrell’s take: If all the rumors are correct, it looks like he’ll be gone at the end of the year, especially with Tom Herman out there and the lack of success they’ve had. Strong is 14-17 and 10-11 in the Big 12. He needs to win out to keep his job.

Overview: After two wins to start the season over UC Davis and Virginia, the Ducks lost two close contests at Nebraska and to Colorado, then in the last two games they’ve completely imploded. Washington State beat Oregon by 18 and Washington embarrassed the Ducks, 70-21. Players have questioned the competitiveness of teammates. It just doesn’t look good right now in Eugene. Helfrich went 24-4 in his first two seasons and led Oregon to the national title game in 2014, but since then the Ducks are 11-8. That has the Oregon coach squarely on the hot seat.

Farrell’s take: He’s interesting because he’s a player’s coach, they were just in the playoffs two years ago and he helped find eventual Heisman winner Marcus Mariota. He’s going to get another year because Oregon has been known to stick with guys and do a lot of hiring from within so it shows loyalty. But if the Ducks continue to get destroyed, he’s gone.

Overview: Addazio took the Eagles to two straight bowl games during his first two seasons, finishing both years 7-6, but last year Boston College fell completely off the rails, ending 3-9 overall and winless in the ACC. The Eagles are 3-3 to start the season, but the heart of the ACC schedule is coming up. Does anyone believe BC will be competitive against Clemson, NC State, Louisville, Florida State and others? Defense continues to be a strength at Boston College, but it never seems like the offense is clicking – at all.

Farrell’s take: The Eagles have lost 11 straight ACC games, and they’re not competitive with teams that four or five years ago they were staying on the field with. I don’t see any way he can save his job at this point.

Overview: It might sound over the top that a coach who won 10 games last season and took his team to the national championship game in 2012 is on the hot seat. But the Irish seem to be imploding this season and Kelly’s penchant for blaming others has grown tiresome. A 2-5 start has been a huge disappointment in South Bend. Kelly is 57-28 in seven seasons. Only twice has he had double-digit wins, while this will mark the fourth time he has at least five losses.

Farrell’s take: This is a really interesting one, probably the most interesting name on the list. They’re 2-5, there has been a lot of criticism about the way he handles himself in the media and on the sidelines. Things would have to get much worse from here on out for him to get fired. He gets another year, but if the Irish go 4-8 or 3-9, he could be gone.

Overview: Kentucky is 3-3 and the Wildcats found ways to win against South Carolina and Vanderbilt, important victories for Stoops to keep his job. But there are still concerns because Stoops is 15-27 overall in his fourth season and Kentucky has only won six conference games during that time. Stoops is actually recruiting pretty well and expectations have to be realistic, but if Kentucky brass wants to make a move, it would certainly be justified.

Farrell’s take: There was a lot of heat early, a little less now. Kentucky can't do better than Stoops. He’s playing with his recruits and has done a terrific job recruiting. If the Wildcats maintain and stay the course, they’d be better off, but in this day and age getting longer than four years is hard to do when you’re not providing better results.

Overview: A 52-6 loss to Alabama to open the season was not a great way for Helton to get started. Then the Trojans were beaten down by Stanford and lost at Utah after a questionable punt late in the game. That got the USC faithful incensed and already calling for Helton’s head after only four games. But the Trojans have looked phenomenal recently, taking down Arizona State, Colorado and Arizona. Major challenges still are ahead with Oregon, Washington, UCLA and Notre Dame on the schedule, but this could be Helton’s chance to make a big statement late in the season, one way or another.

Farrell’s take: He’s obviously less on the hot seat than he was earlier in the season when the team appeared to give up against Alabama and didn’t have any fire against Stanford. The quarterback change has really helped quite a bit. It’s put a spark in the offense, and the defense is playing better, too. A first-year guy should never be on the hot seat and he’s doing much better than he was. Things would have to completely fall apart for him to be fired at this point.

MORE: USC digging out from rough start

Overview: Ridiculous to put Malzahn on the hot seat especially since Auburn is 4-2 and ranked No. 21? Maybe. Especially with those losses coming against Clemson and Texas A&M, but this is the SEC West and Malzahn makes a boatload of money to win – not come close and not to have worse returns each year. That’s been the case so far for the Auburn coach who went 12-2 in his first season, then 8-5, then 7-6 last season. Auburn fans expect to win and win big every year. Anything less is not tolerated. Just ask Gene Chizik.

Farrell’s take: If you finish at the bottom or near the bottom of that SEC West division you’re under immense fire. He’s off the hot seat right now as a ranked program, but if Auburn loses this weekend he’s right back in the middle of this list.