If any coach in FBS has the skins on the wall to survive a 1-11 season, it might be Old Dominion's Bobby Wilder. After all, the man literally started the program, leaving his job as Maine's offensive coordinator to turn the concept of ODU football into reality back in 2007.
ODU played its first season in 2009 and immediately went 9-2. The intervening years saw the Monarchs reach the FCS quarterfinals in 2012 and win a share of Conference USA's East Division championship in 2016. Since then, though, the Monarchs slipped to 5-7 in 2017, 4-8 last year and 1-11 this year, with the win coming in the opener over FCS Norfolk State.
After a season-ending 38-22 loss to Charlotte -- a program younger than ODU, yet headed to a bowl in Will Healy's first season -- on Saturday, Wilder made his case to return in 2020.
"I am confident with 104 players back, 72 with game experience, 19 starters back, our kicker and our long snapper we will be a bowl team in 2020. if we are not at least a bowl team I would resign after next year and turn the program I built and love over to someone else for a new direction," Wilder told FootballScoop.
The stump speech actually started last week, on Twitter.
Wilder is set to meet with AD Wood Selig and the rest of the ODU braintrust on Monday.
Until then, stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.