Our crew of Big Ten reporters will periodically offer takes on burning questions that face the league. We'll have strong opinions, though not the same view. We'll let you decide who's right.
Two Big Ten coaches were let go after the 2014 season, and the pressure to win these days means there probably will be more turnover after 2015. So today's Take Two topic is this: Which Big Ten coach is most in need of a strong season to stay off the hot seat?
Take 1: Brian Bennett
Illinois' Tim Beckman, Purdue's Darrell Hazell and even Iowa's Kirk Ferentz all face varying degrees of pressure to succeed this season. But I'm going with Indiana's Kevin Wilson.
Hoosiers athletic director Fred Glass will not rush to make a coaching change, as he knows how instability at the top set the program back before Wilson arrived. Glass has also been very supportive of Wilson during his tenure. But the fact remains that Wilson is entering Year 5 in Bloomington and has yet to produce even a .500 season or a bowl game.
He was close in 2013, when Indiana went 5-7, and he gets a bit of a free pass for last year's 4-8 mark because of the midseason injury to quarterback Nate Sudfeld. But how many Power 5 coaches can go five straight years without a postseason appearance? Even at a place like Indiana that is unaccustomed to bowl games, that's a tough pill to swallow. And the Hoosiers' defense has remained at the bottom of the FBS for an entire presidential election cycle.
Wilson has recruited well, Sudfeld is back healthy this season and the nonconference schedule is easier than it has been in several years. This is the season to make a run toward (at least) six wins. The pressure at Indiana will never be as high as it is some other places, but Wilson and the entire program desperately need to play a game beyond Thanksgiving weekend ASAP.
Take 2: Dan Murphy
The Fighting Illini could really use some good news this fall. The heat was already gathering around Tim Beckman last November before his team won its final two games to squeak into the postseason. Beckman's woe's have been more focused on issues away from the field, which gives him a shorter leash if his team isn't producing positive results on it.
In May, former Illini players led by offensive lineman Simon Cvijanovic accused Beckman of mistreating them and not taking their health seriously while they were playing at Illinois. The stories Cvijanovic told -- Beckman attacking players in practice and ignoring injuries -- were ugly but refuted by the coach and the athletic department. However, that type of negative press can stick with a coach even if it's never proved to be true. Beckman also has a history of making perhaps overly optimistic statements about where his team stands that have caused some to wonder if he's fit to handle his head-coaching job.
On the field, there is little room to argue he's making headway. The Illini have incrementally improved in each of Beckman's first three seasons in Champaign. Another step forward (perhaps a bowl win) in 2015 would go a long way in silencing some of the enemies he seems to have made during that time. A step back, though, could put his future at Illinois in jeopardy.