FanPost

Featured Fanpost: Jonathan Smith Is Still On The Hot Seat

Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Husky Head Coach Chris Petersen just gave all his returning assistant coaches new two-year contracts, all except Offensive Coordinator Jonathan Smith who got a one-year deal.

All the returning assistant coaches also got pay raises except for Smith and Chris Strausser, the Associate Head Coach and O-Line Coach.

It does not take much to read between the lines that Smith is on notice that the Husky offense needs to improve. In 2015, Washington had one of the best defenses in the Pac-12; 1st in Scoring Defense and 2nd in Total Defense. However, UW's offense was one of the Pac-12's weakest; 9th in Total Offense and 10th in Scoring Offense.

I, along with many other Husky fans, have wondered about Smith's sometimes predictable playcalling and boneheaded clock management issues over the last two seasons. It seems that Coach Pete might be thinking along the same lines.

Petersen did not fire Smith like he did with WR Coach Brent Pease before the bowl game, but the message is clear that the Husky offense needs to improve, and it needs to happen now.

Smith deserves credit for RB Myles Gaskin's emergence in the offense and QB Jake Browning's improvement last year. He also deserves credit for Washington's improved offensive production at the end of the season against Oregon State, Wazzu, and Southern Miss.

2016 should be a good year for U-Dub, and it possibly could be great. One of the big factors will be the continued growth of both Browning and the young O-line.

As the offseason moves along into September, there will be the Jonathan Smith apologists defending him and claiming that Husky fans who criticize Smith don't know what they are talking about.

For those apologists, I recommend they address their comments directly to Chris Petersen. Coach Pete obviously saw what most Husky fans saw; a young Husky offense that did well at the end, but could have done so much more. Jake Browning's improvement and a 7-6 season were not enough in Petersen's eyes to warrant Jonathan Smith getting a two-year deal and a pay raise. A one-year deal sufficed.

Expectations are high for 2016, but for Washington to make a legit run at the Pac-12 Championship, Jonathan Smith's Husky offense must improve, or it will be his last season at UW.

Say what you want, but the way I see it, Jonathan Smith's hot seat just got hotter.