Remember in The Lion King when Simba is being taught about surviving and how some animals must eat other animals to live?  Mufasa explains it to him as the circle of life and a necessary part of existence.  Yeah, me neither.  However, somewhere in there is a great segway to coaches being fired.  As it stands now there are a couple names in the B1G conference this year that if they don't get into "survival of the fittest" mode soon they could find themselves extinct from the sidelines.  Forced to  watch games in the stands with crazy fans like that monkey Rafiki with the coconut cane (yes that was two Lion King references in one intro!).

Kirk Ferentz - Iowa

Old school Hawkeye fans will gasp and call this blasphemy.  Coach Ferentz has put in 15 great years in Iowa's football program and has certainly left his mark.  Dig a little deeper and Ferentz's mark has been building and coaching a team that has been reduced to the spoiler role and has been labeled a "rebuilding team" more seasons than not.  Sure, Ferentz has a couple big wins on his resume but the fact remains he has yet to get his team over the hump.  Ferentz's best success came back in 2002 and 2004 when he owned a share of the Big Ten title.  Then a large gap of mediocrity struck until 2009 when Iowa went 11-2 and won the Orange Bowl against Georgia Tech.  Since then however, they haven't finished higher than fourth place in the Legends division and have gone a disappointing 19-19.  The biggest factor in his placement on the hot seat might come down to money.  Ferentz owns a huge contract and by all rights isn't producing on the field what  his hefty paychecks have been cashing.  If the losses keep piling on like last years 4-8 season (including losing their last six games),  finishing below .500 in a weaker than usual Big Ten conference, and another loss or two to a MAC team it might make more financial sense to start fresh for the Hawkeyes.

Kevin Wilson - Indiana

With a conference high of 19 returning starters and Kevin Wilson now ready to unleash the thick of his first recruiting class the hype train is steaming through Indiana.  There are many people who believe the Hoosiers could have great success as a surprise team in 2013 much like Duke did last year.  After four wins in 2012 hopes are high on doubling that mark in what is now a softer Big Ten conference then were used to seeing.  However, a repeat performance of last year while showing little to no improvement would mean Wilson's already short leash becoming tight to the skin.  That's the problem with having an excited and opportunistic energy around a team.  If things don't fall in place like people expect them to fans feel cheated and excuses dissolve like quicksand.  The same reason you hear about teams talking about how much they love being "under the radar" because when the bar is raised too high even a good year may not be enough to keep someone's job. The bug-a-boo of high expectations could collapse on top of Wilson if his team doesn't live up to the pre-season hype.      

Tim Beckman - Illinois

Remember in Office Space when Peter's boss Bill Lumbergh says "Yaaah, i'm gona need you to come in on Saturday, mmmk. Grrrrreat."  Well, that's probably what Tim Beckman's boss was thinking last year after he watched his team go 0-8 in the conference and manage only two wins.  However, it's not really fair to criticize Beckman this early in his Illinois career after only one season.  Remember, Beckman turned around a Toledo program in just three years back in 2011 making them an explosive offensive juggernaut and East Division champs.  Beckman and his staff are looking for the same makeover here but may not have realized that he's not coaching in the MAC Conference anymore.  Again, that was only Beckman's first year so lets pump the breaks before we get too critical.  But to take some pressure off himself, Illinois not only needs to win some conference games this year but have some positive momentum around his team this time next year as well.  Maybe then Beckman's bosses will see he is in fact showing up for work on Saturdays. Mmmk.  Grrrreat. 

Jerry Kill - Minnesota

Whoever said any publicity is good publicity never met Jerry Kill.  Kill has been in the headlines more for his seizures on the sidelines and his battle with kidney cancer than his actual coaching performance.  For Jerry, that might not be a bad thing.  He has struggled in his two seasons with the Gophers going just 9-16 and finishing last in his division in back-to-back years while going just 2-6 in the conference in consecutive seasons.  Much like Beckman, Kill is far too new to the program to be put on the hot seat yet.  He's bareley scratched the surface getting his recruiting class running on all cylinders and installing his pro-style system.  However, now entering year three, fans will be desperately hoping to see the team put up better competition against the conference this year.  Although his upbeat attitude is contagious to his players and staff, if Kill comes even close to another last place performance people will start to wonder if his illness has spread to the playbook and may ask Jerry to step down to take care of himself physically which would be best for both parties.