Columnist Dean Juipe: Horton likely to feel heat all season

IF JEFF HORTON'S fate hinges on wins and losses, he's in big trouble.

The head coach of the UNLV football team is 13-35 in his four-plus years handling the Rebels, including an 0-2 record this season. Worse, that 0-2 record could easily be 0-11 by the end of 1998.

Will Horton be held personally responsible?

That's a good question and there's no easy answer, plus it's purely speculative right now. After all, in theory UNLV could still finish 9-2 this year and Horton will be awarded a medal of honor.

But, the truth is, his team looks lousy and nine more losses are far more likely than any sudden -- and positive -- reversal of fortune with Wisconsin up this week and Colorado State on deck.

In terms of preseason expectations, the Rebels really didn't have any. Well, maybe they did, but few in the community were looking for more than three or four victories at best.

Horton was hoping for five.

Charles Cavagnaro, the UNLV athletic director, has talked of winning five or six. Obviously, what he thinks is crucial to Horton's future.

If Cavagnaro really believes the Rebels have the talent on hand to win more games than they lose, he's not going to be satisfied with 2-9, 1-10 or 0-11. If he felt a winning season was within reason, he might not be too forgiving.

Then again, he knows enough football to have recognized the Rebels for what they are: devoid of effective offense and not too resistant on defense. There is a real shortage of ability.

Sorry to say, whatever hopes UNLV had for a decent season were short-circuited the day quarterback Jon Denton withdrew from school and transferred to Eastern Kentucky. That move, supposedly mutual in nature between Horton and Denton, eliminated the team's only offensive weapon. And with the offense stuck in neutral, the defensive shortcomings are even more apparent.

This much is already evident: As each week goes by and the Rebels continue to lose, the pressure will steadily increase. There will be more columns and more speculation, more reason for Horton to feel ill at ease.

Beyond this season, he has another left on his contract and UNLV really isn't in a position to be paying it off just to let him go. So, in that respect, Horton looks safe.

And despite some grumbling in the crowd, most of the team's fans are content with him. He's extremely likable, he interacts well with players, boosters and media, and most people are sympathetic toward him and what he's trying to accomplish.

It's possible that changing coaches would be pointless. After all, UNLV isn't like two other 0-2 teams -- Michigan and Arizona State -- where winning is expected and all but mandatory.

But that's not to say Horton wouldn't quit at the end of the season. His wife, Teri, has health concerns and has been told that -- ideally -- she would be better off living in a cooler climate. That could play a role in the Hortons' future, especially if Jeff's team keeps getting shellacked and every other story about the Rebels has to do with his job security.

It's too bad, but there it is. Replacing Horton may not serve any constructive purpose, but it's something that's going to be talked about for quite some time by the looks of things.

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