Ranking the 10 college football coaches on the hot seat entering Week 9
- Several high-profile college football coaches are facing job insecurity despite recent statements of support from their universities.
- Florida State’s Mike Norvell and Wisconsin’s Luke Fickell are under pressure after their teams have struggled against top competition.
- Large contract buyouts and a growing number of existing vacancies may lead some schools to retain their current coaches.
There’s always plenty of room on the college football hot seat. But you need to keep your head on a swivel to keep up with how quickly things can change for Bowl Subdivision head coaches. (See how things unraveled for James Franklin as the most recent example.)
A pair of embattled Power Four coaches, Florida State’s Mike Norvell and Wisconsin’s Luke Fickell, earned lukewarm endorsements this week but remain in the danger zone with five games left in the regular season.
Two factors to keep in mind when evaluating this year’s coaching cycle are the immense buyouts due to many Power Four coaches and an already crowded list of openings that could entice schools to keep the status quo and enter the hiring pool next winter.
Now that Billy Napier and former Alabama-Birmingham coach Trent Dilfer have been sent packing, Norvell and Fickell lead the updated USA TODAY Sports hot seat rankings:
Luke Fickell, Wisconsin
The facts are damning. Wisconsin has dropped 10 in a row against Power Four competition and 10 of 12 overall. The Badgers have been outscored 71-0 in the past two weeks, suffering back-to-back home shutouts for the first time since 1968. But the administration is still supporting Fickell, who drew a statement of confidence from athletics director Chris McIntosh and a commitment to increased financial resources. While this dials down the heat, Fickell still needs to show progress these next five games to warrant another season.
Mike Norvell, Florida State
The numbers look just as bad for Norvell. Since nearly making the College Football Playoff in 2023, Florida State is 5-14 overall and 1-11 in the ACC. The Seminoles have lost four conference games in a row, all by a single possession but none worse than Saturday’s late-night bellyflop at Stanford. As with Wisconsin and Fickell, FSU is “fully committed” to Norvell, athletics director Michael Alford said, but that will change if the Seminoles finish near the bottom of the ACC.
Hugh Freeze, Auburn
The clock is ticking on Freeze as Auburn heads to a third losing finish in as many years. The culprit is an offense that has no direction, no plan for its skill talent and no reason for optimism after failing to score more than 17 points in four SEC games. Auburn can reach a bowl game by beating Arkansas and Kentucky, but Freeze would have to add in an upset of No. 10 Vanderbilt or an even bigger shocker against No. 4 Alabama to buy another year. (Or maybe both.)
Brian Kelly, LSU
A massive investment helped pull Kelly away from Notre Dame but hasn’t yielded a breakthrough for the Tigers, who come in just ahead of Auburn for the title of biggest disappointment in the SEC. Again, the offense shoulders the blame: LSU hasn’t topped 24 points in six FBS games. The next two games against No. 3 Texas A&M and Alabama could determine Kelly’s future.
Jonathan Smith, Michigan State
Smith has been a poor fit for a program that has continued to drop down the Big Ten ladder since a monster 2021 season under former coach Mel Tucker. Smith was supposed to bring some consistency back to East Lansing after doing great work at Oregon State. But the offense has misfired, the defense ranks near the bottom of the conference and there are legitimate concerns that Smith has failed to construct the foundation needed to handle the rigors of life in the Big Ten.
Bill O’Brien, Boston College
The one-win Eagles have quietly been one of the biggest busts in the Power Four after reaching a bowl game in O’Brien’s debut. The heat is rising on the former Penn State coach after last weekend’s embarrassing loss to Connecticut, which followed a 41-point loss to Pittsburgh and a 31-point loss to Clemson. While Boston College hasn’t won eight games since 2009, the program seems as far away from ACC contention as ever now that O’Brien has failed to capitalize on last year’s promising start.
Bill Belichick, North Carolina
There are a few reasons why Belichick is unlikely to be fired even as North Carolina continues to search for a win against the Power Four. Belichick has a big buyout number, for one, and firing him after one season would also be hugely embarrassing for the school and athletics department. But the results are just abysmal: UNC has been outplayed and outcoached across the board, highlighting concerns that this challenge is too much for Belichick at this late stage of his career.
Brent Brennan, Arizona
Brennan inched his way off the hot seat with a 3-0 start but is back under pressure now that Arizona has dropped three of four in the Big 12. Two of those losses, in overtime to No. 10 Brigham Young and by a field goal at Houston, suggest the Wildcats are still capable of winning six or seven games during the regular season. That’s probably the baseline for Brennan to buy another year.
Derek Mason, Middle Tennessee State
The former Vanderbilt coach is 4-14 overall with the Blue Raiders and 1-5 this season, with the one win coming by a point against woeful Nevada and with losses to Autin Peay, Kennesaw State and Missouri State. Firing longtime coach Rick Stockstill one year after he posted his sixth eight-win season has turned out to be one of the worst decisions by any Group of Five administration this decade.
Major Applewhite, South Alabama
The momentum developed under former coach Kane Wommack has evaporated since Applewhite took over entering last season. After making a bowl game in his first year, the Jaguars have dropped six in a row following a win in the opener and are one of three Sun Belt teams without a conference victory. Games against Georgia State, Louisiana-Lafayette and Texas State could get Applewhite back on track.
