College Football Coaches on the Hot Seat

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Which coaches are on a hot seat? All of them.

Every coach is a bad few weeks away – think James Franklin last year – or, sometimes, one awful game away from the fans wanting someone new. That’s the life these men have chosen.

But for these ten coaches, the pressure is turned up to a whole other level. Usually, we define the Hot Seat as needing to win to take the heat off, but for this list – nope. These ten have to come up with good seasons, or there will almost certainly be changes.

With that said, there’s reason to think positively. The bar isn’t set high for these ten, and in most cases, the problems are fixable. They all control their own fates – if they win and go to a bowl game, they’re almost all going to be fine.

26 for ’26, No. 8: College Football Coaches on the Hot Seat

26: Winningest Programs Yet To Make the CFP
25: ACC Key Questions
24: Big 12 Key Questions
23: Big Ten Key Questions
22: Top 2027 NFL Draft Prospects
21: SEC Key Questions
20: What’s Next in Realignment?
19. Ranking all 30 New Head Coaches
18. Who Has the Easiest Schedules?
17. Who Has the Hardest Schedules?
16. Who Might Be the Next Indiana?
15. Group of Six Teams with Best CFP Shot
14. 5 Teams Due For a Letdown
13. 5 Programs Under the Most Pressure
12. 26 Bold Predictions
11. 5 Teams We’re Disrespecting
10. 5 Hottest Head Coaching Prospects
9. Biggest Games of the Season

10. Lance Leipold, Kansas

Why Lance Leipold is on the hot seat
Kansas has been close, but he has four losing seasons in five years. With a refurbished stadium and the Big 12 getting stronger, a third straight sub-.500 campaign would be a problem.

What he needs to do
Show a spark again. The 2023 team won nine games, the offense was great, and the team was fun. Do that, and all will be fine.

What will happen?
Too many close calls will be too much to overcome. He’s a great head coach, but there hasn’t been any luck lately – this year’s schedule won’t do him any favors.
– Kansas 2026 Team Preview

9. Dell McGee, Georgia State

Why Dell McGee is on the hot seat
A 3-9 season followed by a 1-11 2025 puts all the pressure on. Georgia State comes into the season on a 1-19 run against FBS teams.

What he needs to do
Start to show a sign of life. This was supposed to be a rebuilding job, but just two of the 11 losses last season were by fewer than 12 points. Be more competitive, and get to at least four wins.

What will happen?
It’ll be another losing season, but there’s a good chance he survives as the Panthers get to at least four wins and start to show improvement.
– Georgia State 2026 Team Preview

8. Deion Sanders, Colorado

Why Deion Sanders is on the hot seat
It was the way last season ended. The 3-9 record could’ve been a blip, but the Buffaloes looked hopeless at times over the five-game losing streak to close things out. He’s now 16-21 in three years with two losing seasons.

What he needs to do
Be better in Big 12 play, and FAST. Sanders has been 1-8 twice in the Big 12, and this year the conference season starts with at Baylor, Texas Tech, and Utah.

What will happen?
This is going to be difficult. There will be moments when the Buffaloes play like the Shedeur/Travis era, but they play 11 Power Four teams with Georgia Tech and Northwestern on the road before Big 12 play starts.
– Colorado 2026 Team Preview

7. Bill Belichick, North Carolina

Why Bill Belichick is on the hot seat
This isn’t going well. He’s 74, making over $10 million a year, and North Carolina is coming off its worst season since 2018. The 231 points scored were the fewest since 216.

What he needs to do
Get to a bowl game. This is not supposed to be a rebuilding job. He loaded up on transfers last year, rebooted and loaded up on new transfers this year, and the wins have to be there.

What will happen?
He’ll survive. The Tar Heels suffered a few tough losses – the defense was terrific at times – with just enough close calls to think a tweak could turn this into a winner. He’s Bill Belichick. They’re going to give him a chance to make this work.
– North Carolina 2026 Team Preview

6. Mike Locksley, Maryland

Why Mike Locksley is on the hot seat
It looked like things were going well with three straight winning seasons and three bowl wins, and then came a 4-8 season with a 1-8 run in the Big Ten, followed up by another 4-8 season with a 1-8 run in the Big Ten.

What he needs to do
Start winning Big Ten games. In seven years, he has yet to have a winning Big Ten season. The conference slate is never going to be easy, but UCLA, at Nebraska, Rutgers, at Purdue, Wisconsin – there are winnable games.

What will happen?
The chances will be there with a fun offense, but the Terps will drop their last five games of the season for the third year in a row.
– Maryland 2026 Team Preview

5. Scott Satterfield, Cincinnati

Why Scott Satterfield is on the hot seat
Cincinnati came up with a winning season last year, and he has improved from three wins to five to seven, but the year ended with five straight losses. He’s 15-22 with the Bearcats and just 9-18 in the Big 12.

What he needs to do
Come up with another winning season. He hasn’t been amazing at UC, but as long as there are at least seven wins and a bowl game, he should be okay.

What will happen?
It’ll be a rough run. The Bearcats are good, but the Big 12 schedule is a bear. They’ll likely be the underdogs against everyone but Colorado, as they struggle too much after a probable 3-0 start.
– Cincinnati 2026 Team Preview

4. Bill O’Brien, Boston College

Why Bill O’Brien is on the hot seat
The 2-10 season was jarring. Boston College was able to close with a win over Syracuse, and three losses were by a total of eight points, but this is a program that got salty over winning six to seven games a season. It’s supposed to be an ACC player.

What he needs to do
Start strong. At Cincinnati, Rutgers, Maine, Virginia Tech. It’s not a breeze, but a decent Power Four program goes at least 3-1 in September. O’Brien needs to go at least 2-2 on the way to a winning season and bowl appearance.

What will happen?
The Eagles will be better, but they’ll have another tough time with five road games in the last eight, playing at Notre Dame, Miami, SMU, Duke, and Georgia Tech.
– Boston College 2026 Team Preview

3. Dave Aranda, Baylor

Why Dave Aranda is on the hot seat
Even though he’s only one year removed from a fun 8-5 season, he has three losing campaigns in the last four years and struggled to find the right mix. Losing five of the last six games last season put the pressure on.

What he needs to do
Pull out a winning season with the offense continuing to work. The team put up points, and it should be interesting with Florida transfer quarterback DJ Lagway, but Aranda is a defensive guru whose D completely collapsed, allowing 31 points or more in six of the last seven games.

What will happen?
Another late collapse will be too much to overcome. The Bears will start strong, but four road games in the last six, and a final run of at BYU, Texas Tech, at Houston, will lead to yet another losing season.
– Baylor 2026 Team Preview

2. Derek Mason, Middle Tennessee

Why Derek Mason is on the hot seat
Decent at Vanderbilt – at least at the time for the program – he seemed like a great hire for Middle Tennessee, but two 3-9 seasons and two straight 2-6 Conference USA records put the pressure on.

What he needs to do
Show the potential of what’s coming next and score points. Go from three to at least five wins, and come out hot. Last year’s Blue Raiders won their last two games, but started 1-9.

What will happen?
This is trickier than it might seem for a coach in this spot. It’s fixable if the offense starts to work – the team is 3-0 over the last two years when it scores more than 30 points. Murray State, at Marshall, Nevada, at Jacksonville State. He won’t come up with a winning season, but he’s still around next year if his team gets going fast.
– Middle Tennessee 2026 Team Preview

1. Luke Fickell, Wisconsin

Why Luke Fickell is on the hot seat
Wisconsin is supposed to be where Indiana is, and instead, it went from seven wins to five to four under Fickell. Worse yet, the program lost its identity, couldn’t score, and is 5-13 in the Big Ten over the last two years.

What he needs to do
Beat Notre Dame. Wisconsin and Fickell took down Illinois and Washington last season, and with Western Illinois and Eastern Michigan to follow, all of a sudden, this can change around fast. All that, and again … score points.

What will happen?
Yes, Fickell has to get to a bowl game, and it’ll happen with more than enough winnable games on the slate to get to at least six wins, possibly eight with a little luck. And that’s why he’s No. 1 on this list – he has to win with a way, way more manageable schedule.

Last year, the Badgers lost to Indiana, Ohio State, Oregon, Alabama, Michigan, and Iowa before dropping the season finale at Minnesota. If he can’t win with this year’s slate – no Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio State, Oregon, or Washington – the school will (likely) find the $25 million buyout and move on.
– Wisconsin 2026 Team Preview

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