NCAAB · 9 months ago

2025 College Basketball Head Coaches Hot Seat Watch

TJ Inman

Host · Writer

10. Hubert Davis - North Carolina Tar Heels
Hubert Davis will not get fired this season, and he’s not in too hot of a seat…yet. At a blue-blood like North Carolina, the heat can get turned up quickly, and the natives are already a bit restless in Chapel Hill with what they are seeing on the court under Davis. His first season was a rousing success, with the Tar Heels advancing to the NCAA Championship Game before losing. 2022-2023 was a disappointment as UNC missed the NCAA Tournament, but they rebounded with a regular-season ACC crown and a trip to the Sweet Sixteen. After a close loss to Wake Forest, North Carolina is projected to miss the NCAA Tournament for the second time in three seasons.

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1. Mike Woodson - Indiana Hoosiers
Things are getting ugly for Mike Woodson in Bloomington. The former legendary IU player was an odd hire in 2021 as he was named the head coach despite no experience in the collegiate game. He got the Hoosiers to the NCAA Tournament each of his first two seasons but did not advance past the second round in either appearance. He missed it altogether in 2023-2024 and is on pace to miss it again this season. Getting blown out by quality opposition is a recurring theme for Woodson, and a lack of success in traditional high school recruiting has crippled the long-term outlook of the program. Loud boos have been heard at home games, and a change at head coach is expected during or after this season.

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2. Kevin Kruger - UNLV Rebels
The UNLV Rebels have a proud history and expect more than they have gotten under Kevin Kruger through four seasons. The son of Lon Kruger, Kevin took over as the head coach before the 2021 season after T.J. Otzelberger departed for Iowa State. He has won 59% of his games, but the Runnin’ Rebels have yet to finish better than fourth in the Mountain West Conference, and they have not made the NCAA Tournament in three seasons. Barring a title in the Mountain West tournament, they won’t be dancing this season either. The leash for Kruger likely runs out after the 2025 campaign.
3. Doug Gottlieb - Green Bay Phoenix
Green Bay hiring Doug Gottlieb seemed like a publicity stunt, and the experiment has quickly gone sour. The Phoenix are stuck in last place in the Horizon League with a woeful 2-19 record. They have lost 16 games (as of January 24, 2025), and Gottlieb has been publicly embarrassed on multiple occasions. He continues to host a daily radio show, questioning how serious he is about competing as a head coach of a program. He was also ridiculed for mocking a female basketball player for an in-game mistake before his team blew a five-point halftime lead en route to a blowout loss to Robert Morris. It would be a surprise if this charade lasted more than one season.
4. Earl Grant - Boston College Eagles
The Boston College Eagles hired Earl Grant before the 2021 campaign after he won 58 percent of his games at the College of Charleston. Of course, the College of Charleston has gone on to have more success since he left, and perhaps that was the first red flag of Grant's tenure in Chestnut Hill. The Eagles were sub-.500 in each of his first two seasons, only 8-12 last season, and are currently last in the ACC. Grant is below .500 as a head coach with Boston College, and it would be shocking if he got a fifth year.
5. Mike Young - Virginia Tech Hokies
Mike Young has been a head coach for a long time, but it took a 30-win season at Wofford in 2018 to get the attention of a high-major school. He jumped to Virginia Tech before the 2019 season, and things got off to a promising start. The Hokies made the NCAA Tournament in back-to-back campaigns (but did not win a game). Things have gone backward since, as Virginia Tech finished 19-15 in 2022-2023 and 2023-2024. They now sit just 8-11 (as of January 24, 2025), heading into a clash with white-hot Clemson. This will be the third straight season of missing the NCAA Tournament, and the program is slipping.
6. Kyle Neptune - Villanova Wildcats
Taking over for a legend is a difficult task. Jay Wright stepped away from the Villanova Wildcats ahead of the 2022 season and hand-picked former assistant and Fordham head coach Kyle Neptune to take over. Neptune was only 16-16 with the Rams in 2021-2022, so there was some skepticism, but Wright believed in him, so he was given some benefit of the doubt from Villanova fans. After nearly three seasons, the benefit of the doubt and goodwill have run out in Philadelphia. Villanova was 17-17 in year one, 18-16 in Year 2, and they are now just over .500 in the Big East and not in consideration to reach the NCAA Tournament. The difference between Wright’s success and the current Villanova program is stark, and Neptune could be on the chopping block.
7. Steve Pikiell - Rutgers Scarlet Knights
Landing a pair of elite recruits like Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey was a big deal, but it comes with added pressure for Rutgers head coach Steve Pikiell. The Scarlet Knights made the NCAA Tournament in back-to-back seasons but missed the Big Dance in each of the past two campaigns. Despite the excellent play of his two star freshmen, they will need to win the Big Ten Tournament to make the field of 68 this season, and Harper and Bailey will be off to the NBA when this year is over. That would leave the program with no tournament for three straight seasons and no direction forward. Pikiell is a good coach, but it might be time for a change in New Jersey.
8. Adrian Autry - Syracuse Orange
Longtime Jim Boeheim assistant Adrian Autry likely gets another season, but the future does not look bright for the Syracuse Orange under the second-year head coach. The Orange went 20-12 in Year 1 but were only 11-9 in a weak ACC and never really sniffed the NCAA Tournament. Year 2 was always going to be telling, and thus far, the program is regressing. The Orange are under .500 and were just shellacked by the Clemson Tigers without much fight being shown. This is one to watch.
9. Steve Forbes - Wake Forest Demon Deacons
Steve Forbes is considered by many to be a well above-average head coach. He was successful at East Tennessee State and was considered a good hire by Wake Forest in 2020. After going just 6-16 in Year 1, Forbes has had the Demon Deacons on the bubble for the NCAA Tournament in all three seasons since. The issue is that they have come up empty each time, and this is now Year 5 with zero NCAA Tournament appearances. Wake Forest is playing well right now but is entering a key stretch with games against Duke, Louisville, and Pittsburgh in the next week. I believe Forbes is coaching for his job and has to make the Big Dance this season to remain in Winston-Salem.
10. Hubert Davis - North Carolina Tar Heels
Hubert Davis will not get fired this season, and he’s not in too hot of a seat…yet. At a blue-blood like North Carolina, the heat can get turned up quickly, and the natives are already a bit restless in Chapel Hill with what they are seeing on the court under Davis. His first season was a rousing success, with the Tar Heels advancing to the NCAA Championship Game before losing. 2022-2023 was a disappointment as UNC missed the NCAA Tournament, but they rebounded with a regular-season ACC crown and a trip to the Sweet Sixteen. After a close loss to Wake Forest, North Carolina is projected to miss the NCAA Tournament for the second time in three seasons.

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1. Mike Woodson - Indiana Hoosiers
Things are getting ugly for Mike Woodson in Bloomington. The former legendary IU player was an odd hire in 2021 as he was named the head coach despite no experience in the collegiate game. He got the Hoosiers to the NCAA Tournament each of his first two seasons but did not advance past the second round in either appearance. He missed it altogether in 2023-2024 and is on pace to miss it again this season. Getting blown out by quality opposition is a recurring theme for Woodson, and a lack of success in traditional high school recruiting has crippled the long-term outlook of the program. Loud boos have been heard at home games, and a change at head coach is expected during or after this season.

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2025 College Basketball Head Coaches Hot Seat Watch

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