Ranking 25 College Football Coaches on the Hot Seat in 2024

25. Tony Elliott - Virginia Cavaliers

The former Clemson assistant arrived as the head coach of the Virginia Cavaliers before the 2022 season. The Cavaliers went 3-7 (with two games canceled) in his first season and then stumbled to a 3-9 campaign in 2023. There were positive signs, including the entertaining and promising play of young quarterback Anthony Colandrea. However, the bottom line is still a record of 6-16 with only three conference wins in a relatively pedestrian ACC. If Colandrea continues to turn the ball over too much or Virginia flounders to another three-win season near the bottom of the league, Tony Elliott might be out after three seasons.

Virginia 2024 Win Total: 4.5

2. Baylor Bears

Dave Aranda looked like a star-in-the-making when he took the Baylor Bears to a 12-2 record in his second season after leaving his post as the LSU defensive coordinator and headed to Waco. It looks more and more like that season was the mirage, as Baylor has had losing seasons in each of the past two campaigns, and Aranda is now only 23-25. The Bears are in the Big 12, a league that big-money donors will feel is there for the taking if Baylor is well-coached. As things currently stand, Baylor is one of the few teams not given much chance to contend in the wide-open Big 12. Baylor plays at Utah in Week 2, Colorado in Week 4, and Iowa State in Week 6. If they drop all those road games and are just 3-3 heading into a bye week, questions will be asked in Waco.

Baylor 2024 Win Total: 5.5

3. Billy Napier - Florida Gators

The administration in Gainesville is saying all the right things. They believe in Billy Napier, and he will be given time to build his program. However, the 2023 season was a complete trainwreck, particularly on defense. Florida looked poorly coached with costly and untimely pre-snap penalties and could not stop any remotely competent offense. The Gators landed highly-touted quarterback DJ Lagway and are recruiting well in the high school ranks, promising signs for the future. Take a peek at the schedule for Florida this coming season. It is incredibly tough. Florida plays, by far, the most challenging schedule in the country. Their win total is just 4.5. While the Gators could progress quite a bit and be headed in the right direction, they might still only win four or five games. If Florida misses a bowl game for another season, Napier will be under an intense amount of pressure, particularly with in-state rivals Miami and Florida State projected to have strong seasons. If the Gators lose to those two and drop a game to Central Florida, the optics might be too much to move on.

2024 Florida Win Total: 4.5

4. Sonny Cumbie - Louisiana Tech Bulldogs

Sonny Cumbie was expected to spark the offense at Louisiana Tech and make the Bulldogs a competitor in a weakened Conference USA. Things have not clicked for Cumbie, and he is in real trouble after only two seasons. Louisiana Tech has been a disaster, going 3-9 in both of his seasons in charge and winning a total of four conference games. The offense has averaged fewer than 26 points per game, and the defense has been amongst the worst in CUSA. Things don’t look much better for the 2024 campaign as the Bulldogs have non-conference games against Arkansas and North Carolina State that are almost certainly losses. Cumbie must find his offensive juice very soon, or he’ll be searching for a bounce-back offensive coordinator job in 2025.

Louisiana Tech 2024 Win Total: 4.5

5. Stan Drayton - Temple Owls

Temple is a tough place to win. However, the Temple Owls went to five straight bowl games from 2015 to 2019, and there are reasons to believe they should be much better than they have been under Stan Drayton. Rod Carey was fired in 2021, and Drayton has gone 6-18 in two seasons with no real positive signs indicating they are going in the right direction. Only four of Drayton’s six wins are against FBS competition, and Temple has slipped to the bottom of the American Athletic Conference under his watch. Temple starts the season at Oklahoma and then plays at Navy. Those are two challenging games in very different ways. The Sooners will likely overwhelm Temple, and then the Navy will ground them down on the ground. They then play Coastal Carolina, Utah State, Army, and then are at UConn. They might be underdogs in at least three of those four games and could head into the bye week at 0-6 or 1-5.

Temple 2024 Win Total: 2.5

6. Joe Moorhead - Akron Zips

Akron is a challenging place to win. The Akron Zips are perennially one of the least-resourced teams in the Mid-American Conference, and the gap between the haves and the have-nots in college football only widens with each passing year. It is not surprising to see Joe Moorhead struggle to a 4-20 record in two seasons with the Zips, but his previous record as a head coach likely serves as a strike against him as well. He won 14 games in two seasons in Starkville with Mississippi State. That was not a disastrous stint, but he was clearly uncomfortable there. It seems very plausible that Moorhead would serve better as an offensive coordinator candidate during this coming cycle. If Akron’s season goes as expected, that is precisely what he will become.

Akron 2024 Win Total: 3.5

7. Mike Houston - East Carolina Pirates

East Carolina has high expectations as a football program. The Pirates are well-supported, and they have every reason to believe they can compete for regular postseason appearances and occasionally challenge for a conference title. After two reasonably strong seasons, Mike Houston’s squad walked the plank in 2023 and fell to a 2-10 record. That is a dismal season and something that won’t be tolerated for long. He is now only 24-34 in five seasons, and they have yet to challenge for the American Athletic Conference title or even be a sleeper contender. The schedule is relatively soft this season, and it’s do-or-die time for Houston.

East Carolina 2024 Win Total: 6.5

8. Clark Lea - Vanderbilt Commodores

James Franklin showed that it was possible to win at Vanderbilt. Those seasons existed within a different era of college football, but they still occurred, and the raised expectations have made the Vanderbilt job a tricky proposition. It is something Clark Lea is grappling with, and he now finds himself in the hot seat after suffering losses on the field and in the transfer portal. They backslid from 5-7 to 2-10 and have games against Virginia Tech, Missouri, Alabama, LSU, UK, Tennessee, and SEC-newcomer Texas on the slate. Reaching an acceptable number will be challenging, and they are relying on transfer quarterback Diego Pavia to create some magic.

Vanderbilt 2024 Win Total: 2.5

9. Will Hall - Southern Miss Golden Eagles

Will Hall was widely praised when Southern Miss hired him. The Golden Eagles went just 3-9 in his first season, but the optimism around his hire appeared validated in 2022 when Southern Miss built a 7-6 record. They fell back down to 3-9 again last season, and the pressure is now on in year four for Hall in Hattiesburg. Southern Miss is in the competitive Sun Belt, and they added non-conference games against Kentucky and South Florida, which will not make Hall’s task any easier.

Southern Miss 2024 Win Total: 4.5

10. Justin Wilcox - Cal Golden Bears

The University of California surprised many by flexing some NIL muscle in the transfer portal this past season. They kept a couple of in-demand players at home and landed some impressive transfers that will make their transition to the ACC interesting. If the boosters are interested in investing in making Cal competitive on the gridiron, the pressure on Justin Wilcox gets ratcheted up. He’s been on hot seat lists for several seasons and has already just scraped by. That was the case again last season, and they finished strong enough to make a bowl game. Wilcox could finally get canned if the move to the ACC goes poorly and the Golden Bears do not make a bowl game in 2024.

Cal 2024 Win Total: 5.5

11. Mike Neu - Ball State Cardinals

Mike Neu is a former player at Ball State University. Coaching at your alma mater typically provides a bit more of a runway if there are struggles, as schools might be reluctant to fire a former player early, but Neu has now had eight seasons in Muncie, and he has only one winning season. That was in 2020 when the Cardinals went 7-1 and won the Arizona Bowl. They have had three straight losing seasons since that campaign he is now just 37-56. More damaging, Neu is 16 games under .500 in MAC play. Ball State is not a MAC power historically, but they are usually more competitive than they have been under Neu, and the 2024 season needs to be a success for him to keep his job.

Ball State 2024 Win Total: 4.5

12. Kalani Sitake - BYU Cougars

Mark Pope exiting BYU for Kentucky seems to have stirred some high-powered Cougars donors. Since that change in the basketball program, BYU’s NIL program has taken off and secured multiple high-profile basketball recruits. If that same attention is given to the football program, as expected, subpar results will not be tolerated for long. Kalani Sitake has been the head coach at BYU since 2016. He went 9-4 in that first season and then broke through in 2020 with an 11-1 season and a 10-3 record in 2021. Things have changed for BYU, though. As of 2023, they were no longer an independent and are attempting to prove they belong and can compete in the Big 12. The inaugural campaign was rocky as BYU was 5-7 with a 2-7 record in the league. That included a five-game tailspin at the end of the season. The league schedule is demanding, and throw in odd non-conference road games to SMU and Wyoming, and things could get dicey for Sitake.

BYU 2024 Win Total: 4.5

13. Scott Satterfield - Cincinnati Bearcats

Like BYU, the Cincinnati Bearcats have a proud football history but are attempting to adjust a step up in competition. The Bearcats moved from the American Athletic Conference at the same time that Luke Fickell left for Wisconsin, and many immediately questioned the hiring of Scott Satterfield. Satterfield is entering his second season, and his contract would make it very difficult to move on, but his first season was a disaster. The Bearcats were only 3-9 and last in the Big 12. It was the worst season for Cincinnati since 1999. The non-conference schedule features tricky matchups with Pitt plus an in-state trip to Miami of Ohio. If Cincinnati in 2024 resembles what was on the field in 2023, Satterfield could quickly get the boot.

Cincinnati 2024 Win Total: 5.5

14. Scot Loeffler - Bowling Green Falcons

Bowling Green had a strong run of coaches from 2003 to 2015. Gregg Brandon went 44-30 in six seasons, Dave Clawson went 32-31 in five seasons, and Dino Babers was 18-9 in two campaigns before going to Syracuse. Mike Jinks only lasted three seasons before being fired, and Scot Loeffler is now entering his sixth season. His record is only 20-35, and nine games under .500 in the MAC. Numbers like that typically don’t lead to long tenures. Loeffler is known as an offensive coach, and the Falcons have made back-to-back bowl games, but he has yet to win more than seven games in a season, and he has one winning campaign. Bowling Green is not a place of vast resources, but if the program is stuck in the mud with another average to below-average season, they might look to move on.

Bowling Green 2024 Win Total: 6.5

15. Don Brown - UMass Minutemen

The question is not whether Don Brown has succeeded at UMass. That answer is easy: no, he has not. The question is not whether or not Don Brown offers a path forward to success. That answer is also pretty straightforward: it appears not. UMass is just 4-20 in his two seasons, and the Minutemen were outscored by an average of 14.5 points per game in 2023. Their only three wins came against Merrimack (31-21), Army, and New Mexico State. Brown is 68, and UMass is stuck with a schedule featuring games against Missouri, Mississippi State, Liberty, and Georgia. What’s the path forward here? Yet, the question is whether UMass wants to make a concerted effort to compete in football. The answer to that one is to be determined.

UMass 2024 Win Total: 3.5

16. Kenni Burns - Kent State Golden Flashes

It would be surprising to see Kent State pull the plug on the Kenni Burns era after only two seasons but the second-year head coach enters 2024 on the hot seat thanks to a disastrous 2023 campaign. The Golden Flashes had three straight winning conference seasons under Sean Lewis before the offensive-minded coach left to be the OC at Colorado (San Diego State head coach) and the cupboard should not have been completely bare for Burns. The transfer portal gutted the roster, and Burns could not refill it adequately as the Flashes went just 1-11 and were very possibly the worst team in the country. If that repeats itself in 2024, Burns could be two and done as a head coach.

Kent State 2024 Win Total: 2.5

17. Pat Narduzzi - Pitt Panthers

Pat Narduzzi’s job is likely not on the line in 2024 but the situation at Pitt is worth monitoring. If you look at the former Michigan State assistant’s tenure at Pitt, there is one outlier on the good side and one on the bad side, and then a whole bunch of “just okay.” Narduzzi’s squad was somewhere between 5-7 and 8-5 from 2015 to 2020 before breaking out with Kenny Pickett in 2021 to go 11-3 and 7-1 in the ACC. They have since gone 9-4 with a win in the Sun Bowl and a dreadful 3-9 in 2023. Off the field, Narduzzi has been relatively combative concerning NIL and the transfer portal and he jettisoned the only offensive coordinator that really had his attack humming. The outlook for this year is poor, and another sub-.500 season will definitely require Pitt’s administration to think about the direction forward.

Pitt 2024 Win Total: 5.5

18. Mike Bloomgren - Rice Owls

The 2023 season helped cool the temperature on Rice head coach Mike Bloomgren’s seat. Fans and the Rice administration are not just going to forget the five previous losing seasons he had and his record with Rice is still only 22-46 and just 16-29 in the conference. Bloomgren had finished no better than tied for fourth in a division or fifth in the conference and that is just nowhere near good enough at a school in Texas. The former Stanford Associate Head Coach has a pretty good roster heading into the 2024 season and he’ll need a winning season to feel good about his job security.

Rice 2024 Win Total: 6.5

19. Mario Cristobal - Miami Hurricanes

Mario Cristobal will probably not be fired from Miami after the 2024 season, barring an unforeseen scandal. It would be accurate to say that his seat is quite warm. The pressure is on to produce on the field and progress after a disappointing 2023 season. Miami landed Cam Ward in the transfer portal and from that point forward, the pressure has been on Cristobal and the Hurricanes to challenge for the College Football Playoff. The schedule is favorable and there is a lot of talent surrounding the star quarterback. If Cristobal can’t produce with this roster, hard questions will be asked about his ability to be anything more than a strong recruiter.

Miami 2024 Win Total: 9.5

20. Ryan Day - Ohio State Buckeyes

Ryan Day is not getting fired and it’s not rational but there is likely no coach in America facing more pressure in 2024 than the Ohio State head coach. Day has a fantastic resume and he is probably one of the best coaches in the country. Ohio State has been remarkable under his watch but, and this is a very big but in Columbus, Michigan has beaten the Buckeyes three times in a row and the Wolverines just won the National Championship. Losing to Michigan is not acceptable for Ohio State and doing it three straight times draws ire, regardless of how you have performed against everyone else. There are two goals for Ohio State this season after they loaded up with returning talent and a great portal haul: beat Michigan and win the National Championship. If Day loses for a fourth straight time to Michigan or fails to really challenge with this roster for a title, he won’t be fired but his life might become quite uncomfortable in Columbus.

Ohio State 2024 Win Total: 10.5

21. Butch Jones - Arkansas State Red Wolves

The former Tennessee Volunteers head coach was in the Nick Saban image rehabilitation center for a few years before being hired for the Arkansas State Red Wolves head coaching job before the 2021 season. The Red Wolves went 2-10 in year one and 3-9 in year two before making the Camellia Bowl in 2023 but finishing at just 6-7. The 2023 season represented progress, but he enters 2024 under pressure, and if Arkansas State misses a bowl game and finishes with another losing record, Butch Jones could find himself unemployed again. The Sun Belt is a tough Group of Five league, but an 11-26 record won’t cut it at Arkansas State, and Jones does not have a cuddly personality that will lend him more leeway.

Arkansas State 2024 Win Total: 6.5

22. Clay Helton - Georgia Southern Eagles

Georgia Southern has a proud football history. Recent coaches include Jeff Monken (38-16 with Georgia Southern) and Willie Fritz (17-7 with Georgia Southern). Even Chad Lunsford had a 28-19 record before moving on. Clay Helton, a former Rose Bowl-winning coach with USC, was hired before the 2022 season, but the results have been middling. The Eagles have gone 6-7 in back-to-back campaigns, and a third straight losing season in 2024 would have the Georgia Southern Eagles administration asking some questions. The Eagles play Boise State and Ole Miss in the non-conference, so this will not be an easy slate for Helton to get off a warm seat.

Georgia Southern 2024 Win Total: 5.5

23. Ryan Walters - Purdue Boilermakers

Purdue head coach Ryan Walters is likely safe, regardless of what happens in the 2024 season. Still, another season like his debut campaign a year ago could have him on a scorching seat entering the 2025 season. The Purdue Boilermakers won the Big Ten West in 2022, but Jeff Brohm exited to Louisville, and Walters was hired as a first-time head coach from Illinois. The situation he stepped into was pretty good, but the Boilermakers hit the back button and finished only 4-8 with a 3-6 record in the weak Big Ten West. The league has now disposed of divisions, and the Boilermakers will almost certainly have more demanding schedules moving forward than in the past. They lost their top defensive and offensive players to the portal and are projected to finish in the basement of the Big Ten. If the Boilermakers go 4-8 again (or worse), Walters would quickly be on a scorching seat.

Purdue 2024 Win Total: 4.5

24. Neal Brown - West Virginia Mountaineers

West Virginia’s Neal Brown entered the 2023 season on as hot of a seat as anyone in the country. The Mountaineers surprised and went 8-4 before winning the Duke’s Mayo Bowl. It was an impressive turnaround after three of four losing campaigns, and it got Neal Brown back into the good graces of WVU fans. What happens if West Virginia reverts to sub-.500? Brown is still only 31-29 in Morgantown, and the Big 12 is wide open for teams to break through and become playoff contenders. Parity is great, but someone still has to lose, and if 2023 proves to be an anomaly, Brown’s leash could be short.

West Virginia 2024 Win Total: 6.5

25. Tony Elliott - Virginia Cavaliers

The former Clemson assistant arrived as the head coach of the Virginia Cavaliers before the 2022 season. The Cavaliers went 3-7 (with two games canceled) in his first season and then stumbled to a 3-9 campaign in 2023. There were positive signs, including the entertaining and promising play of young quarterback Anthony Colandrea. However, the bottom line is still a record of 6-16 with only three conference wins in a relatively pedestrian ACC. If Colandrea continues to turn the ball over too much or Virginia flounders to another three-win season near the bottom of the league, Tony Elliott might be out after three seasons.

Virginia 2024 Win Total: 4.5