College Football Coaches on the Hot Seat for 2025

The college football season is approaching quickly. While there are coaches who have some stability, there are others with some pressure heading into the 2025 season. Here are the college football coaches on the hot seat for 2025.

ACC

Tony Elliott, Virginia Cavaliers

Elliott was on this last season, but kept his job after posting a 5-7 record. He is just 11-23 over three years and things don’t seem like they are getting better. The Cavaliers have just six returning starters and have lost a lot to the transfer portal, so making a bowl game and saving his job could be tough. 

Mike Norvell, Florida State Seminoles

After going undefeated during the 2023 regular season, Florida State had an abysmal season in 2024, winning just two games. The high school recruiting isn’t coming in as well as the expectations and it is hard to fill the roster with the transfer portal and have consistent success. Florida State probably won’t want to pay for Norvell’s buyout, but another really bad season could force their hand. 

Brent Pry, Virginia Tech Hokies

Pry says he has his best team yet at Virginia Tech and that may need to be true for him to stay the coach after this season. The Hokies made a bowl game last season, but they will want more. He has a 16-21 record overall and if he doesn’t get closer to .500 for his career this season, Virginia Tech may be looking for a new coach. 

Justin Wilcox, California Golden Bears

Cal is an extremely tough job and Wilcox has battled for eight seasons. He has a 42-50 record over his time at Cal. Wilcox had a lot of players enter the transfer portal this offseason, so expectations aren’t high. With more support, Wilcox could be more successful at Cal, but there is a better chance that Cal looks in a new direction for a head coach. 

Big Ten

Luke Fickell, Wisconsin Badgers

Fickell is 13-13 at Wisconsin with a 5-7 record last season. After finding a lot of success at Cincinnati, he has a big buyout in his contract. So Fickell will likely not be fired after this season, but if things go horribly wrong, that could make Wisconsin decision-makers antsy. Making a bowl game will help, but at some point Fickell will likely have to compete for the Big Ten to remain head coach. 

Mike Locksley, Maryland Terrapins

Locksley has a 33-41 record at Maryland over seven seasons. Last season, the Terps went 4-8. With another bad season this year, it could show a downturn in the program and make the university want to make a chage. Making a bowl game could help his job security, but he has only four returning starters and not a lot of expectations for the season. 

Lincoln Riley, USC Trojans

Riley was very close to making the CFP when just four teams were admitted, but since then, things have gone wrong. Last season, the Trojans had a 7-6 record, but they are paying for Riley to be one of the better coaches in the country. He likely will have more than this season to figure it out, but will need to be pushing for CFP contention in the short-term future. 

Big 12

Brent Brennan, Arizona Wildcats

Things didn’t go well in Brennan’s first year at Arizona, even after several impact players stayed at the program. They won just four games. Quarterback Noah Fifita returns at quarterback, but Arizona is projected to finish near the bottom of the Big 12. He’ll probably get an extra season to figure things out, but another bad season could make things murky. 

Mike Gundy, Oklahoma State Cowboys

Oklahoma State was able to get Gundy to take a salary decrease, which may be a sign of things to come. The Cowboys were projected to have a good season in 2024, but won just three games. One of the most tenured coaches in the country will need to keep adapting to NIL and current roster building. The good news is that he usually does well when expectations are lower. 

Scott Satterfield, Cincinnati Bearcats

Satterfield is 8-16 over two seasons with the Bearcats and posted a 5-7 record in 2024. That may be a sign of improvement, but a third straight season without a bowl game could make his seat hot. The Bearcats return a few key players, including quarterback Brendan Sorsby, tight end Joe Royer and defensive lineman Dontay Corleone, to help things out. 

SEC

Hugh Freeze, Auburn Tigers

There have been a lot of headlines this offseason about Freeze’s golf habit and not winning games can make that into a bigger issue. In two seasons at Auburn, he has an 11-14 record. Last season, he won five games, but more is needed to stay safe. He has mentioned that he wants to make a bowl game this season, but may need more than that. 

Billy Napier, Florida Gators

Napier faced one of the toughest schedules in college football last season and won eight games. That helped get him off the hot seat for a short time period. But with another tough season, he could find himself right back on it. He retained a lot of key players heading into this season and expectations are high. 

Sam Pittman, Arkansas Razorbacks

Pittman went 7-6 last season and has a 30-31 record overall. He has been on the hot seat for a while and missing a bowl game this season could be the final straw. 

Mark Stoops, Kentucky Wildcats

Kentucky was projected to be solid last season, but went 4-8. Stoops has done a great job rebuilding the program, but he was rumored to take other jobs. His buyout will keep him safe, but fans are starting to wonder if he can build the team up again. 

Brent Venables, Oklahoma Sooners

Venables is 22-17 over three seasons at Oklahoma. He has faced a tough schedule, but going 6-7 last season isn’t good enough for the Sooners. Another tough schedule is ahead this season, but the team should be improved as well. Another down season could get Oklahoma to look in another direction. 

Group of Five

Sonny Cumbie, Louisiana Tech Bulldogs

Cumbie is 11-26 over three seasons with Louisiana Tech. They are projected to finish near the bottom of the C-USA.

Trent Dilfer, UAB Blazers

UAB had good seasons under Bill Clark, but the last two seasons under Dilfer haven’t been great. They’ll need to improve on his 7-17 record. 

Joe Moorhead, Akron Zips

Moorhead has posted an 8-26 record over his three seasons at Akron. They improved to four wins last season, but will need to keep showing progress. 

Ricky Rahne, Old Dominion Monarchs

ODU has a 20-30 record under Rahne. After winning five games last season, making a bowl game should keep Rahne safe. 

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