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HOW OUR TOP 20 COLLEGE FOOTBALL COACHES LIST IS COMPILED

The Top 20 College Football Coaches List: A pressure cooker of gridiron expectations.

We’re not calling for heads to roll, but let’s be real—the heat gets turned up when your team’s floundering. This list isn’t about who’s getting fired, it’s about who’s feeling the burn.

Registered (it’s free!) members of Coaches Hot Seat get to stoke the flames (or douse them) with daily votes.

Upvote a coach? You’re saying the pressure’s on, the seat’s getting hotter. Downvote? Maybe there’s a flicker of hope, a chance for redemption.

Go ahead – hit the sign-up button above and join the inferno of opinions!

Week 4 – 2025 COLLEGE FOOTBALL COACHES HOT SEAT rankings

#01

#02

#03

Sonny Cumbie - Louisiana Tech - Coaches Hot Seat

#04

Trent Dilfer head coach of UAB - Coaches Hot Seat

#05

#06

Scott Satterfield - Cincinnati Bearcats - Big 12

#07

#08

Mike Gundy

Oklahoma State

#09

Butch Jones, Arkansas State Head Football Coach - Coaches Hot Seat

#10

Bubbling Under

#11

Jeff Choate

Nevada

#12

Kalen Deboer

Alabama

#13

Brent Venables

Oklahoma

#14

Derek Mason

Middle Tennessee

#15

Mark Stoops

Kentucky

#16

Trent Bray

Oregon State

#17

Sean Lewis

San Diego State

#18

Scotty Walden

Virginia Tech

#19

Spencer Danielson

Boise State

#20

Jay Sawvel

Wyoming

COACHES HOT SEAT RANKING

September 9, 2025 - Week 3

At Coaches Hot Seat, we rank all 136 FBS football coaches from 1 (hottest seat in America) to 136 (ice cold). Here's what makes us different: our rankings move every single week. While most sites publish once and disappear, we update weekly because college football is beautiful chaos—a coach ranked #5 can win three straight and drop to #50, while someone chilling at #100 can lose to an FCS school and rocket into the top 10 by Tuesday. We build these rankings by digging into the ugly truth through blog posts, weekly newsletters, and a mix of hard analytics with expert opinions. We factor in program expectations versus reality, recent performance, recruiting momentum, administrative support, fan pressure, and those whispered hallway conversations that actually determine job security. The hot seat doesn't send warning emails, but we track every move.

Rank	Head coach	Team	Conf	Base/Yr	Sch Yrs	Sch Wins	Sch Loss	Sch Win %	Car Wins	Car Loss	Career Win %
1	Billy Napier	Florida	SEC	$ 6,920,000	4	20	20	0.500	60	32	0.652
2	Joe Moorhead	Akron	MAC	$ 620,000	4	8	30	0.211	21	42	0.333
3	Sonny Cumbie	Louisiana Tech	C-USA	$ 950,000	4	12	27	0.308	14	30	0.318
4	Trent Dilfer	UAB	American	$ 1,300,000	3	8	18	0.308	8	18	0.308
5	Lance Taylor	Western Michigan	MAC	$ 850,000	3	10	17	0.370	10	17	0.370
6	Scott Satterfield	Cincinnati	Big 12	$ 3,535,000	3	9	17	0.346	81	57	0.588
7	Tony Elliott	Virginia	ACC	$ 4,250,000	4	12	24	0.333	12	24	0.333
8	Mike Gundy	Oklahoma State	Big 12	$ 7,625,000	20	170	89	0.656	170	89	0.656
9	Butch Jones	Arkansas State	Sun Belt	$ 825,000	5	20	32	0.385	104	86	0.547
10	Sam Pittman	Arkansas	SEC	$ 6,350,000	6	32	31	0.508	32	31	0.508
11	Jeff Choate	Nevada	Mtn West	$ 1,600,000	2	4	11	0.267	4	11	0.267
12	Kalen DeBoer	Alabama	SEC	$ 10,000,000	2	10	5	0.667	47	14	0.770
13	Brent Venables	Oklahoma	SEC	$ 7,100,000	4	24	17	0.585	24	17	0.585
14	Derek Mason	Middle Tennessee	C-USA	$ 1,000,000	2	3	11	0.214	30	66	0.313
15	Mark Stoops	Kentucky	SEC	$ 9,000,000	13	78	74	0.000	78	74	0.513
16	Trent Bray	Oregon State	Pac-12	$ 2,000,000	2	5	9	0.357	5	9	0.357
17	Sean Lewis	San Diego State	Mtn West	$ 1,850,000	2	4	10	0.286	28	41	0.406
18	Scotty Walden	UTEP	C-USA	$ 800,000	2	4	10	0.286	5	13	0.278
19	Spencer Danielson	Boise State	Mtn West	$ 1,100,000	3	16	4	0.800	16	4	0.800
20	Jay Sawvel	Wyoming	Mtn West	$ 1,100,000	2	5	9	0.357	5	9	0.357
21	Gerad Parker	Troy	Sun Belt	$ 900,000	2	5	9	0.357	5	15	0.250
22	Sherrone Moore	Michigan	Big Ten	$ 6,000,000	2	9	6	0.600	9	6	0.600
23	Dave Aranda	Baylor	Big 12	$ 3,021,003	6	32	31	0.508	32	31	0.508
24	Brent Brennan	Arizona	Big 12	$ 2,200,000	2	6	8	0.429	40	56	0.417
25	Clay Helton	Georgia Southern	Sun Belt	$ 900,000	4	20	21	0.488	66	45	0.595
26	Tony Sanchez	New Mexico State	C-USA	$ 600,000	2	5	9	0.357	25	49	0.338
27	Hugh Freeze	Auburn	SEC	$ 6,500,000	3	13	14	0.481	96	57	0.404
28	Dell McGee	Georgia State	Sun Belt	$ 850,000	2	3	11	0.214	4	11	0.267
29	Matt Rhule	Nebraska	Big Ten	$ 5,500,000	3	14	13	0.519	61	56	0.521
30	Luke Fickell	Wisconsin	Big Ten	$ 7,625,000	3	15	13	0.536	78	38	0.672
31	Timmy Chang	Hawaii	Mtn West	$ 600,006	4	15	26	0.366	15	26	0.366
32	Jonathan Smith	Michigan State	Big Ten	$ 4,850,000	2	7	7	0.500	41	42	0.494
33	Clark Lea	Vanderbilt	SEC	$ 3,051,881	5	18	33	0.353	18	33	0.353
34	Jedd Fisch	Washington	Big Ten	$ 7,700,000	2	8	7	0.533	25	29	0.463
35	Chuck Martin	Miami Ohio	MAC	$ 575,300	12	65	69	0.485	65	69	0.485
36	Jeff Lebby	Mississippi State	SEC	$ 4,510,000	2	4	10	0.286	4	10	0.286
37	Willie Fritz	Houston	Big 12	$ 2,842,000	2	6	8	0.429	77	62	0.508
38	Tim Beck	Coastal Carolina	Sun Belt	$ 1,000,000	3	15	13	0.536	15	13	0.536
39	Mike Locksley	Maryland	Big Ten	$ 5,500,000	8	35	41	0.461	37	67	0.356
40	Lance Leipold	Kansas	Big 12	$ 5,750,000	5	24	29	0.453	61	62	0.496
41	Justin Wilcox	California	ACC	$ 4,800,000	9	44	50	0.468	44	50	0.468
42	Mike Norvell	Florida State	ACC	$ 7,300,000	6	35	27	0.565	73	43	0.629
43	Jay Norvell	Colorado State	Mtn West	$ 1,700,000	4	17	22	0.436	50	48	0.510
44	Thomas Hammock	Northern Illinois	MAC	$ 677,045	7	33	39	0.458	33	39	0.458
45	Jake Dickert	Wake Forest	ACC	$ 4,000,000	1	2	0	0.000	25	20	0.556
46	Ricky Rahne	Old Dominion	Sun Belt	$ 846,000	6	21	31	0.404	21	31	0.404
47	Lincoln Riley	USC	Big Ten	$ 10,000,000	4	28	14	0.667	83	24	0.776
48	Greg Schiano	Rutgers	Big Ten	$ 4,000,000	16	96	101	0.487	96	101	0.487
49	Brent Key	Georgia Tech	ACC	$ 4,150,000	4	20	16	0.556	20	16	0.556
50	Jeff Monken	Army	American	$ 2,000,000	12	83	58	0.589	83	58	0.589
51	Eric Morris	North Texas	American	$ 1,300,000	3	13	14	0.481	13	14	0.481
52	Joey McGuire	Texas Tech	Big 12	$ 4,104,960	4	25	16	0.610	25	16	0.610
53	Zach Kittley	Florida Atlantic	American	$ 1,000,000	1	1	1	0.500	1	1	0.500
54	Bill Belichick	North Carolina	ACC	$ 10,000,000	1	1	0	1.000	334	178	0.652
55	Tim Albin	Charlotte	American	$ 1,000,000	1	0	2	0.000	34	21	0.618
56	K.C. Keeler	Temple	American	$ 625,000	1	2	0	1.000	14	12	0.538
57	Tre Lamb	Tulsa	American	$ 1,400,000	1	1	1	0.500	1	1	0.500
58	Scott Abell	Rice	American	$ 1,000,000	1	1	1	0.500	1	1	0.500
59	Barry Odom	Purdue	Big Ten	$ 4,000,000	1	2	0	1.000	2	0	1.000
60	Jimmy Rogers	Washington State	Pac-12	$ 1,570,000	1	2	0	1.000	2	0	1.000
61	Frank Reich (Int)	Stanford	ACC	$ 4,000,000	1	0	2	0.000	0	2	0.000
62	Charles Kelly	Jacksonville State	C-USA	$ 1,000,000	1	1	1	0.500	1	1	0.500
63	Matt Entz	Fresno State	Mtn West	$ 1,100,000	1	2	1	0.667	2	1	0.667
64	Bronco Mendenhall	Utah State	Mtn West	$ 2,000,000	1	1	1	0.500	141	89	0.613
65	Dan Mullen	UNLV	Mtn West	$ 3,500,000	1	3	0	1.000	106	61	0.635
66	Jason Eck	New Mexico	Mtn West	$ 1,100,000	1	1	1	0.500	1	1	0.500
67	Joe Harasymiak	UMass	MAC	$ 1,400,000	1	0	2	0.000	0	2	0.000
68	Mark Carney (Int)	Kent State	MAC	$ 525,000	1	1	1	0.500	1	1	0.500
69	Phil Longo	Sam Houston	C-USA	$ 700,000	1	0	3	0.000	0	3	0.000
70	Jerry Mack	Kennesaw State	C-USA	$ 375,000	1	0	2	0.000	0	2	0.000
71	Willie Simmons	Florida International	C-USA	$ 750,000	1	1	1	0.500	1	1	0.500
72	Brian Smith	Ohio	MAC	$ 850,000	1	2	1	0.667	2	1	0.667
73	Eddie George	Bowling Green	MAC	$ 700,000	1	1	1	0.500	1	1	0.500
74	Matt Drinkall	Central Michigan	MAC	$ 640,000	1	1	1	0.500	1	1	0.500
75	Mike Uremovich	Ball State	MAC	$ 700,000	1	0	2	0.000	0	2	0.000
76	Dowell Loggains	Appalachian State	Sun Belt	$ 1,000,000	1	2	0	1.000	2	0	1.000
77	Tony Gibson	Marshall	Sun Belt	$ 1,000,000	1	0	2	0.000	0	2	0.000
78	Charles Huff	Southern Miss	Sun Belt	$ 950,000	1	1	1	0.500	33	21	0.611
79	Ryan Beard	Missouri State	C-USA	$ 315,000	2	1	1	0.500	1	1	0.500
80	Ryan Carty	Delaware	C-USA	$ 536,000	4	1	1	0.500	1	1	0.500
81	Michael Desormeaux	Louisiana	Sun Belt	$ 775,000	5	24	19	0.558	24	19	0.558
82	Ken Niumatalolo	San Jose State	Mtn West	$ 2,300,000	2	7	8	0.467	116	91	0.560
83	Bret Bielema	Illinois	Big Ten	$ 6,500,000	5	30	22	0.577	127	80	0.614
84	Chris Creighton	Eastern Michigan	MAC	$ 590,000	12	57	77	0.425	57	77	0.425
85	Matt Campbell	Iowa State	Big 12	$ 4,000,000	10	67	51	0.568	102	66	0.607
86	Bryant Vincent	Louisiana-Monroe	Sun Belt	$ 600,000	2	6	8	0.429	13	14	0.481
87	Jim Mora	UConn	Ind	$ 2,500,000	4	19	21	0.475	65	51	0.560
88	G.J. Kinne	Texas State	Sun Belt	$ 2,000,000	3	18	10	0.643	18	10	0.643
89	Dave Doeren	NC State	ACC	$ 5,965,377	13	89	65	0.578	112	69	0.619
90	Troy Calhoun	Air Force	Mtn West	$ 3,000,000	19	136	89	0.604	136	89	0.604
91	Major Applewhite	South Alabama	Sun Belt	$ 825,000	2	8	7	0.533	23	18	0.561
92	Bob Chesney	James Madison	Sun Belt	$ 766,500	2	10	5	0.667	10	5	0.667
93	Kirk Ferentz	Iowa	Big Ten	$ 7,000,000	27	205	125	0.621	205	125	0.621
94	Kenny Dillingham	Arizona State	Big 12	$ 3,850,000	2	15	13	0.536	15	13	0.536
95	David Braun	Northwestern	Big Ten	$ 3,500,000	3	13	14	0.481	13	14	0.481
96	Chris Klieman	Kansas State	Big 12	$ 4,750,000	7	49	30	0.620	49	30	0.620
97	Rich Rodriguez	West Virginia	Big 12	$ 3,500,000	8	61	27	0.693	137	93	0.596
98	P.J. Fleck	Minnesota	Big Ten	$ 6,000,000	9	60	39	0.606	90	61	0.596
99	Kalani Sitake	BYU	Big 12	$ 3,000,000	10	74	43	0.632	74	43	0.632
100	Tyson Helton	Western Kentucky	C-USA	$ 918,000	7	50	33	0.602	50	33	0.602
101	Jon Sumrall	Tulane	American	$ 3,000,000	2	11	5	0.688	34	9	0.791
102	Alex Golesh	South Florida	American	$ 2,500,000	3	16	12	0.571	16	12	0.571
103	Jason Candle	Toledo	MAC	$ 1,125,000	11	74	41	0.643	74	41	0.643
104	Rhett Lashlee	SMU	ACC	$ 3,500,000	4	30	13	0.698	30	13	0.698
105	Pat Narduzzi	Pittsburgh	ACC	$ 6,699,551	11	74	56	0.569	74	56	0.569
106	Eliah Drinkwitz	Missouri	SEC	$ 6,000,000	6	40	24	0.625	52	25	0.675
107	Mike Elko	Texas A&M	SEC	$ 7,000,000	2	10	5	0.667	26	14	0.650
108	Kyle Whittingham	Utah	Big 12	$ 6,325,000	22	169	86	0.663	169	86	0.663
109	Dabo Swinney	Clemson	ACC	$ 10,758,575	17	181	48	0.790	181	48	0.790
110	Steve Sarkisian	Texas	SEC	$ 10,800,000	5	39	18	0.684	85	53	0.616
111	Dan Lanning	Oregon	Big Ten	$ 11,000,000	3	37	6	0.860	37	6	0.860
112	Fran Brown	Syracuse	ACC	$ 3,000,000	2	11	4	0.733	11	4	0.733
113	James Franklin	Penn State	Big Ten	$ 8,500,000	11	103	42	0.710	127	57	0.690
114	Curt Cignetti	Indiana	Big Ten	$ 4,000,000	2	13	2	0.867	32	6	0.842
115	Pete Lembo	Buffalo	MAC	$ 790,000	2	10	5	0.667	43	34	0.558
116	Sonny Dykes	TCU	Big 12	$ 5,000,000	4	27	13	0.675	98	76	0.563
117	Shane Beamer	South Carolina	SEC	$ 6,125,000	5	31	22	0.585	31	22	0.585
118	Deion Sanders	Colorado	Big 12	$ 5,500,000	3	21	11	0.656	21	11	0.656
119	Jeff Brohm	Louisville	ACC	$ 5,550,000	3	21	8	0.724	87	52	0.626
120	Bill O'Brien	Boston College	ACC	$ 5,000,000	2	8	7	0.533	23	16	0.590
121	Josh Heupel	Tennessee	SEC	$ 9,000,000	5	39	15	0.722	67	23	0.744
122	Mario Cristobal	Miami Florida	ACC	$ 8,000,000	4	24	16	0.600	86	76	0.531
123	Jeff Traylor	UTSA	American	$ 2,500,000	6	46	22	0.676	46	22	0.676
124	Scott Frost	UCF	Big 12	$ 2,000,000	3	21	7	0.750	37	38	0.493
125	Blake Harrell	East Carolina	American	$ 1,300,000	1	6	2	0.750	6	2	0.750
126	Lane Kiffin	Ole Miss	SEC	$ 9,000,000	6	46	18	0.719	108	52	0.675
127	Brian Newberry	Navy	American	$ 1,600,000	3	17	10	0.630	17	10	0.630
128	Marcus Freeman	Notre Dame	Ind	$ 7,400,000	5	33	11	0.750	33	11	0.750
129	Manny Diaz	Duke	ACC	$ 4,000,000	2	10	5	0.667	31	20	0.608
130	Brian Kelly	LSU	SEC	$ 9,975,000	4	31	11	0.738	197	73	0.730
131	Jamey Chadwell	Liberty	C-USA	$ 4,000,000	3	22	6	0.786	61	28	0.629
132	Ryan Day	Ohio State	Big Ten	$ 10,196,250	6	72	10	0.878	72	10	0.878
133	Kirby Smart	Georgia	SEC	$ 10,505,600	10	107	19	0.849	107	19	0.849
134	Ryan Silverfield	Memphis	American	$ 1,900,000	6	44	20	0.688	44	20	0.688
0	Brent Pry	Virginia Tech	ACC	$ 4,750,000	4	16	23	0.410	16	23	0.410
0	DeShaun Foster	UCLA	Big Ten	$ 3,000,000	2	5	9	0.357	5	9	0.357
Rank	Head coach	Team	Conf	Base/Yr	Sch Yrs	Sch Wins	Sch Loss	Sch Win %	Car Wins	Car Loss	Career Win %

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