Coaches Hot Seat

Why ‘Fire the Coach!’ Feels Like a Solution, But Multi-Million Dollar Buyouts Say Otherwise

We’ve all been there. Your team is on a losing streak, the season’s slipping away, and that “Fire the coach!” chant starts echoing in your head. It’s cathartic. It feels like someone is taking action, like something is being done to right the ship.

Lately, however, athletic directors seem to be hitting the “snooze” button on those hot seat alarms. Coaches who, in years past, would be packing their bags are somehow clinging to their jobs. Why?

Let’s talk about the elephant in the room: the financial cost.

Firing a coach isn’t just about the head coach’s buyout (though those numbers are eye-popping enough on their own, as you can see in the chart below featuring buyouts for the top 20 on our Coaches Hot Seat Rankings). There’s a ripple effect that impacts the entire athletic department and can hamstring a program for years.