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PRESEASON 2025 Coaches Hot Seat Rankings

#01

#02

Mike Locksley, Head Coach at University of Maryland

#03

Mike Norvell, Head Coach of Florida State Seminoles - Coaches Hot Seat

#04

#05

Luke Fickell, Head Coach at University of Wisconsin

#06

#07

#08

Shane Beamer - College Football Coaches Hot Seat - South Carolina Gamecocks

#09

#10

Mark Stoops - Kentucky Wildcats Head Coach - Coaches Hot Seat

Bubbling Under

#11

Bill O’Brien

Boston College

#12

Tim Beck

Coastal Carolina

#13

Jeff Choate

Nevada

#14

Joe Moorhead

Akron

#15

Scotty Walden

UTEP

#16

Jay Sawvel

Wyoming

#17

Sonny Cumbie

Louisiana Tech

#18

Dell McGee

Georgia State

#19

Butch Jones

Arkansas State

#20

Tony Sanchez

Western Michigan

COACHES HOT SEAT BLOG

COACHES HOT SEAT RANKING

November 10, 2025 - Week 12

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	Total School Wins	Total School Loss	Sch Win %	Total Career Wins	Total Career Loss	Career Win %
1	Jonathan Smith	Michigan State	Big Ten	$ 4,850,000	2	8	13	0.381	42	48	0.467
2	Mike Locksley	Maryland	Big Ten	$ 5,500,000	8	37	45	0.451	39	71	0.355
3	Mike Norvell	Florida State	ACC	$ 7,300,000	6	37	31	0.544	75	47	0.615
4	Luke Fickell	Wisconsin	Big Ten	$ 7,625,000	3	15	19	0.441	78	44	0.639
5	Justin Wilcox	California	ACC	$ 4,800,000	9	47	54	0.465	47	54	0.465
6	Bill Belichick	North Carolina	ACC	$ 10,000,000	1	3	5	0.375	3	5	0.375
7	Shane Beamer	South Carolina	SEC	$ 6,125,000	5	32	28	0.533	32	28	0.533
8	Tim Beck	Coastal Carolina	Sun Belt	$ 1,000,000	3	19	15	0.559	19	15	0.559
9	Dave Aranda	Baylor	Big 12	$ 3,021,003	6	36	34	0.514	36	34	0.514
10	Mark Stoops	Kentucky	SEC	$ 9,000,000	13	80	78	0.506	80	78	0.506
12	Joe Moorhead	Akron	MAC	$ 620,000	4	11	34	0.244	25	46	0.352
13	Jeff Choate	Nevada	Mtn West	$ 1,600,000	2	4	17	0.190	4	17	0.190
14	Derek Mason	Middle Tennessee	C-USA	$ 1,000,000	2	4	16	0.200	31	71	0.304
15	Bill O'Brien	Boston College	ACC	$ 5,000,000	2	8	14	0.364	23	23	0.500
16	Scotty Walden	UTEP	C-USA	$ 800,000	2	5	15	0.250	6	18	0.250
17	Jay Sawvel	Wyoming	Mtn West	$ 1,100,000	2	7	14	0.333	7	14	0.333
18	Sonny Cumbie	Louisiana Tech	C-USA	$ 950,000	4	16	29	0.356	18	32	0.360
19	Dell McGee	Georgia State	Sun Belt	$ 850,000	2	4	16	0.200	5	16	0.238
20	Butch Jones	Arkansas State	Sun Belt	$ 825,000	5	24	35	0.407	108	89	0.548
21	Lance Taylor	Western Michigan	MAC	$ 850,000	3	15	19	0.441	15	19	0.441
22	Dave Doeren	NC State	ACC	$ 5,965,377	13	92	69	0.571	115	73	0.612
23	Ricky Rahne	Old Dominion	Sun Belt	$ 846,000	6	26	33	0.441	26	33	0.441
24	Lincoln Riley	USC	Big Ten	$ 10,000,000	4	32	16	0.667	87	26	0.770
11	Josh Heupel	Tennessee	SEC	$ 9,000,000	5	43	18	0.705	71	26	0.732
25	Tony Sanchez	New Mexico State	C-USA	$ 600,000	2	6	14	0.300	26	54	0.325
26	Brent Brennan	Arizona	Big 12	$ 2,200,000	2	9	11	0.450	43	59	0.422
27	Clay Helton	Georgia Southern	Sun Belt	$ 900,000	4	23	24	0.489	69	48	0.590
28	Phil Longo	Sam Houston	C-USA	$ 700,000	1	0	8	0.000	0	8	0.000
29	Dabo Swinney	Clemson	ACC	$ 10,758,575	17	183	52	0.779	183	52	0.779
30	Zach Kittley	Florida Atlantic	American	$ 1,000,000	1	3	5	0.375	3	5	0.375
31	Matt Rhule	Nebraska	Big Ten	$ 5,500,000	3	18	16	0.529	65	59	0.524
32	Sean Lewis	San Diego State	Mtn West	$ 1,850,000	2	10	10	0.500	34	41	0.453
33	Sherrone Moore	Michigan	Big Ten	$ 6,000,000	2	16	7	0.696	15	7	0.682
34	Thomas Hammock	Northern Illinois	MAC	$ 677,045	7	34	44	0.436	34	44	0.436
35	Joe Harasymiak	UMass	MAC	$ 1,400,000	1	0	8	0.000	0	8	0.000
36	Timmy Chang	Hawaii	Mtn West	$ 600,006	4	19	28	0.404	19	28	0.404
37	Jeff Lebby	Mississippi State	SEC	$ 4,510,000	2	7	14	0.333	7	14	0.333
38	Lance Leipold	Kansas	Big 12	$ 5,750,000	5	27	32	0.458	64	65	0.496
39	Tony Elliott	Virginia	ACC	$ 4,250,000	4	19	24	0.442	19	24	0.442
40	Jedd Fisch	Washington	Big Ten	$ 7,700,000	2	12	9	0.571	29	31	0.483
41	Tim Albin	Charlotte	American	$ 1,000,000	1	1	7	0.125	34	26	0.567
42	Spencer Danielson	Boise State	Mtn West	$ 1,100,000	3	21	6	0.778	21	6	0.778
43	Gerad Parker	Troy	Sun Belt	$ 900,000	2	10	11	0.476	10	17	0.370
44	Deion Sanders	Colorado	Big 12	$ 5,500,000	3	16	18	0.471	16	18	0.471
45	Scott Satterfield	Cincinnati	Big 12	$ 3,535,000	3	15	18	0.455	87	58	0.600
46	Kalen DeBoer	Alabama	SEC	$ 10,000,000	2	16	5	0.762	53	14	0.791
47	Greg Schiano	Rutgers	Big Ten	$ 4,000,000	16	98	106	0.480	98	106	0.480
48	Chuck Martin	Miami Ohio	MAC	$ 575,300	12	70	70	0.500	70	70	0.500
49	Clark Lea	Vanderbilt	SEC	$ 3,051,881	5	23	35	0.397	23	35	0.397
50	Scott Abell	Rice	American	$ 1,000,000	1	4	5	0.444	4	5	0.444
51	Barry Odom	Purdue	Big Ten	$ 4,000,000	1	2	7	0.222	46	40	0.535
52	Willie Fritz	Houston	Big 12	$ 2,842,000	2	11	10	0.524	82	64	0.562
53	Tre Lamb	Tulsa	American	$ 1,400,000	1	2	6	0.250	2	6	0.250
54	Mario Cristobal	Miami Florida	ACC	$ 8,000,000	4	28	18	0.609	90	78	0.536
55	K.C. Keeler	Temple	American	$ 625,000	1	5	4	0.556	17	16	0.515
56	Jake Dickert	Wake Forest	ACC	$ 4,000,000	1	5	3	0.625	28	23	0.549
57	Eric Morris	North Texas	American	$ 1,300,000	3	19	15	0.559	19	15	0.559
58	Jeff Monken	Army	American	$ 2,000,000	12	86	61	0.585	86	61	0.585
59	Jimmy Rogers	Washington State	Pac-12	$ 1,570,000	1	4	5	0.444	4	5	0.444
60	Joey McGuire	Texas Tech	Big 12	$ 4,104,960	4	31	17	0.646	31	17	0.646
61	Brent Key	Georgia Tech	ACC	$ 4,150,000	4	26	17	0.605	26	17	0.605
62	Dan Mullen	UNLV	Mtn West	$ 3,500,000	1	6	2	0.750	109	63	0.634
63	Brent Venables	Oklahoma	SEC	$ 7,100,000	4	29	19	0.604	29	19	0.604
64	Eddie George	Bowling Green	MAC	$ 700,000	1	3	6	0.333	3	6	0.333
65	Bronco Mendenhall	Utah State	Mtn West	$ 2,000,000	1	4	4	0.500	144	92	0.610
66	Jim Mora	UConn	Ind	$ 2,500,000	4	24	23	0.511	70	53	0.569
67	Willie Simmons	Florida International	C-USA	$ 750,000	1	3	5	0.375	3	5	0.375
68	Mark Carney (Int)	Kent State	MAC	$ 525,000	1	3	5	0.375	3	5	0.375
69	Ryan Carty	Delaware	C-USA	$ 536,000	4	4	4	0.500	4	4	0.500
70	Troy Calhoun	Air Force	Mtn West	$ 3,000,000	19	137	95	0.591	137	95	0.591
71	Matt Entz	Fresno State	Mtn West	$ 1,100,000	1	6	3	0.667	6	3	0.667
72	Jason Eck	New Mexico	Mtn West	$ 1,100,000	1	6	3	0.667	6	3	0.667
73	Dowell Loggains	Appalachian State	Sun Belt	$ 1,000,000	1	4	4	0.500	4	4	0.500
74	Charles Kelly	Jacksonville State	C-USA	$ 1,000,000	1	5	3	0.625	5	3	0.625
75	Rich Rodriguez	West Virginia	Big 12	$ 3,500,000	8	63	32	0.663	139	97	0.589
76	Matt Drinkall	Central Michigan	MAC	$ 640,000	1	5	4	0.556	5	4	0.556
77	Tony Gibson	Marshall	Sun Belt	$ 1,000,000	1	4	4	0.500	4	4	0.500
78	Brian Smith	Ohio	MAC	$ 850,000	1	6	3	0.667	6	3	0.667
79	Jerry Mack	Kennesaw State	C-USA	$ 375,000	1	6	2	0.750	6	2	0.750
80	Mike Uremovich	Ball State	MAC	$ 700,000	1	3	5	0.375	3	5	0.375
81	Michael Desormeaux	Louisiana	Sun Belt	$ 775,000	5	26	24	0.520	26	24	0.520
82	Major Applewhite	South Alabama	Sun Belt	$ 825,000	2	9	13	0.409	24	24	0.500
83	Ken Niumatalolo	San Jose State	Mtn West	$ 2,300,000	2	10	11	0.476	120	94	0.561
84	Jason Candle	Toledo	MAC	$ 1,125,000	11	77	44	0.636	77	44	0.636
85	Scott Frost	UCF	Big 12	$ 2,000,000	3	23	11	0.676	39	42	0.481
86	Bret Bielema	Illinois	Big Ten	$ 6,500,000	5	34	25	0.576	131	83	0.612
87	Kenny Dillingham	Arizona State	Big 12	$ 3,850,000	2	20	15	0.571	20	15	0.571
88	P.J. Fleck	Minnesota	Big Ten	$ 6,000,000	9	64	42	0.604	94	64	0.595
89	Matt Campbell	Iowa State	Big 12	$ 4,000,000	10	69	55	0.556	104	70	0.598
90	Charles Huff	Southern Miss	Sun Belt	$ 950,000	1	6	2	0.750	38	22	0.633
91	Ryan Beard	Missouri State	C-USA	$ 315,000	2	5	3	0.625	5	3	0.625
92	Steve Sarkisian	Texas	SEC	$ 10,800,000	5	45	19	0.703	91	54	0.628
93	Bryant Vincent	Louisiana-Monroe	Sun Belt	$ 600,000	2	8	13	0.381	15	19	0.441
94	Bob Chesney	James Madison	Sun Belt	$ 766,500	2	16	5	0.762	16	5	0.762
95	Fran Brown	Syracuse	ACC	$ 3,000,000	2	13	9	0.591	13	9	0.591
96	David Braun	Northwestern	Big Ten	$ 3,500,000	3	17	16	0.515	17	16	0.515
97	Marcus Freeman	Notre Dame	Ind	$ 7,400,000	5	39	12	0.765	39	12	0.765
98	Brian Newberry	Navy	American	$ 1,600,000	3	22	11	0.667	22	11	0.667
99	Chris Creighton	Eastern Michigan	MAC	$ 590,000	12	59	82	0.418	59	82	0.418
100	G.J. Kinne	Texas State	Sun Belt	$ 2,000,000	3	19	15	0.559	19	15	0.559
101	Pat Narduzzi	Pittsburgh	ACC	$ 6,699,551	11	79	58	0.577	79	58	0.577
102	Eliah Drinkwitz	Missouri	SEC	$ 6,000,000	6	44	26	0.629	56	27	0.675
103	Rhett Lashlee	SMU	ACC	$ 3,500,000	4	35	15	0.700	35	15	0.700
104	Jeff Traylor	UTSA	American	$ 2,500,000	6	50	24	0.676	50	24	0.676
105	Jon Sumrall	Tulane	American	$ 3,000,000	2	15	7	0.682	38	11	0.776
106	Chris Klieman	Kansas State	Big 12	$ 4,750,000	7	52	33	0.612	52	33	0.612
107	Kyle Whittingham	Utah	Big 12	$ 6,325,000	22	174	88	0.664	174	88	0.664
108	Blake Harrell	East Carolina	American	$ 1,300,000	1	10	4	0.714	10	4	0.714
109	Alex Golesh	South Florida	American	$ 2,500,000	3	20	14	0.588	20	14	0.588
110	Tyson Helton	Western Kentucky	C-USA	$ 918,000	7	55	34	0.618	55	34	0.618
111	Mike Elko	Texas A&M	SEC	$ 7,000,000	2	16	5	0.762	32	14	0.696
112	Ryan Day	Ohio State	Big Ten	$ 10,196,250	6	78	10	0.886	78	10	0.886
113	Jeff Brohm	Louisville	ACC	$ 5,550,000	3	26	9	0.743	92	53	0.634
114	Kirk Ferentz	Iowa	Big Ten	$ 7,000,000	27	210	126	0.625	210	126	0.625
115	Kirby Smart	Georgia	SEC	$ 10,505,600	10	112	20	0.848	112	20	0.848
116	Pete Lembo	Buffalo	MAC	$ 790,000	2	14	8	0.636	47	37	0.560
117	Sonny Dykes	TCU	Big 12	$ 5,000,000	4	33	15	0.688	104	78	0.571
118	Lane Kiffin	Ole Miss	SEC	$ 9,000,000	6	52	19	0.732	114	53	0.683
119	Jamey Chadwell	Liberty	C-USA	$ 4,000,000	3	25	9	0.735	64	31	0.674
120	Manny Diaz	Duke	ACC	$ 4,000,000	2	14	7	0.667	35	22	0.614
121	Dan Lanning	Oregon	Big Ten	$ 11,000,000	3	42	7	0.857	42	7	0.857
122	Kalani Sitake	BYU	Big 12	$ 3,000,000	10	80	43	0.650	80	43	0.650
123	Ryan Silverfield	Memphis	American	$ 1,900,000	6	50	21	0.704	50	21	0.704
124	Curt Cignetti	Indiana	Big Ten	$ 4,000,000	2	20	2	0.909	39	6	0.867
0	Frank Reich (Int)	Stanford	ACC	$ 4,000,000	1	3	6	0.333	3	6	0.333
0	Brent Pry	Virginia Tech	ACC	$ 4,750,000	4	16	24	0.400	16	24	0.400
0	DeShaun Foster	UCLA	Big Ten	$ 3,000,000	2	5	10	0.333	5	10	0.333
0	Mike Gundy	Oklahoma State	Big 12	$ 7,625,000	20	170	90	0.654	170	90	0.654
0	Sam Pittman	Arkansas	SEC	$ 6,350,000	6	32	34	0.485	32	34	0.485
0	Trent Dilfer	UAB	American	$ 1,300,000	3	9	21	0.300	9	21	0.300
0	James Franklin	Penn State	Big Ten	$ 8,500,000	11	104	45	0.698	128	60	0.681
0	Trent Bray	Oregon State	Pac-12	$ 2,000,000	2	5	14	0.263	5	14	0.263
0	Billy Napier	Florida	SEC	$ 6,920,000	4	22	23	0.489	62	35	0.639
0	Jay Norvell	Colorado State	Mtn West	$ 1,700,000	4	18	26	0.409	51	52	0.495
0	Brian Kelly	LSU	SEC	$ 9,975,000	4	34	14	0.708	200	76	0.725
0	Hugh Freeze	Auburn	SEC	$ 6,500,000	3	15	19	0.441	98	62	0.613
Rank	Head coach	Team	Conf	Base/Yr	Sch Yrs	Total School Wins	Total School Loss	Sch Win %	Total Career Wins	Total Career Loss	Career Win %

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PRESEASON 2025 Coaches Hot Seat Rankings

Bubbling Under

Bill O’Brien

Tim Beck

Jeff Choate

Joe Moorhead

Scotty Walden

Jay Sawvel

Sonny Cumbie

Dell McGee

Butch Jones

Tony Sanchez

COACHES HOT SEAT BLOG

Week 12 Coaches Hot Seat Rankings

Week 11 – Coaches Hot Seat Rankings

Two Hot Seat Coaches Meet At Auburn: One Will Buy Time, The Other Runs Out Of Runway

Brian Kelly Is Out at LSU—And the Coaching Carousel Just Got Absolutely Insane

WEEK 10 COACHES HOT SEAT RANKINGS

Kentucky Has Faced The SEC’s 9th-Toughest Schedule This Season. Here’s Why Their 2-4 Record And 16.7 Points Per Game Against Quality Defenses Means Tennessee Wins By 20+ On Saturday

Michigan Is 6-4 And Barely Functional. Michigan State Scores 13 Points Per Game And Can’t Stop Anyone. Here’s Why Saturday’s Rivalry Game Will Be A Clinical 30-13 Win For The Wolverines (And Why Neither Fanbase Should Celebrate)

Week 9 — Top 10 Coaches Hot Seat Rankings

California (4-2) Hosts North Carolina (2-3) Friday Night: A Brutally Honest Game Preview Of Two Bad Teams Fighting To Prove Who Sucks Less

The Bush Push Was 20 Years Ago. USC Is Due For Another Heartbreaker At Notre Dame—Except This Time, The Trojans Are On The Wrong End: 30-27

Week 8 — Coaches Hot Seat Rankings

Hugh Freeze Has 2 Games To Save His Job At Auburn. Here’s Why Saturday Night’s Matchup Against #10 Georgia At Jordan-Hare Stadium Is Game 1 Of His Final Stand

UnleashYour InnerFandom!

PRESEASON 2025 Coaches Hot Seat Rankings

Bubbling Under

Bill O’Brien

Tim Beck

Jeff Choate

Joe Moorhead

Scotty Walden

Jay Sawvel

Sonny Cumbie

Dell McGee

Butch Jones

Tony Sanchez

COACHES HOT SEAT BLOG

Unleash
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