2020 College Football Power Five Head Coach Hot Seat Rankings
It's going to be an interesting year for college football head coach hot seats because 1)…
It's going to be an interesting year for college football head coach hot seats because 1) coaches will likely catch a break because of everything they're all dealing with – a bad year can easily be excused – and 2) coaches get on a big hot seat when attendance drops. That's not going to be a problem if there aren't fans in the seats. For this, the idea of being on the hot seat isn't just about whether or not a guy might get fired – it's sometimes about how much pressure he's under. The rankings go from who's on the coolest of seats in each Power Five conference, to who had better come up with a big season to survive.
64. Dabo Swinney, Clemson
Record With Team: 130-31 – Yeah, the pressure is on to win the national title or…
Record With Team: 130-31 – Yeah, the pressure is on to win the national title or the season is a disappointment, but Swinney has coached in four national championship games in five years. He's at Clemson for life if it'll have him.
63. Nick Saban, Alabama
Record With Team: 152-23 – Ooooooh, he has gone two years in a row without a…
Record With Team: 152-23 – Ooooooh, he has gone two years in a row without a national championship. His program is still the gold standard for consistent greatness, the talent level is still obnoxiously amazing, and there doesn't appear to be any slowing down.
62. Lincoln Riley, Oklahoma
Record With Team: 36-6 – How did he not become the head coach of the Dallas…
Record With Team: 36-6 – How did he not become the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys (or the Cleveland Browns, or Jacksonville Jaguars, or Carolina Panthers)? After his amazing first three years at the helm, he can have two bad years with no grumbling.
61. Ed Orgeron, LSU
Record With Team: 40-9 – It's the SEC, so the margin for error between being the…
Record With Team: 40-9 – It's the SEC, so the margin for error between being the dominant national champion to an 8-4 also-ran is razor-thin. No matter what happens this season in what should be a rebuilding year, Orgeron can do no wrong.
60. Kirk Ferentz, Iowa
Record With Team: 162-104 – Three straight bowl wins, a ten-win season, a rock-solid program that…
Record With Team: 162-104 – Three straight bowl wins, a ten-win season, a rock-solid program that keeps on producing, everything keeps on rolling under Ferentz. If it's possible, Ferentz continues to be underrated and underappreciated.
59. Kirby Smart, Georgia
Record With Team: 43-12 – There's a wee bit of pressure to finally get over the…
Record With Team: 43-12 – There's a wee bit of pressure to finally get over the hump and win the College Football Playoff. The talent is in place and his Bulldogs have the lousy distinction of being fifth in a four-team CFP race two seasons in a row. Now he needs to get back to the tournament.
58. Kyle Whittingham, Utah
Record With Team: 131-64 – A made man at Utah, the big concern is not losing…
Record With Team: 131-64 – A made man at Utah, the big concern is not losing him to a bigger gig – like USC next year? 2019 might have ended with a massive thud, but Utah went from the Mountain West in 2010 to winning at least a piece of the Pac-12 South in three of the last four years and having a realistic shot at the College Football Playoff last season.
57. Greg Schiano, Rutgers
Record With Team: 68-67 with Rutgers from 2001-2011 – He can go 0-12 in his first…
Record With Team: 68-67 with Rutgers from 2001-2011 – He can go 0-12 in his first season back at the Rutgers helm and no one will blink – that's how much work there is to do. He went 3-20 in his first two years in 2001 an 2002, and he'll get plenty of time to put this together.
56. Paul Chryst, Wisconsin
Record With Team: 52-16 -Three Big Ten West titles in four seasons, a 4-1 run in…
Record With Team: 52-16 -Three Big Ten West titles in four seasons, a 4-1 run in bowl games and a trip to the Rose Bowl last season – he can afford one bad season and be fine. It would be nice to get over the hump and win the conference, but the Badgers have found the right fit.
55. Mario Cristobal, Oregon
Record With Team: 21-7 – Oregon is on the verge of powerhouse status again. After winning…
Record With Team: 21-7 – Oregon is on the verge of powerhouse status again. After winning the Pac-12 title and a Rose Bowl, there can be one down year without much a blip. Huge things are ahead thanks to all talent he's amassing in Eugene – but he has to win with it all.
54. Bronco Mendenhall, Virginia
Record With Team: 25-27 – The guy just beat Virginia Tech and took the Cavaliers to…
Record With Team: 25-27 – The guy just beat Virginia Tech and took the Cavaliers to the ACC Championship and the Orange Bowl. It's Virginia, the pressure isn't that intense – he can have a few rough seasons and still be more than comfortable.
53. Jeff Hafley, Boston College
Record With Team: 0-0 – A total disaster of a year would cause a little grumbling,…
Record With Team: 0-0 – A total disaster of a year would cause a little grumbling, but get to six wins and everything will be okay in Year One. Even if the record is awful, it'll be seen as a step back to possibly take a big leap forward.
52. Pat Fitzgerald, Northwestern
Record With Team: 99-78 – He's a made man and he'll be there as long as…
Record With Team: 99-78 – He's a made man and he'll be there as long as he wants to be the Northwestern head coach as long as he wants to be, but … yuck. It wasn't just that he went 3-9 a year after going to the Big Ten Championship; it was that he went 3-9 with a team that was totally miserable.
51. Mark Stoops, Kentucky
Record With Team: 44-44 - UK fans are just happy he's not the Florida State head…
Record With Team: 44-44 - UK fans are just happy he's not the Florida State head coach. Oh there's pressure at Kentucky to win football games, but it's not quite the same as it is in other places. After working miracles the last two seasons, he's fine for a while.
50. Mike Gundy, Oklahoma State
Record With Team: 129-64 - It's not that things have gotten a little stale, but ...…
Record With Team: 129-64 - It's not that things have gotten a little stale, but ... 15-11 after three straight ten-win seasons isn't a plus. He'll never get fired - the bigger concern for OSU is to finally lose him to a bigger gig - but after 15 years, it's time for a little more.
49. P.J. Fleck, Minnesota
Record With Team: 23-15 - Now it's about staying power. It took him two years to…
Record With Team: 23-15 - Now it's about staying power. It took him two years to build Minnesota up into a spot to be nationally special, but can it stay there? 2019 was fantastic, but that can't be a one-off like Syracuse's 2018 season appeared to be.
48. Scott Satterfield, Louisville
Record With Team: 8-5 - Everyone likes him, the overall attitude has changed around the program,…
Record With Team: 8-5 - Everyone likes him, the overall attitude has changed around the program, and the talent is starting to come in. There's still a rebuilding process to be done, but he showed last season what he can do with the Cardinals.
47. Matt Campbell, Iowa State
Record With Team: 26-25 - Steadily winning and going to bowl games at Iowa State is…
Record With Team: 26-25 - Steadily winning and going to bowl games at Iowa State is impressive no matter what. However, as much as the program loves him, and as much as he's a desired coach on the circuit, a bit of a push through the 8-win ceiling would be nice.
46. Dave Aranda, Baylor
Record With Team: 0-0 - There's a bit more pressure on him than it might seem.…
Record With Team: 0-0 - There's a bit more pressure on him than it might seem. Matt Rhule built the Bears back up and showed that it really is possible to win in Waco again. The first-time head man is long overdue for a big-gig shot, but Baylor needs to at least go bowling.
45. Nick Rolovich, Washington State
Record With Team: 0-0 - He'll get the new head coach first year break. However, things…
Record With Team: 0-0 - He'll get the new head coach first year break. However, things can't fall too far - the offense has to at least be Washington State-like with one of the nation's best passing games.
44. Chris Klieman, Kansas State
Record With Team: 8-5 - There was a whole lot to like in his first season.…
Record With Team: 8-5 - There was a whole lot to like in his first season. It's going to take another year to truly make the program his, but as long as the Wildcats are going bowling and winning eight games or more, for now, all is good.
43. David Shaw, Stanford
Record With Team: 86-34 - He's an NFL coach the second he decides it's time, but…
Record With Team: 86-34 - He's an NFL coach the second he decides it's time, but first he needs to prove that 2019 was simply a quirk. The Cardinal were decimated by injuries in a 4-8 season. Fortunately, three Pac-12 championships, and an 86-34 record in nine years buys him several dozen benefits of the doubt.
42. Dan Mullen, Florida
Record With Team: 21-5 - After two strong years, it's time to take that next step…
Record With Team: 21-5 - After two strong years, it's time to take that next step up. No, there's no way he'll be fired or close to it if there's no SEC championship, but beating Georgia and just getting there would be huge. It's Florida. It's supposed to be a player in the national title hunt.
41. Lane Kiffin, Ole Miss
Record With Team: 0-0 - Ole Miss is still rising out of the wreckage of past…
Record With Team: 0-0 - Ole Miss is still rising out of the wreckage of past problems. Kiffin will get a year to get everything settled, but it'll be Year Two when he'll be expected to do big things. He can only work with the guys he has got.
40. Sam Pittman, Arkansas
Record With Team: 0-0 - After the years of horrendous football at Arkansas, anything would be positive. He'll…
Record With Team: 0-0 - After the years of horrendous football at Arkansas, anything would be positive. He'll get at least a two year grace period to start ramping this thing up, however, he was one of the more - to be kind - interesting hires this offseason. There's a massive prove-it factor with him.
39. Mack Brown, North Carolina
Record With Team: 7-6 - It was a positive first season to pull the Tar Heels…
Record With Team: 7-6 - It was a positive first season to pull the Tar Heels out of the nosedive, but it has to be a beginning and not a culmination. The recruiting class was great, everything appears to be pointing up, but ... win more.
38. Eli Drinkwitz, Missouri
Record With Team: 0-0 - Missouri fired a good guy head coach who was Missouri football…
Record With Team: 0-0 - Missouri fired a good guy head coach who was Missouri football through and through. Barry Odom had a few good years, and last season he had to deal extremely questionable NCAA sanctions that all but killed the season. Whatever ... fired. Drinkwitz needs to be better than 6-6.
37. Mike Norvell, Florida State
Record With Team: 0-0 - He'll get a very, very, very short leash. He got Memphis…
Record With Team: 0-0 - He'll get a very, very, very short leash. He got Memphis over the hump, and the early returns are all positive, but he has yet to win a bowl game and he's not the A-list of A-list possible hires. Brand name doesn't always matter - ask UCLA how the Chip Kelly era is going - but it's Florida State. A losing season will set off panic sirens.
36. Gary Patterson, TCU
Record With Team: 172-70 - Patterson might be a made man as the second-longest tenured current…
Record With Team: 172-70 - Patterson might be a made man as the second-longest tenured current head coach at one school behind only Kirk Ferentz at Iowa - he's not getting fired even with another mediocre year - but TCU has been the equivalent of a yo-yo diet lately. 12-13 over the last two seasons is a disturbing trend.
35. Dave Clawson, Wake Forest
Record With Team: 36-40 - It's Wake freaking Forest, and Clawson has managed to take it…
Record With Team: 36-40 - It's Wake freaking Forest, and Clawson has managed to take it to four straight bowl games and four straight winning seasons. There might be ebbs and flows to the record throughout the years, but he has already proven what he can do.
34. James Franklin, Penn State
Record With Team: 56-23 - With three 11-win seasons, three top ten finishes, and three trips…
Record With Team: 56-23 - With three 11-win seasons, three top ten finishes, and three trips to New Year's Six games in the last four years, he should be given a whole lot more credit than he receives as one of the nation's elite head coaches. But you know how this works at Penn State - go 7-6 just once, and there's a BIG problem.
33. Ryan Day, Ohio State
Record With Team: 16-1 - Oh sure, he came up with a phenomenal first year as…
Record With Team: 16-1 - Oh sure, he came up with a phenomenal first year as he came within an interception of taking his team to the national championship, but - see James Franklin - we know how this works at Ohio State. Anything less than fantastic - especially if there's a loss to Michigan - and there’s an issue. You can’t go 8-4 at Ohio State. You can’t go 10-2 at Ohio State.
32. Mike Leach, Mississippi State
Record With Team: 0-0 - It's not like Mississippi State fired a bad coach. Joe Moorhead…
Record With Team: 0-0 - It's not like Mississippi State fired a bad coach. Joe Moorhead only got two years to work, and he got the team to two bowl games and never had the benefit of a full recruiting cycle. Leach was able to land Stanford transfer KJ Costello, and now he has more talent overall to work with than ever in his career.
31. David Cutcliffe, Duke
Record With Team: 72-79 - A third losing season in five years wouldn't be a plus,…
Record With Team: 72-79 - A third losing season in five years wouldn't be a plus, but it's Duke, and it's Cutcliffe, so it would take something awful for this to be over in a bad way. However, after 12 years, the "go another direction" thing could come out if the campaign is a total disaster.
30. Gus Malzahn, Auburn
Record With Team: 62-31 - He's always one SEC loss away from being near the top…
Record With Team: 62-31 - He's always one SEC loss away from being near the top of every hot seat list, and yet he keeps on surviving. 71 wins in seven years, a national title appearance, another SEC West title, and a few wins over Alabama to ruin the rival's fun - ol' Gus is doing alright. However, he only has one ten-win season in the last six.
29. Mel Tucker, Michigan State
Record With Team: 0-0 - Colorado should've been better than 5-7 last season. He'll get the…
Record With Team: 0-0 - Colorado should've been better than 5-7 last season. He'll get the smallest bit of a grace period with a Michigan State program that needs a little reworking, but 5-7 won't fly in East Lansing, even if it is his first season.
28. Justin Wilcox, Cal
Record With Team: 20-18 - He has improved from five wins to seven to eight. It's…
Record With Team: 20-18 - He has improved from five wins to seven to eight. It's going to be tough keeping him around, even if Cal struggles this season against a rough schedule. His defensive skills alone are getting him long looks for a next-gig-up.
27. Les Miles, Kansas
Record With Team: 3-9 - He can have one more down year and still be okay.…
Record With Team: 3-9 - He can have one more down year and still be okay. It's going to take a few recruiting classes to start cranking this thing up, but soon the Jayhawks have to start pushing for six wins and a bowl game. There has to be a sign of hope.
26. Geoff Collins, Georgia Tech
Record With Team: 3-9 - It's still going to take a little while to completely turn…
Record With Team: 3-9 - It's still going to take a little while to completely turn this whole thing around - a brutal schedule won't help - but grade him a bit on a curve. That's fine, but there had better be signs that something big is coming in 2021 no matter what happens record-wise in 2020.
25. Herm Edwards, Arizona State
Record With Team: 15-11 - More consistency would be a major plus, but after two years…
Record With Team: 15-11 - More consistency would be a major plus, but after two years at the helm he has ASU in a nice place. However, this is when the recruiting classes need to start kicking in and more starts to happen in Pac-12 play after going 9-9 in the conference over the last two years.
24. Jeff Brohm, Purdue
Record With Team: 17-21 - Yeah there were injuries. Yeah there's more talent in place now.…
Record With Team: 17-21 - Yeah there were injuries. Yeah there's more talent in place now. Yeah this is still a great head coach who players love to play for. However, he has gone from seven wins to six to four in his three seasons. He's not going to get fired with a bad year, but the trend has to reverse.
23. Jonathan Smith, Oregon State
Record With Team: 7-18 - It's still a bit of a rough run being the Oregon…
Record With Team: 7-18 - It's still a bit of a rough run being the Oregon State head coach in a strong Pac-12 North, but he improved the program from two wins to five. Everyone wants the former Beaver QB to succeed, and he's creating something solid.
22. Neal Brown, West Virginia
Record With Team: 5-7 - He's young and it was a rebuilding year for the Mountaineers,…
Record With Team: 5-7 - He's young and it was a rebuilding year for the Mountaineers, but he gets one of those - he needs to come up with a winning season in Year Two. There's no concern about getting fired, but a bowl game is a must to avoid a rocky 2021.
21. Jimmy Lake, Washington
Record With Team: 0-0 - Ohhhhhh, no. There's no grace period here. Chris Petersen left the…
Record With Team: 0-0 - Ohhhhhh, no. There's no grace period here. Chris Petersen left the program in more-than-capable hands, and Lake is good enough to make Washington a major player in the Pac-12 title chase again. He's fine for a year no matter what, but even though it's his first time as a head coach, his team has to rock.
20. Tom Allen, Indiana
Record With Team: 17-19 - He finally got Indiana back over the hump and into a…
Record With Team: 17-19 - He finally got Indiana back over the hump and into a bowl game after two 5-7 seasons. But a third five-win campaign in four years stops the momentum cold, and anything worse is a real problem.
19. Justin Fuente, Virginia Tech
Record With Team: 33-20 - Last season was stronger after a losing 2018 campaign, but he…
Record With Team: 33-20 - Last season was stronger after a losing 2018 campaign, but he lost three straight bowl games and there can't be another loss to Virginia. At the very least, it would be a big plus if the Hokies were in the mix for the Coastal title until the end.
18. Tom Herman, Texas
Record With Team: 25-15 - Just when you think this Herman thing really isn't quite working…
Record With Team: 25-15 - Just when you think this Herman thing really isn't quite working out like it should be, he goes off and rocks a big-time team in a big-time bowl game. He's not going to get fired if it's a rough season, but ... it's Texas. Win the Big 12 championship already.
17. Karl Dorrell, Colorado
Record With Team: 0-0 - He wasn't that bad as the UCLA head coach from 2003 to 2007…
Record With Team: 0-0 - He wasn't that bad as the UCLA head coach from 2003 to 2007 - Chip Kelly should be so lucky to win 35 games in five seasons. However, he's not Eric Bieniemy - the former Buff star and current Kansas City offensive coordinator that Colorado couldn't get. A bowl season will be a great step, a losing campaign will keep the questions coming about the hire.
16. Pat Narduzzi, Pitt
Record With Team: 36-29 - The pressure always seems to be on Narduzzi to do more,…
Record With Team: 36-29 - The pressure always seems to be on Narduzzi to do more, and then he goes out and wins 7-to-8 games. However, after five years, one total clunker - and a second losing season in three years - would be a big problem
15. Jeremy Pruitt, Tennessee
Record With Team: 12-12 - Oh sure, everything looked great with a six-game winning streak to…
Record With Team: 12-12 - Oh sure, everything looked great with a six-game winning streak to close things out, but the best win was over ... Kentucky? Remember, this is the same coach whose team lost to Georgia State and BYU to start the season and dropped the games against Alabama, Florida and Georgia by a combined score of 112-30.
14. Dino Babers, Syracuse
Record With Team: 23-26 - The ten-win season of two years ago seems way back in…
Record With Team: 23-26 - The ten-win season of two years ago seems way back in the rearview mirror. With three losing seasons in his four years, the losing 2019 has to be more of the aberration than 2018.
13. Jimbo Fisher, Texas A&M
Record With Team: 17-9 - You know the 2019 that LSU just had? That’s supposed to…
Record With Team: 17-9 - You know the 2019 that LSU just had? That’s supposed to be Texas A&M under Jimbo. No, of course Fisher won't be fired with another underwhelming season - the ten-year contract plays a bit of a role - and yes, last year's schedule was totally unfair. Whatever. He's the national championship head coach who's supposed to take the Aggies to an elite level, and the program hasn't made the turn.
12. Derek Mason, Vanderbilt
Record With Team: 27-47 - It's so hard and so unfair to try winning consistently at…
Record With Team: 27-47 - It's so hard and so unfair to try winning consistently at Vanderbilt. Mason has yet to have a winning season in six years, and he's 10-38 in SEC play. It won't necessarily be his fault if the Commodores struggle again, but another clunker like 2019 and it'll be "go in another direction" time.
11. Matt Wells, Texas Tech
Record With Team: 4-8 - He overcame a few rocky seasons at Utah State to rise…
Record With Team: 4-8 - He overcame a few rocky seasons at Utah State to rise up and rock, but he also started out with 19 wins in two seasons. 4-8 at Texas Tech can be forgiven in the first year, but there are a whole lot of coaches out there who can fit the Red Raider offensive mold if there's another clunker of a campaign.
10. Lovie Smith, Illinois
Record With Team: 15-34 - Let's just cut through the hoo-ha. Illinois had a miraculous final…
Record With Team: 15-34 - Let's just cut through the hoo-ha. Illinois had a miraculous final few minutes against Wisconsin, and Michigan State flat-out gagged. If both of those things don’t happen, 2019 is another clunker. Smith got the team to a bowl game, but he was this close to a 4-8 season. As is, he's still just 15-34.
9. Dave Doeren, NC State
Record With Team: 48-41 - When we did this last year, the opening line on Doeren…
Record With Team: 48-41 - When we did this last year, the opening line on Doeren was: "There's a problem if the Wolfpack come up with a 4-8 run." State went 4-8. That was okay once, but it can't happen again. The team wasn't even competitive over the second half of the season.
8. Mike Locksley, Maryland
Record With Team: 3-9 - The problem isn't just that Locksley went 3-9 in his first…
Record With Team: 3-9 - The problem isn't just that Locksley went 3-9 in his first year at Maryland, and it isn't that the team got worse as the season went on - to be fair, there was a youth movement. It's that he's now 6-40 overall - combined with his time at New Mexico - and last season was his best one ever as a head coach.
7. Jim Harbaugh, Michigan
Record With Team: 47-18 - The guy has 47 wins as a head coach at Michigan,…
Record With Team: 47-18 - The guy has 47 wins as a head coach at Michigan, just one of his 18 losses came to a team that didn't finish with at least ten wins, and his greatest crime is that he can't beat an Ohio State program that's among the elite of the elite right now. But ... four straight bowl losses, five straight losses to the Buckeyes, no Big Ten titles, no Rose Bowls, no College Football Playoff appearances.
6. Scott Frost, Nebraska
Record With Team: 9-15 - When Willie Taggart got fired at Florida State, he had the…
Record With Team: 9-15 - When Willie Taggart got fired at Florida State, he had the exact same record Frost had at the time at Nebraska. Frost is still the favorite son, and everyone desperately wants him to succeed, but the talent still isn't there and two straight losing seasons in Lincoln isn't okay. He's not going to get canned with another bad run, but 2021 will be FLAMING hot seat time without at least a bowl appearance in 2020.
5. Manny Diaz, Miami
Record With Team: 6-7 - Miami fans are already a fickle lot as they expect greatness…
Record With Team: 6-7 - Miami fans are already a fickle lot as they expect greatness - and are right to do so - but losing to FIU, losing to a bad Duke team, and getting shutout by a Group of Five Louisiana Tech team in a lower-tier bowl on the way to a losing season is never going to be okay in Coral Gables.
4. Kevin Sumlin, Arizona
Record With Team: 9-15 - Two losing seasons in two years is bad enough, but making…
Record With Team: 9-15 - Two losing seasons in two years is bad enough, but making things worse is how Herm Edwards is doing okay up the road at ASU. Sumlin was able to survive the offseason, but after a 9-15 run in two years, this is it. This is when it all has to start working.
3. Chip Kelly, UCLA
Record With Team: 7-17 - Kelly lost a total of seven games in four seasons as…
Record With Team: 7-17 - Kelly lost a total of seven games in four seasons as the Oregon head coach. One of those was a Rose Bowl, and another was in a national championship. His UCLA teams have dropped 17 games in two years. From last year's hot seat piece, "he won't get fired even with another 3-9 year." He went 4-8. There had better be a bowl game soon in UCLA's future.
2. Will Muschamp, South Carolina
Record With Team: 26-25 - Four years, a 26-25 record, and the fan base that has…
Record With Team: 26-25 - Four years, a 26-25 record, and the fan base that has to deal with its puffy-chested Clemson neighbors all puts the hot seat pressure at another level in a conference where the hot seat pressure is always unbearable.
1. Clay Helton, USC
Record With Team: 40-22
- But ... how? The 2017 Pac-12 Championship and Rose Bowl-winning season…
Record With Team: 40-22
- But ... how? The 2017 Pac-12 Championship and Rose Bowl-winning season might as well been 50 years ago. Winning eight games and beating UCLA and Utah last year was nice, but the USC head coach isn't supposed to go 13-12 in two seasons. To be fair, he has a young team with a whole lot of promise, but ... that Urban Meyer guy is still out there available.
