It seems a bit silly to even mention the phrase “hot seat” when we still haven’t even kicked off a ball in the 2023 season.
But this is modern college football. The sport has become dominated by both massive coaching contracts and, in turn, an expectation for quick success.
Gone are the days when coaches were given years at a time to program-build. The transfer portal allows for much quicker roster transitions than were previously possible, and NIL provides a more even playing field — in theory, at least.
But Power Five schools aren’t just becoming more impatient in terms of how long they’re willing to extend the benefit of the doubt to their coaches. They’re also becoming increasingly more likely to make changes mid-campaign, often even before November.
In 2022, seven Power Five coaches were fired before the start of the final month of the season. Three of those didn’t even make it to October.
That’s a trend we will almost certainly see continue in 2023. With that in mind, here are 12 Power Five coaches who absolutely must start the season on a high note to avoid the hot seat.
Some of these are new coaches still looking to prove themselves, while others are longer-tenured and hoping to recapture past success that has since faded. But the uniting thread between them all is that they could be searching for new jobs next year if they don’t turn things around quickly.
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