With the college football season in full swing, Week 3 clarifies what teams will have a chance to compete as they head into conference play and which teams will be looking to kick-start their programs once the season ends.
As their seasons begin to turn into dust, multiple coaches are starting to find themselves squarely in the ire of the fans and have begun to feel the metaphorical warming of their seats.
As we enter into the midpoint of the season, here are five coaches who may need to work their way off the hot seat before the end of the season.
5 College Football Coaches on the Hot Seat
For this list, we’re only listing coaches who are realistic candidates to be fired at or before the conclusion of the 2024 season.
While performance on the field is the main factor in a coach’s firing, buyouts and off-field relationships can play a key role in which coaches are ultimately let go.
Here are five coaches who stand out to fans and analysts alike as potentially needing to find new employment as the football coaching carousel continues to spin.
Billy Napier, Florida
It was always going to be an uphill climb for Billy Napier this season, and the Gators have stumbled since he took over in Gainesville.
The blowout loss to Miami in the season opener added fuel to the fire, but the arrival of a potential quarterback controversy and the inability to beat Texas A&M have fully blown the situation at Florida into crisis mode.
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The schedule only continues to get more difficult for the Gators, and while there is the belief that a .500 finish and a bowl game could be enough to save Napier’s job, the looming dates against Tennessee, Georgia, LSU, and Texas might prove to be too much for the Gators and their path to reach six wins.
Napier’s reported buyout is $28.3 million, and if Florida is looking for another head coach, whoever signs up will likely be looking for even more guaranteed money than the $51 million Napier was given, making the pending decision a potentially costly one.
Mike Norvell, Florida State
It’s been a truly incredible turn of events for Mike Norvell, who was in the midst of becoming a coaching darling after winning the ACC in 2023 and coming one injury short of making the College Football Playoff, but Florida State hasn’t won a football game since Dec. 2, 2023.
The easy target is quarterback DJ Uiagalelei, who has been inconsistent at best and essentially awful, if we’re being honest.
While DJU shares some of the blame, the vaunted defensive line that was touted by some as the best in the nation has been porous in the run game, and the skill positions on offense have sputtered as well.
Norvell bet heavily on the transfer portal for this season, and now that Florida State is out of contention for almost everything except a winning record and a bowl trip, the risk of him losing the team has skyrocketed.
What might be higher, however, is the potential buyout for Norvell. He’s still owed $65 million, and he’s under contract through 2031, a double-edged arrow for the Seminole faithful who are already at their wits end with how the program is performing.
Dave Aranda, Baylor
Dave Aranda made multiple changes in the offseason, including taking over duties as Baylor’s defensive play-caller.
The normally reserved Aranda has also made reference to feeling the heat in multiple media opportunities.
The season has gotten off to a decent start as Dequan Finn has taken over at quarterback. He looked okay against FCS Tarleton State and then looked like he was running for his life against Utah the following week, but the defense kept it close enough after Utah’s Cam Rising left with an injury.
Aranda has never been one to show emotion, and the Bears have mostly kept calm during this stretch. But the Big 12 is up for grabs, and if Baylor can’t finish in the upper half of the conference with a schedule that looks favorable, Aranda’s reported $20 million buyout could be an easy choice for Baylor to make.
Luke Fickell, Wisconsin
Luke Fickell was on the fast track to becoming a member of the coaching elite after leading Cincinnati to a magical season in 2022. He capitalized on that success by heading to Wisconsin, and the expectations were sky-high for the Badgers as Fickell seemed to be the perfect fit.
Since then, it’s been a lot of puzzling football for the Badgers. They went 7-6 in 2023, with wins against Minnesota and Nebraska being the highlight and losses to WSU, Indiana, and Iowa being the low points for a program conditioned to winning those types of games.
It’s still early for Fickell, but Wisconsin is not off to a good start in 2024. The Badgers have eked out wins over Western Michigan and South Dakota while getting run off the turf by Alabama in a home game at Camp Randall that should have been more competitive than a score of 42-10.
Fickell is owed $57 million guaranteed, so he’s likely safe for now, but Wisconsin needs to start competing soon, even if its head coach is owed a lot of cheese.
Sonny Cumbie, Louisiana Tech
Sonny Cumbie rose to prominence as the offensive coordinator at Texas Tech under Kliff Kingsbury. He parlayed that success into the same job at TCU, where he found initial success in his first two years with the Horned Frogs.
Cumbie eventually moved on to Texas Tech after things sputtered at TCU. He was the interim head coach when Matt Wells was fired in 2021, but he returned to coordinator duties when Joey McGuire was hired as head coach.
Cumbie took over at Louisiana Tech in 2021 and immediately went 3-9, just like the program had the year before his arrival. 2023 was deja vu all over again, as Tech won just three games.
With a 1-1 start and only two years left on his contract, Cumbie may be sitting on a seat as hot as the cajun seasoning that Louisiana is known for if he can’t start winning games.
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