By Mike Huesmann
The coaches hot seat is an in-season staple so here we are with the list after Week 2. These ten coaches have work to do in order to keep their job. Several of these coaches are the fodder for early season odds and favorites to be fired first. The list will be updated regularly during the season as coaches get fired, win games, and narratives develop.
Removed from the List after Week 1: Mario Cristobal (8), Clark Lea (7)
10. PJ Fleck, Minnesota
Record at current school: 51-35. 2024 record: 1-1
Year with school: 8
Fleck isn’t really on the hot seat right now, but I could see this changing by the end of the year. The offense is an eye-sore; they are as risk-averse as can be, and they won’t win many games in the Big Ten. As good as he has been for the Gophers, the best they’ve had in a long time, a 4-win season may be it for him. A change could be best for him and Minnesota. A win yesterday against FCS Rhode Island does almost nothing to affect this.
9. Joe Moorhead, Akron
Record at current school: 4-22. 2024 record: 0-2
Year with school: 3
Moorhead is an interesting one here. I don’t know if Akron will have to fire him. He might pull a Chip Kelly, Jeff Hafley, Kane Wommack, etc., and bolt for a coordinator job before they have to. He’s still considered a top offensive mind, but the Zips have been lousy in his two years as the boss. With the low bar in the MAC, the futility cannot continue. It’s tough to tell how Akron will be in the MAC this year because early payday beatings at Ohio State and Rutgers aren’t a litmus test.
8. Tony Elliott, Virginia
Record at current school: 8-16. 2023 record: 2-0
Year with school: 3
The Cavs have looked poor under Elliott, there’s no other way to put it. A win last year at ranked North Carolina has been one of the few bright spots. He did an admirable job leading the team, and university, through an unspeakable tragedy in 2021 but things weren’t going well before that either. The schedule, relative to a down ACC, doesn’t do him any favors this year. A five-game stretch in October and November of Louisville, Clemson, North Carolina, Pitt, and Notre Dame might decide his future. A win yesterday against Wake Forest was definitely a step in the right direction.
7. Mike Neu, Ball State
Record at current school: 38-56. 2024 record: 1-0
Year with school: 9
Hometown boy, alumnus, and long leash. All words to describe Mike Neu at Ball State. But if they have a losing record in 2024, that will be four losing seasons in a row. I don’t know if he survives that. He has had one winning season in eight, that was the 2020 COVID season. Even really long leashes get pulled tight at some point. Ball State won yesterday against FCS (future CUSA) Missouri State.
6. Kenni Burns, Kent State
Record at current school: 1-13. 2024 record: 0-2
Year with school: 2
I hate firing a coach before year 3. It’s unfair, doesn’t give you time to recruit for your system, and doesn’t allow you to fix the problems of the previous regime. There were many of those problems in this case. But with NIL and the portal, we are increasingly impatient with coaches. Burns deserves a year three, but another one or two win season and he may not get it. A loss to a lower-level FCS team in St. Francis was a big blow.
5. Sam Pittman, Arkansas
Record at current school: 24-26. 2024 record: 1-1
Year with school: 5
Two or three years ago the Hogs looked to be surging and primed to take that next step. Things have stalled mightily. Rocket Sanders and K.J. Jefferson, two Pittman stalwarts, have left via the transfer portal and former Boise QB Taylen Green has arrived.
The schedule in the new look SEC will never be easy either. Pittman won in a landslide in the opener against one of the nation's worst FCS teams. Yesterday a second-half collapse on the road against Oklahoma State was a bad loss, and one which could be used as fodder for his critics.
4. Stan Drayton, Temple
Record at current school: 6-20. 2024 record: 0-2
Year with school: 3
Drayton has a pair of three-win seasons under his belt at Temple. He has an impressive resume and is an elite RB coach, but that has not translated to improvements for Temple. I don’t think the bar is too high here. If the Owls can get 6 wins and a bowl game, he’s safe, but I doubt that will happen. They are probably the worst FBS team in America.
3. Dave Aranda, Baylor
Record at current school: 24-26. 2024 record: 1-1
Year with school: 5
Baylor has not performed up to standards in the four seasons under Aranda. A single good season, and only winning record in 2021, is all but forgotten. Many, including me, were surprised he kept his job this offseason. One could argue he’s not on the hottest seat, but he’s not too low. A loss to Utah yesterday was expected, and Baylor did some things well. Wins against Air Force and Colorado are a must in the coming weeks.
2. Will Hall, Southern Miss
Record at current school: 14-25. 2024 record: 1-1
Year with school: 4
Hall has not been able to find a consistent QB in his time in Hattiesburg, hopefully Florida St. transfer Tate Rodemaker can solve that problem. In two of his three seasons, Hall has won only three games. That isn’t good enough, even in the widening gap between G5 and P4. I thought he would be let go after 2023, he clearly was not. A shutout loss at Kentucky and an FCS win haven’t told us a ton about this team, Sun Belt play will.
1. Billy Napier, Florida
Record at current school: 12-15. 2024 record: 1-1
Year with school: 3
The Gators schedule is a gauntlet and everyone, including Napier, knows it. This will give him little excuse. Too much is stacked against him and he’s not built up enough goodwill to bridge that into year 4. It’s win or else for him in 2024. If the Gators can fight to a bowl game I think he’s safe, that might be tough. His new conundrum is at QB where we have an injured Graham Mertz and a freshman DJ Lagway who lit it up against the only easy game on the schedule.
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