Cincinnati needs a big second season under coach Scott Satterfield

When the Cincinnati Bearcats open the season on August 31st, there may not be another head coach in the Big 12 with more pressure on him than Scott Satterfield.

The 51-year-old did not have a banner season with the Bearcats in 2023. He came to Cincinnati from Appalachian State and then Louisville. The former Appalachian State quarterback was 76-48 in his head coaching career and led his teams to seven bowl games in eight seasons before joining the Bearcats.

Satterfield took over for Luke Fickell, who took the job at Wisconsin . The Bearcats started their Big 12 career with just one win in nine games last season under Satterfield. Before he came to the program they had five straight winning seasons, and were 53-11 during that time.

Scooby Axson of USA TODAY Sports put together a list of the Top 10 college football head coaches that were on the hot seat entering the season and Satterfield was squarely on the list.

Moving forward, Cincinnati should be listed as one of the betting favorites in a Big 12 Conference whose two most powerful schools, Texas and Oklahoma, took their egos and brands for the greener pastures of the SEC. This conference is ripe for the picking, but it is tough to win when you aren’t good in any aspect of the game. Then again, the school could be patient and wait until Jan. 1, 2026, to fire Satterfield so that the buyout wouldn’t be as bad.

The Bearcats take on Pittsburgh on September 7th and go on the road at Miami Ohio on September 14th. The first two Big 12 games for the Bearcats are at home against Houston, and then on the road at Texas Tech. Cincinnati gets a break this season and will not face conference favorite Utah at all.