12 College Football Coaches On The Hot Seat Ahead Of The 2025 Season

The 2025 college football season is quickly approaching. A number of notable leaders will be coaching for their jobs in the coming weeks.

The boiler has been cranked up at programs moving into make or break campaigns. The hot seats are growing hotter with fans eager to see turnarounds.

The pressure to succeed at the Power 4 level has never been higher. The transfer portal and NIL have given schools a “win now” outlook. Failure to do so will result in firings.

12 College Football Coaches On The Hot Seat Ahead Of The 2025 Season

We’ve identified three coaches from each Power 4 conference needing to stack victories in order to bolster job security. Goals must be reached for these leaders to remain on the sidelines.

We’ll break it down league by league to take a look at programs desperate for results. Let’s start in the ACC.

ACC Coaches on the Hot Seat: Brent Pry (Virginia Tech)

The Hokies have gone 16-21 under Pry’s leadership. He enters Year 4 with the team in 2025.

Virginia Tech returned a great deal of production in 2024 but was unable to capitalize. The Hokies went 6-7 and will only bring back five starters from the previous roster this coming year.

The program is still looking to reestablish success seen under legendary coach Frank Beamer. Ironically, Pry’s make or break season begins against Beamer’s son with a Week 1 showdown versus South Carolina.

Justin Wilcox (Cal Bears)

The Bears have posted just one winning season in Wilcox’s nine-year tenure. They may need a second for the head coach to stick around in Berkeley.

Cal showed flashes last season before losing seven of its last 10 games to finish 6-7. The task of winning became much more difficult with the program hit hard by the transfer portal.

The Bears lost starting passer Fernando Mendoza and star rusher Jaydn Ott. They’ll return seven starters from 2024.

Tony Elliott (Virginia Cavaliers)

Virginia Tech isn’t the only school in the commonwealth with a coach on the hot seat. Virginia’s Tony Elliott joins Brent Pry in treacherous waters.

The Cavaliers hired Elliott from Clemson’s staff in 2022. They’ve gone just 11-23 across three seasons.

Virginia showed improvement last year by going 5-7. They face a favorable slate in 2025, missing ACC favorites Clemson, Miami, and SMU.

Big 10 Coaches on the Hot Seat: Lincoln Riley (USC Trojans)

Riley brough incredible excitement along with him when moving from Oklahoma to Southern Cal. Unfortunately, the production hasn’t followed.

The Trojans have seen win totals dip each of the last two seasons, and while they made a third straight bowl game last year, 7-6 won’t cut it.

USC’s move to the Big 10 plays a large role. The league’s won the last two national championships. If Riley cannot get the Trojans on that level, his time in Los Angeles will be short-lived.

Luke Fickell (Wisconsin Badgers)

Fickell was a winner at Cincinnati, leading the Bearcats to a College Football Playoff appearance in 2021. Success has proven elusive in Madison.

Wisconsin is 12-13 over the last two years. That includes its first losing season since 2001 in the most recent campaign.

Fickell’s job won’t get any easier in 2025. The Badgers face six teams ranked in the preseason Top 20. He does, at least, return nine starters from last year’s roster, but will be breaking in a new quarterback.

Mike Locksley (Maryland Terrapins)

Locksley’s tenure has been up and down over the last eight years. He took over following the midseason departure of Randy Edsall. He proceeded to go 1-5 across his first six games.

Maryland turned things around in Year 4, winning three consecutive bowl games to produce a pair of eight-win seasons. Unfortunately, the Terps came crashing back down to 4-8 last year.

Some believe Locksley’s reached his ceiling with the program. He’ll need to show marked improvement in 2025. The Terrapins do have a relatively favorable schedule, missing out on Ohio State, Oregon, and Penn State.

Big 12 Coaches on the Hot Seat: Mike Gundy (Oklahoma State Cowboys)

Gundy has seemingly been in Stillwater for ages. Starting his tenure in the 2005 campaign, he turned the Cowboys into a Big 12 contender.

After a 4-7 debut, Gundy led Oklahoma State to 18 straight winning seasons. Eight times, they won 10 games or more.

Last year was a complete debacle, though, as the Cowboys went just 3-9. The head coach did his best to flip the roster with 41 transfer additions. He’ll hope it results in a quick turnaround. If not, his leash will grow shorter.

Brent Brennan (Arizona Wildcats)

Brennan’s seat isn’t scorching yet as he’s completed just one season. There is some heat, however, given the first year results.

The Wildcats started the 2024 campaign ranked 21st in the AP Poll. They tumbled out of the rankings after losing seven of their final eight games.

It wasn’t just that Arizona lost. It was how they lost. The team was blown out in most every instance, with the scoring deficit nearing 24 points per defeat.

That included a 49-7 shellacking at the hands of rival Arizona State. A similar showing in ’25 might end his tenure before it gets off the ground.

Scott Satterfield (Cincinnati Bearcats)

Satterfield arrived at Cincinnati with a respectable resume having experienced previous success at both Appalachian State and Louisville. He’s gone just 8-16 with the Bearcats.

The good news is that many of those losses were close. Four came by one score, all to Power 4 competition. Satterfield will have a chance to build on his foundation with 10 starters returning.

His schedule is favorable, too, as the Bearcats play just one team ranked in the preseason Top 25. They’ll open the year with a tough neutral field test against Nebraska. That first game could be telling in regards to his future.

SEC Coaches on the Hot Seat: Hugh Freeze (Auburn Tigers)

Freeze is 11-14 at Auburn and has been accused of playing more golf than recruiting to The Plains. His third season at the helm could significantly impact his future. Fans want results after four straight losing campaigns.

The head coach has a proven track record in the SEC dating back to his time with Ole Miss. Unfortunately, that stint ended in controversy. The Tigers gave Freeze a second chance, but the leash is growing shorter with the investment failing to pay dividends.

His upcoming season is daunting. Auburn starts the year on the road at a Big 12 title favorite before matching up with the likes of Oklahoma, Texas A&M, Georgia, and Alabama.

Brent Venables (Oklahoma Sooners)

Venables is entering Year 4 with the Sooners. To this point, he’s failed to reach expectations.

Oklahoma sandwiched a 10-3 season in between a pair of losing campaigns. The team has gone 22-17 with the coach at the helm.

Year 4 presents hope. Oklahoma upgraded talent in the transfer portal, headlined by projected starting quarterback John Mateer. It also returns 12 starters from a year ago.

This could, and maybe should, be the program’s best season under the fourth-year head coach. His future depends on success.

Sam Pittman (Arkansas Razorbacks)

Pittman is 30-31 over five years in Fayetteville. He’s exceeded six regular season wins just once in that span.

Arkansas is coming off of a 7-6 campaign which it capped with a Liberty Bowl victory, but Pittman’s seat grows hotter each year his buyout decreases.

Money was said to have played a part in keeping him around after having gone 11-14 across his last 25 games. Finances may not buy him an additional season should things go south in 2025.

The Razorbacks, unfortunately, face one of the toughest schedules in the country with six foes ranked in the preseason Top 25. Pittman will have to pull a few upsets to gain some job security.