Hot Seat Meter: ESPN names hottest seats in College Football, ones that are cooling after Week 2

The college football season is now just two weeks old. However, there are already coaches all around the country on the hot seat. Given how schools have moved on from coaches in past seasons, that means changes could be coming sooner than later.

There are, of course, different stages to the hot seat. For some coaches, they’re being burnt by it. Others, it’s more of a building pressure. Then, there are the coaches who came into the season on the hot seat and are now finding a way to cool things down. Within that is a wide range of coaches.

Now, ESPN has shared the hottest coaching seats in college football, along with those ones cooling down, following Week 2. Among the ESPN reporters who put the list together are Andrea Adelson, Adam Rittenberg, and Mark Schlabach. That group looked to separate truth from fiction when putting together this list and categorizing coaches.

Hot Seat Meter: Hottest

Billy Napier, Florida
Florida head coach Billy Napier found himself on the hot seat throughout the 2024 season. He survived that, coming back for 2025, but now finds himself again in a precarious position. After losing to USF in Week 2, there were chants from fans in The Swamp to “Fire Billy,” and unless he turns things around quickly, those fans could get their wish.

Mike Gundy, Oklahoma State
The 2024 season was the worst for Mike Gundy during his better than two decades at Oklahoma State, failing to win a single conference game. That led to an offseason standoff regarding his contract, which would eventually be restructured to go along with new assistant coaches. A program legend, Gundy and the Cowboys just saw themselves get blown out by Oregon, and now there are major concerns that this team didn’t improve from last year.

Brent Pry, Virginia Tech
Virginia Tech has a very proud football program. However, it’s been some time now since the Hokies competed for an ACC Championship. Under Brent Pry, it also doesn’t seem like the Hokies are getting much closer than before he got there. His record at Virginia Tech is now just 16-23, including an 0-2 start to this season.

Hot Seat Meter: Hot

Kalen DeBoer, Alabama
In the last 10 games Alabama has played against Power Four opponents, the Crimson Tide are 5-5. That includes the shocking loss at Florida State to start this season, and it isn’t up to the standard that Nick Saban set in Tuscaloosa. Of course, the schedule won’t get easier for Kalen DeBoer in SEC play. There is time to turn it around, and a massive buyout in the way, but tensions are rising.

DeShaun Foster, UCLA
The UCLA Bruins turned to DeShaun Foster late in the coaching carousel following the 2023 season when Chip Kelly left for Ohio State. It was a slow start for Foster as he helped the program transition into the Big Ten. However, after adding transfer quarterback Nico Iamaleava, the expectation was that UCLA was ready to take a jump. That hasn’t happened, though, and the Bruins are 0-2 with a Mountain West loss.

David Braun, Northwestern
When David Braun took over Northwestern, the program was in turmoil following the end of the Pat Fitzgerald era. He then shocked everyone by finding some success and earning the job full time. However, it’s been a rough go since then and with the team working on a new stadium, there’s a chance they might be looking for a complete flip of the program to avoid being in the Big Ten basement.

Luke Fickell, Wisconsin
When Wisconsin hired Luke Fickell, it was widely seen as a can’t miss hire. So far, however, it hasn’t worked out like anyone expected. In 2024, the Badgers missed a bowl for the first time since 2001. At just 15-13 overall, and a very difficult schedule ahead in 2025, Fickell is in a tough spot. He’ll need to find a way to pull off some upsets to get Wisconsin back to a bowl game.

Hot Seat Meter: Cooling

Hugh Freeze, Auburn
Expectations are always high at Auburn, and in his first two seasons there, Hugh Freeze put up an 11-14 record and missed a bowl in 2024. That’s not good enough, and in the offseason Freeze looked to address some of those issues. So far, so good in 2025. It’s just two games, but with a big non-conference win against Baylor to open the season, things are trending up.

Sam Pittman, Arkansas
Arkansas is a difficult place to find consistent success. At points during his tenure there, Sam Pittman has found success, but ever since he missed a bowl in 2023, he’s found himself on the hot seat. That could be cooling now after going to a bowl in 2024 and opening 2-0 in 2025 with a pair of dominant wins. Still, SEC play is going to be a long and challenging stretch.

Dave Aranda, Baylor
Dave Aranda has had some highs at Baylor, including winning the Big 12 and the Sugar Bowl in 2021. However, things bottomed out in 2023 before bouncing back in 2024 with an eight-win season. That’s left him in a bit of an odd situation with the hot seat. Expectations are high in 2025, but if that goes sideways, his seat could heat up once again.

Brent Venables, Oklahoma
Oklahoma is one of the traditional blue bloods in college football. So, two 6-7 seasons in Brent Venables’ first three in Norman put him firmly on the hot seat. He used the Transfer Portal to try and address some of those issues. So far, it seems like that worked, particularly at quarterback. Add in a big win over Michigan and Venables is feeling more comfortable.