Top 11 Coaches on the Hot Seat After Week 6 of College Football
The coaching carousel in college football is constantly in motion, and the 2024 season is no exception. After Week 6 came to a close, it's time to take a look at who is on the hot seat through the first month of the campaign.
While some coaches were considered on the hot seat at the start of the season, others have put themselves in precarious situations early this year.
Let's run through the top 11 head coaches on the hot seat after six weeks of the season.
Non-Power Conference Coaches to Keep an Eye on
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Trent Dilfer, UAB
UAB finished 4-8 last year and is 1-4 so far, following a 71-20 loss to Tulane last week.
If the Blazers have consecutive losing seasons, it will be the first time that's happened since 2012 and 2013. There have also been some strange moments in the Dilfer era.
At the weekend, he called two timeouts during the Green Wave's final drive when Tulane could have kneeled out the game.
He also told reporters "it's not like this is freaking Alabama [Crimson Tide]" when he wanted his grandson on the podium with him after a blowout loss to Navy. Those comments irked some UAB fans, who live in the perpetual shadow of the Crimson Tide.
Dilfer's buyout for 2024 is $3.6 million.
Stan Drayton, Temple
Third-year Temple head coach Stan Drayton has yet to have a winning season in Philadelphia.
Last week against UConn, the Owls lost on the last play of the game. Their game-winning touchdown attempt was fumbled and returned to the end zone by Huskies' defensive back Jordan Wright.
Drayton's contract is not public, so it's unclear what it would cost Temple to move on.
Sonny Cumbie, Louisiana Tech
Louisiana Tech has struggled significantly under third-year head coach Sonny Cumbie.
The Bulldogs went 3-9 in both 2022 and 2023, and they are 1-3 this year.
Cumbie's contract is good through 2027, and it's valued at $4.85 million.
Sam Pittman, Justin Wilcox and Clark Lea Might Be Safe...For Now
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All three of these guys were on our list of hot-seat coaches before the season began. Although we don't know how the rest of the campaign will play out for them, they look to be in good shape so far.
We'll start with Pittman, who is 27-27 overall, coaching in his fifth season. His Arkansas team is coming off of a huge 19-14 home upset over then-No. 4 Tennessee. The win puts the Hogs at 4-2 for the season, and it looks like a bowl berth is likely for this team.
If Arkansas can upset some other SEC opponents as it did against the Volunteers, he can likely earn himself another year in Fayetteville. We'll see how Arkansas fares against LSU, Ole Miss, Texas and Missouri the rest of the season.
And who's having a better week than Vanderbilt head coach Clark Lea, whose Commodores just upset then-No. 1 Alabama? The win puts them at 3-2 on the season.
This was an important season for Lea, who is 12-29 overall in Nashville. The Commodores have a tough remaining SEC schedule, including Kentucky, Texas, South Carolina, LSU and Tennessee. But the win over the Crimson Tide just might be monumental enough to earn him one more season.
Meanwhile, Justin Wilcox has his Cal team off to a hot start.
The Golden Bears hosted ESPN's College GameDay for the first time in school history ahead of its game against Miami. Obviously blowing a 25-lead against the Hurricanes isn't ideal, but Cal making it to a second-straight bowl game this year could keep the coach around.
The Bears have remaining games against Pitt, NC State, Oregon State, Wake Forest, Syracuse, Stanford and SMU. They should be favored in at least three of those.
Mack Brown, North Carolina
3 of 7
It's been a rough few weeks for the North Carolina Tar Heels. Despite starting out 3-0 on the year, they have dropped their last three straight against James Madison, Duke and Pitt.
The 70-50 loss to James Madison—one which Brown called "embarrassing"—saw the Tar Heels give up a program-high 53 points in the first half.
After the game, Brown reportedly told his players he would retire if he was holding the team back from winning. But he's coached the team per usual, including during UNC's last two losses.
A week after JMU, it looked like the Tar Heels were getting back on track against Duke. They jumped out to a 20-0 lead midway through the third quarter, but their defense gave up 21 unanswered points, allowing the Blue Devils to come back and win 21-20.
Last Saturday against Pitt, North Carolina kept it close until the fourth quarter. The defense gave up two long drives that yielded 10 points, giving the Panthers a 34-24 victory.
Brown is 73 years old and has a 20-12 record over the last three seasons. His best season came in 2022, when UNC finished 9-5 and played in the ACC title game. His buyout for 2024 is around $3.6 million, if the Tar Heels choose to move on from him after six seasons.
Hugh Freeze, Auburn
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Hugh Freeze is only in year two with the Tigers, but things don't look too bright for him.
In 2023, Auburn finished 6-7, capped off with a Music City Bowl loss to Maryland. Entering 2024, though, there was some optimism surrounding the program, thanks to the recruiting class the coach signed.
The class ranked eighth nationally and finished fifth in the SEC. But just six weeks into the regular season, a lot of that optimism has faded thanks to how poor Auburn's on-field play has gone.
The Tigers are 2-4 on the season, with the wins coming against non-power teams Alabama A&M and New Mexico. Freeze has also drawn criticisms from fans for blaming his players for the 24-14 loss to Arkansas. Additionally, he stated a few days later that if his team played the Razorbacks nine more times, they'd beat them nine times, as if that makes any sense.
The 55-year-old can't even say he's done a much better job than his predecessor, Bryan Harsin, who went 4-11 against FBS teams over his one-and-a-half seasons. Freeze is at 4-10 with Saturday's loss to Georgia.
In order for Freeze to earn some confidence, Auburn likely has to have a strong finish to the season. It'll be interesting to see if it can even make a bowl this season, with remaining games against ranked opponents in No. 21 Missouri, No. 15 Texas A&M and Alabama.
The Tigers also play Kentucky, Vanderbilt and Louisiana-Monroe, which may be the only sure win left on the slate.
If Auburn decides to make a change this season, Freeze's buyout as of Oct. 1 is $21.125 million, per Yahoo Sports. If he is fired Dec. 1, the school would owe him $20,312,500.
Billy Napier, Florida
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Billy Napier entered the season squarely on the hot seat. The Gators had back-to-back losing seasons for the first time since the 1940s, so his third year is critical.
Florida's season so far has been a bit of a mixed bag. It got blown out at home 41-17 against Miami, followed by a 45-7 win over Samford, then a 33-20 loss to Texas A&M.
In Week 4, the Gators beat Mississippi State on the road 45-28 and then defeated in-state rival UCF on Saturday 24-13.
Sure, a 3-2 record early in the season isn't too bad, but the problem is just how brutal the back half of their schedule is. Next week, Florida goes on the road to face No. 8 Tennessee. It plays four of the nation's Top-10 teams in No. 5 Georgia, No. 1 Texas and No. 9 Ole Miss. The Gators also face Kentucky, No. 13 LSU at home before ending the year against FSU.
It feels like Florida needs to at least make or win a bowl game for Napier to earn another year. His 2024 buyout is approximately $26 million. Reports suggest the clock is ticking on his time in Gainesville, despite some major questions about who will hire his replacement.
It feels like the only thing that could save Napier is if the Gators upset a ranked team or two on their schedule and claim a bowl victory. That's a tall order, so it won't be too surprising if Florida makes a change by the end of 2024.
Mike Norvell, Florida State
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It's a bit hard to believe the Florida State Seminoles were undefeated and vying for a College Football Playoff bid just one year ago. Fast-forward to 2024, and they have completely self-destructed, opening with two straight losses to Georgia Tech and Boston College, and are 1-5 on the season.
Starting quarterback DJ Uiagalelei, who struggled for the majority of the year, had hand surgery that could end his season early. Backup Brock Glenn threw for 228 yards with two touchdowns and an interception in Saturday's 29-13 loss to Clemson.
Elsewhere on offense? The Noles rank 133rd in rushing offense, and the unit is on-pace to be one of the worst rushing attacks in the power conferences in the last decade.
As for the rest of Florida State's schedule, the team appears to be on track for a two- or three-win season in Tallahassee. FSU has remaining games against Duke, Miami, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Charleston Southern and Florida. FSU will likely be favored outright against CSU and Florida, with UNC possibly being even.
As for Norvell, his 1-5 start brings his overall record at Florida State to 33-22. Thanks to the 10-year contract extension he signed last season, the school would owe him a whopping $65 million if it were to fire him.
We saw Texas A&M pay Jimbo Fisher over $75 million to not coach the Aggies, so it's not like paying this amount would be unheard of, although it still seems unlikely.
We'll see if the Noles can rebound in the back half of the season.
Dave Aranda, Baylor
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So far in 2024, it's been a season to forget in Waco, Texas.
The Baylor Bears dropped to 2-4 on the season in Week 6 with a 43-21 loss to Iowa State on Saturday. Although they led 14-3 early in the second quarter, the defense then imploded, giving up 16 points in the second quarter and a further 24 before the end of the game.
If Baylor finishes with a third straight season under-.500, the Dave Aranda era is likely over. The Bears have gone 25-29 over five seasons with the 48-year-old. Baylor's best year came in his second year in 2021, when it finished 12-2 and won the Big 12 title game.
Since then, Baylor has gone 11-20, including a 6-15 record in the Big 12. It has remaining games against Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, TCU, West Virginia, Houston and Kansas. All but one of those teams (Texas Tech) has a losing Big 12 record.
So, if the Bears fail to make a bowl game, don't be surprised if they pay out the estimated $16 million buyout to move on from Aranda.
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