College Football Coaches Who Have Removed Themselves from the Hot Seat in 2018

Patience is often in short supply around college football, but several coaches who entered the 2018 season subject to major pressure have removed some of that burden.

While the high-profile boss fitting this mold is LSU's Ed Orgeron, a few other power-conference coaches join him in that group.

Elsewhere, one coach guided his program to such a strong campaign that he landed a promotion. That kind of turnaround is unique since most of the coaches on the hottest seats were in fact fired, but it makes for a remarkable story.

Change is sometimes needed at the helm of a roster. But for the following coaches, patience was a virtue.

Kalani Sitake, BYU

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SALT LAKE CITY, UT - NOVEMBER 24: Head coach head coach Kalani Sitake of the Brigham Young Cougars gestures on the sideline in a game against the Utah Utes at Rice-Eccles Stadium on November 24, 2018 in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Photo by Gene Sweeney Jr/Gett

Kalani Sitake's place on hot-seat lists was mostly semantics. You don't overhaul the coaching staff if there's minimal concern.

Last season, the Cougars ranked 106th nationally in yards per snap and 124th in scoring. This year, they're 100th and 95th, respectively. Meanwhile, the defense jumped from 46th to 21st in yards allowed per snap and 46th to 28th in scoring.

BYU's offense must improve for Sitake to bolster his security, but attaining bowl eligibility was a sign of progress in 2018.

Matt Wells, Utah State

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While the return to a bowl in 2017 buoyed Matt Wells heading into this season, the 6-7 finish followed a 3-9 campaign in 2016 and a 6-7 mark in 2015.

For someone who began his tenure with 19 victories in two years, 15 wins over the following three campaigns was a problem. But not only did Wells sprint away from the hot seat in 2018, the 10-win season at Utah State resulted in him landing a bigger job.

The Aggies ended the regular season 10-2 and were a tiebreaker loss to Boise State away from reaching the Mountain West title game. Wells then accepted the job at Texas Tech as Kliff Kingsbury's replacement.

Tom Herman, Texas

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Tom Herman did not arrive in 2018 on the hot seat, but losing to Maryland in the season opener planted him squarely in an uncomfortable spot.

Until he wasn't.

After that eye-rolling letdown and an unimpressive victory over Tulsa in Week 2, the Longhorns toppled USC and TCU—Top 25 teams at kickoff—and stunned rival Oklahoma as part of a six-game winning streak. Plus, they recovered from losses to Oklahoma State and West Virginia to appear in the Big 12 title game.

The Longhorns fell short in that rematch with Oklahoma, but Texas is legitimately one step closer to "back" under Herman.

Mark Stoops, Kentucky

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After a few years of mentions on hot-seat lists, Mark Stoops had Kentucky trending in the right direction heading into 2018. The Wildcats posted back-to-back seven-win years, after all.

After this season, any concerns about his job security should now be moot.

Stoops' club put together a breakout year in Lexington, surging to a 5-0 start. An understandable loss at Texas A&M and two victories later, the Wildcats earned a winner-take-all SEC East showdown with Georgia.

Yes, UK came up short, and then it lost a stinker at Tennessee the following week. But prior to this year, the 'Cats hadn't recorded nine wins since 1984.

A bowl victory would give Kentucky only the third 10-win season in program history.

Ed Orgeron, LSU

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Though Ed Orgeron held a 15-6 record as LSU's interim or full-time head coach heading into 2018, a feeling of discontent hovered around the LSU program. 

Orgeron needed only September to eliminate that frustration.

Although both Miami and Auburn eventually plummeted from the Top 25, they were ranked No. 8 and 7, respectively, at the time LSU beat them. The Tigers ripped off a 5-0 opening month.

From there, it was a matter of surviving a brutal stretch against four programs that all ended the regular season in the Top 20.

While a 2-2 stretch isn't title-worthy, dominant wins over Georgia and Mississippi State showed LSU's upside. As such, Orgeron deserves to avoid initial hot-seat lists for 2019.

Stats from NCAA.com, cfbstats.com or B/R research. Quotes obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Follow Bleacher Report CFB Writer David Kenyon on Twitter @Kenyon19_BR.