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5 college football head coaches on the hottest seats heading into spring 2022

By Connor Muldowney

MADISON, WISCONSIN - NOVEMBER 20: Head coach Scott Frost of the Nebraska Cornhuskers looks on before a game against the Wisconsin Badgers at Camp Randall Stadium on November 20, 2021 in Madison, Wisconsin. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images)
MADISON, WISCONSIN - NOVEMBER 20: Head coach Scott Frost of the Nebraska Cornhuskers looks on before a game against the Wisconsin Badgers at Camp Randall Stadium on November 20, 2021 in Madison, Wisconsin. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images) /
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Oct 18, 2018; Tempe, AZ, USA; Stanford Cardinal head coach David Shaw looks on against the Arizona State Sun Devils during the second half at Sun Devil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 18, 2018; Tempe, AZ, USA; Stanford Cardinal head coach David Shaw looks on against the Arizona State Sun Devils during the second half at Sun Devil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports /

Honorable Mention

There are a number of coaches right on the edge of the hottest seats but not quite in that top-five range. These guys still need to prove quite a bit this season.

What a disaster the Jeff Scott project has been in Tampa. While winning at South Florida wasn’t expected to be an easy task for the former Dabo Swinney assistant, no one thought he’d crash and burn in two seasons to a horrid 3-18 record. He went from a one-win season in 2020 to a two-win campaign in 2021. Not much improvement, especially since he’s just 1-14 in conference play.

It’s hard to fathom David Shaw on a hot seat list after the incredible start he had to his head coaching career following Jim Harbaugh’s departure, but this is a “what have you done for me lately?” business. Shaw won at least 10 games in five of his first six seasons and then won nine games in back-to-back years before going 4-8 in 2019. That was the start of a bad trend. He went 4-2 in 2020 but just 4-8 again in 2021. Is this a sign of things to come or just an outlier stretch?

Mike Norvell took over a sticky situation in Tallahassee with the Seminoles going just 18-20 under Willie Taggart and Jimbo Fisher in the three seasons leading up to his hiring. He hasn’t improved the Seminoles much in two seasons, going just 8-13 overall and 6-10 in ACC play, missing out on a bowl game in both seasons. This is easily a make-or-break year for the head coach given the program’s expectations.

Scott Satterfield made a great impression right away at Louisville in 2019, going 8-5 and turning the Cardinals into one of the most exciting programs in the ACC. Since then, it’s been nothing but disappointment. The Cardinals are just 10-14 over the past two seasons with a 7-10 record in ACC play and they lost their only bowl game. Louisville isn’t exactly an ACC power, but it expects more than just mediocrity.

I was a big believer in Herm Edwards through his first couple of seasons as he went 15-11 and .500 in conference play, but he’s since taken a turn for the worst. Besides being involved in some recruiting violations, Edwards has gone 10-7 over the past two seasons as the program is seemingly remaining stagnant. Plus, he just lost Jayden Daniels to the transfer portal. He will need to win big and avoid more violations this season if he wants to keep his job.

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