After Week 3 of the College Football season, we saw our first coaching casualties of the season as Virginia Tech fired Brent Pry while UCLA moved on from DeShaun Foster. The question is no longer who will be fired first, but who will be fired next at this point in the season. As we get deeper into the season, several programs that are off to terrible starts could start to consider moving on themselves.
While plenty of Head Coaches are on the hot seat, there are varying levels of each hot seat situation. Some coaches may be given the rest of the season to try and figure things out, some coaches may just survive for one reason or another, and a few coaches are truly on the brink of being fired.
Ranking the Hot Seat: Where Mike Gundy and Billy Napier stand
Will they show him the door midseason after all he's done?
The Mike Gundy era is clearly coming to an end as the Cowboys fall further from the heights they reached as NIL and the Transfer Portal have become more prevalent. The Cowboys were late to the game in NIL and using the portal, and the entire roster and coaching staff have spiraled to a point where it's clear they need to restart. The biggest question is whether or not the Cowboys would fire Mike Gundy in the middle of the season, as he's an icon in Stillwater.
Could get fired tomorrow or much later
Every season we get further from the Pat Fitzgerald era, it becomes clear that the early success of David Braun was due to the players Fitzgerald brought in. When you look at the games left on Northwestern's schedule, at best, the most wins they'll get to are 4, while 3 sounds more likely. Next season, Northwestern opens its massive new stadium, and it may be the perfect time to start fresh and bring in a coach that can bring the buzz back.
The start of the season hasn't gotten much better for Trent Dilfer as the Blazers are already 0-1 in Conference play, while former UAB Coach Bill Clark's son put him on blast. This weekend will sink UAB to .500 on the season as the Blazers face off against Tennessee. Conference play will likely make UAB's decision easier, as the defense isn't nearly good enough to save their coach's job.
The Coastal Carolina Chanticleers went from one of the most exciting Group of 5 programs under Jamey Chadwell to almost being ignored under Tim Beck. This season, Coastal has gone 1-2 with blowout losses to Virginia and East Carolina, while they won 13-0 against Charleston Southern. Sun Belt play may determine how far Coastal Carolina will go with Tim Beck and this South Alabama game may get the ball rolling.
Dead Man Walking
Win or lose this weekend, if the Florida Gators opt to move on from Billy Napier the perfect time comes after this Miami game. The Gators have an open date next weekend before they face Texas which gives them plenty of time to make the changes they'd want and iron out any changes before they play again. Last season, Miami embarrassed Florida and based on how each team looks so far, we could see a similar result this season which would certainly get Napier fired.
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