Week 10 Hot Seat Rankings: Brian Kelly's firing raises concerns around the Country

Week 10 of the College Football season has arrived as we head into the final stretch of the regular season. While the games on the field have been great, the coaching carousel is even more entertaining to follow. This past weekend, Brian Kelly was fired, bringing the biggest move we've seen to the Coaching Carousel.

This season, we've already seen Brian Kelly, Billy Napier, and James Franklin fired, opening 3 of the most sought-after jobs in the Country. Brian Kelly, being the only coach fired last weekend, was surprised as several other coaches could've joined him. This weekend, there are several coaches coaching on the hottest seat possible, creating a big storyline to follow.

These 10 Head Coaches are in danger heading into Week 10

When Maryland started the season 4-0, it looked like Mike Locksley had coached his way off the hot seat. The last three weeks have seen the Terps go 0-3 by a combined 10 points, which makes the losses sting even more. Locksley found a star in quarterback Malik Washington, but he'll need to finish the season strong.

This season was a big prove-it year for Brent Venables, but his team has lost the two biggest games they've played. In a crowded coaching carousel, the Sooners may be best off by waiting one more season before making a decision. The biggest issue for Venables is that he still faces Tennessee, Alabama, Missouri, and LSU which will decide his fate.

Every week that he's employed, Bill Belichick will likely land on the hot seat unless he seriously turns this team around. Every week there's seemingly a new off-the-field story that's embarrassing the school while the team on the field is just 2-5 with a 0-3 record against the ACC. It's unclear whether or not UNC would fire Belichick, but we could end up seeing a "mutual parting of ways".

After his first season, Dave Doeren has been pretty successful at NC State, but as of late, the Wolfpack have fallen off significantly. After a 6-7 season in 2024, the Wolfpack are just 4-4 with a 1-3 record in league play. If this season ends like the 2024 season, it may be time for NC State to move on as they have the ability to be far better than a below .500 team.

The only reason that Luke Fickell doesn't rank higher on this list is the fact that he hasn't been fired yet. The Badgers are 2-6 on the season and 0-6 in games against Power 4 opponents which is far below what Wisconsin expected in his 3rd season at the helm. Wisconsin's AD Chris McIntosh put out a letter calling for support of Fickell, but if this team loses every game in Big Ten play, that has to be revisited.

Coming off a season where the Baylor Bears went 8-5, but 6-3 in the Big 12, the expectation was that this team would compete for the Big 12 Championship with Sawyer Robertson back under center. Instead, this team is just 4-4 with a 2-3 record in league play. Dave Aranda's defense is currently allowing 32.6 points per game, ranking 119th in the Country. Given that Aranda has a career record of 35-34 and just 23-27 in conference play, it may be time for the Bears to move on.

We're only in the second season of the Jonathan Smith era. but the fans in East Lansing are already starting to look for a new Head Coach. Smith is just 8-12 over his first 20 games with a 3-11 record in Big Ten play. The final stretch of the season will be important for Smith, as finishing the season with 9 straight losses would be a disaster.

Beating Arkansas last weekend was crucial for Hugh Freeze as it felt like a loss would've almost certainly ended his time in Auburn. Freeze was able to survive to coach another weekend, but he faces off against Mark Stoops in what could be the last game the loser coaches for their program. At 4-4 with a 1-4 record in SEC play, Freeze still has an uphill battle to survive the season.

After playing the Texas Longhorns close, the Kentucky Wildcats were beaten handily by Tennessee. Mark Stoops heads into the weekend with a 2-5 record and a 0-5 record in SEC play, which makes this game against Auburn a must-win to help bring back any faith. It seemed like Stoops was safe thanks to his massive buyout, but Matt Jones of Kentucky Sports Radio keeps telling everyone that change could be coming to Lexington.

The Florida State Seminoles spent last weekend on the bye, which was the best thing possible for Mike Norvell and his staff. After losing to Stanford to fall to 3-4 on the season and 0-4 in ACC play, it feels like there's actually a chance that change comes to Tallahassee. Florida State, coming off the bye and looking flat against Wake Forest, could end up being the final nail in Mike Norvell's coffin.