2025 College Football Head Coach Hot Seat Tiers

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The third annual 2StripesCPD Hot Seat Tiers column is here! Find out below which coaches will learn what "Zillow" is over the next five months!

Special Tier Zero: Will he make it to week zero?

• Bill Belichick - North Carolina

I'll be honest with you: I've never cared about a sports story less than who Bill Belichick's girlfriend is. I have no interest in how they met, their sex life, or what her occupation is. He's a man who wears shoes with no socks, so no level of nasty would surprise me! However, it's hilarious that the greatest coach in NFL history jumped down to the college level and instantly became the negative distraction and sideshow stain on his university that all of you who hate Deion Sanders thought Deion would be.

Tier one: The Formalities

Anything can happen during the season! Anything but these three making it to 2026, that is.

• Trent Dilfer - UAB

Dilfer is undisputedly the worst head coach in the country. Hell, he might be the worst of the last decade! It's astonishing that UAB's administration brought him back for a third season. I'll never let anyone forget how they lost to Charlotte last year:

There's less than a zero percent chance Dilfer makes it to November, let alone through the whole season.

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• Scott Satterfield - Cincinnati

This pairing felt like a miss from day one, which is now backed up by Satterfield's 8-16 record through two seasons. Cincinnati's fanbase detests him for a multitude of reasons, highlighted by the Bearcats flushing last year's 5-2 start down the drain by losing their final five. Their high-profile season opener against Nebraska on August 28 (Thursday) feels like Satterfield's last big swing at changing that relationship.

• Brent Brennan - Arizona

I watched the magic Brennan worked at San Jose State up close, so it pains me that his first season at Arizona was such a trainwreck. With Tetairoa McMillan off to the NFL, and a conference schedule that includes most of the Big 12's hard-hitters, I don't see last year's 4-8 record improving. That probably means the end for Brennan in Arizona, given how angry Wildcats fans already were with him in 2024.

• Sonny Cumbie - Louisiana Tech

Despite an 11-26 record, Louisiana Tech AD Ryan Ivey brought back Cumbie for a fourth year - even writing him a letter of support after the season. The first thing he mentioned was how strong the Bulldogs' defense was, which should've been the biggest indictment against Cumbie.

Cumbie was previously the Offensive Coordinator for potent attacks at Texas Tech and TCU. His whole selling point to Louisiana Tech was likely that he'd field a top-tier offense in Ruston! Instead, they were so disjointed that he gave up play calling duties four games into 2024. That sounds like a head coach who no longer serves a function to me.

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Tier two: There is only win now, no later

Tier two is where 2025's true hot seat drama resides. All of these coaches hold a Power 4 job, and they all need strong seasons. A few of these guys were in tier one last year, and just did enough to see 2025. There's a realistic path where the majority of this tier survives to 2026, but I'd be stunned if at least a couple don't get clipped.

• Brent Venables - Oklahoma

There were things to like about Oklahoma's 2024 for Brent Venables - namely spoiling Alabama's playoff hopes and beating Auburn on the road. The offense was a mess, though, and while the Sooners didn't lose to any "bad" teams, they were often severely outclassed by their new SEC counterparts. It doesn't get any easier in 2025:

A season rarely comes down to the result of one game, but whether OU beats Michigan September 6 seems make-or-break. A win there and you're likely looking at a 4-1 start (at least) heading into the Red River Shootout. A loss makes an already daunting second half of the schedule look nearly insurmountable. Venables has a ten-win season on his resume, but three six-win years in four tries doesn't feel like something OU's fans and administration would want to run back.

• Billy Napier - Florida

This one doesn't need a long explanation. Ending 2024 on a four-game winning streak, plus the presence of QB DJ Lagway made Napier's return understandable. Anything less than the Gators building off that can't (and won't) earn him a fifth year.

• Sam Pittman - Arkansas