Hot Seat Rankings: Let's play 'Should he be fired?'
A whole lot of 'yes' in these rankings.
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November is officially hot seat season. With four weeks left, I'm trying to simplify this edition of the rankings with three categories for each coach on the list:
'Should he be fired?'
'Why?'
'What I think happens next'
It's about to be a wild ride to the end of the regular season, so let's get to it.
Hot Seat Rankings: Should he be fired?
ANOTHER HOT SEAT LEGEND FALLS
Hugh Freeze - Auburn
Hugh Freeze pissed Auburn fans off so much that he has ordained pastors begging their next coach to throw on some NBA YoungBoy at practice:
I am a pastor. I love Jesus. I love worship music.
— Griffin Gulledge (@griffingulledge) November 5, 2025
I want the Auburn Tigers warming up to music that makes them want to hit someone. https://t.co/PGdCRvYEW8
Godspeed, Hugh. Enjoy the golf course for us.
SOMEHOW OFF THE RANKINGS UNTIL NEXT SEASON
Luke Fickell - Wisconsin (2-6) (Last week: 1)
Literally as I was finishing this column (with Fickell at No. 1), ESPN's Pete Thamel reported that Wisconsin is officially bringing him back for 2026:
NEWS: Wisconsin coach Luke Fickell will return to coach the Badgers in 2026, athletic director Chris McIntosh tells ESPN. The move comes with significant increase in financial investment. https://t.co/8S4JlAIBJH
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) November 6, 2025
Badgers AD Chris McIntosh also sat down with Jesse Temple of Badger Connect to dish out some low-calorie word salad on what's next for the program under Fickell's leadership:
Luke Fickell is returning next season. Chris McIntosh discusses what changes will be made to put Wisconsin football on a different path. Find the full video and story at Badger Connect: https://t.co/kr5faS0rgQ pic.twitter.com/Dgrce9VoRT
— Jesse Temple (@jessetemple) November 6, 2025
Fickell is 15-19 in his fourth season, with an 8-15 record in Big Ten play. The Badgers are already 0-5 in conference this season, and going winless is absolutely on the table with games against Washington, Indiana (road), Illinois, and Minnesota (road) left. Fickell spent the offseason promising a return to the devastating ground game the program was built on, but the Badgers sit a lowly 124th nationally in rushing yards, and have only scored more than 17 points in one game. (42 against Middle Tennessee.) For Wisconsin fans' sake, I sure hope the answer to their issues is just throwing a pile of money into the roster like McIntosh said. I have a hard time believing it is the way Fickell's coached this year, though.
ON TO THE RANKINGS!
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1. Jonathan Smith - Michigan State (3-6) (Last week: 2)
Should he be fired: Yes.
Why: This one is simple - Michigan State fans just straight-up don't like Smith. A promising 3-0 start has been buried by an 0-6 Big Ten mark. The team hasn't improved much in Smith's second season. In fact, you can make a strong case that they're actually much worse than last year. Last week's 23-20 OT loss at Minnesota also essentially ended their bowl hopes, barring wins over Penn State, Iowa, and Maryland to close out the season.
What I think happens: Unless they somehow win out, Smith is gone. This situation has, "fired right after the season finale" tattooed on its forehead.
2. Mike Norvell - Florida State (4-4) (Last week: 3)
Should he be fired: Yes.
Why: Norvell was on a nine-game ACC losing streak dating back to September 2024 before last week. Unless FSU fans' expectations have drastically shifted since the last time I checked in, I don't think beating Wake Forest is enough to change how hot Norvell's seat is. Building off it with a road win at similarly beleaguered Clemson tomorrow? Then Norvell might be on to something. Regardless, this is a team who followed up last season's category F5 implosion with one that's still at least an F3 as of now.
What I think happens: Norvell makes it to the season finale at Florida and gets canned after they lose.
3. Derek Mason - Middle Tennessee (1-7) (Last week: 5)
Should he be fired: Yes.
Why: Mason is 4-17 at MTSU in his second season. Despite having an experienced roster (especially by C-USA standards in the portal era) with a fifth-year QB, the Blue Raiders are among the worst in the country on both sides of the ball. In a conference flush with bad teams, only 0-8 Sam Houston is lower than Mason's squad.
Should you upgrade to a 2StripesCPD premium subscription? Yes.
What I think happens: Mason is fired after he loses to 0-10 Sam Houston at home on November 22.
4. Bill Belichick - North Carolina (3-5) (Last week: 6)
Should he be fired: No.
Why: Are you kidding me? You think I want the content goldmine that is Bill Belichick at North Carolina to get permanently cut off?
