Early coaching landscape: Who's on the hot seat? Which seats have cooled?

Those who intimately way the assemblage coaching carousel admit that determination are seldom 2 airy cycles successful a row.

After a quiescent 2024 (other than Bill Belichick's stunning accomplishment astatine North Carolina) the upcoming carousel figures to beryllium overmuch much active. The archetypal 2 weeks person reinforced that belief, arsenic alarm bells are sounding again successful Gainesville, Florida, and Stillwater, Oklahoma, and blistery spots successful between.

Some coaching situations are much urgent than others, including Oklahoma State's Mike Gundy, who hardly escaped 2024 with his occupation and conscionable suffered the worst nonaccomplishment of his Pokes tenure (69-3 astatine Oregon). Virginia Tech's Brent Pry entered the 2025 play with win-now unit and has started 0-2. Florida's Billy Napier coached his mode retired of peril with a beardown decorativeness to past play but finds himself backmost connected the hottest of seats aft Saturday's location nonaccomplishment to South Florida.

When analyzing the carousel this early, it's important to abstracted cognition from reality. The angst astir Kalen DeBoer's aboriginal astatine Alabama mightiness beryllium premature, arsenic a hefty buyout and the circumstances of pursuing Nick Saban should bargain a small much time. Could DeBoer and different second-year coaches specified arsenic UCLA's DeShaun Foster yet beryllium successful trouble? It's imaginable but things request to play retired a spot more.

Our unit is examining the coaches facing the astir unit lone 2 weeks into the 2025 season, who has the champion chances to crook down the vigor and who could beryllium adjacent successful enactment for what figures to beryllium much Power 4 opportunities. -- Adam Rittenberg

Whose early-season struggles person microwaved their seat?

Andrea Adelson: Florida manager Billy Napier appeared to beryllium harmless earlier the play began. The Gators reaffirmed their committedness to him past November, and past Florida finished 2024 connected a four-game winning streak. With DJ Lagway and a big of others returning, Napier told ESPN successful July helium had a squad that yet believed. "We were selling hope," helium said of his aboriginal days connected the job. "Now it's like, 'It's working.' So there's a assurance that we tin spell toe-to-toe with anybody, and I deliberation that volition spell into this season." But the aforesaid problems that person flummoxed Florida nether Napier cropped up again successful an 18-16 nonaccomplishment to South Florida. Undisciplined play, excessively galore penalties and precocious crippled timepiece mismanagement gave the Bulls a accidental to win. Lagway looked uncomfortable throughout, and present Napier is backmost connected the blistery seat. Florida is simply not expected to suffer to a non-Power 4 in-state school. A brutal docket awaits: Back-to-back roadworthy games against LSU and Miami, earlier facing Texas, Texas A&M, Georgia, Read Entire Article