10 HOTTEST SEATS IN COLLEGE FOOTBALL, AN IDEAL CANDIDATE TO REPLACE EACH HEAD COACH

It's gettin' hot in herre, so fire your bad coach. To me, there is never a wrong time to read the temperature in the room, especially when it comes to hot seat watch. As these buns are getting mighty toasty, I can do more than merely say which coaches are under the most pressure. While we still have an entire season's worth of games to enjoy, I may have a replacement candidate ... or 10!

So what I am going to do today is put 10 Power Four head coaches on the hot seat and present a potential replacement candidate if any of those situations become too far gone to fix. I take this very seriously, and I am more than happy to eat a ton of crow over this, so long as it is fried and smothered in verde sauce, por favor. Gracias! Anywho, let's fall out of the frying pan and into the fire just a bit.

Every coach that I have put on the hot seat has earned a seat at the table for a myriad of different reasons. It could be bad performances, unrealistic job expectations, or even a better hot-shot candidate out there to be had. One thing I do know is somebody we least expect will get the ax. It always is the case, as is guys who are getting cooked like Neal Brown at West Virginia saving himself.

Let's start with an SEC head coach who has been more sizzle than steak of late than Tevin Downey.

10. South Carolina Gamecocks head coach Shane Beamer

It is funny how college football can be sometimes. You can go from being on top of the world (relatively speaking), to getting toppled on. Two years ago, Shane Beamer was riding that Beamer Heater of a Lifetime after beating Tennessee and Clemson in succession. The most sacred Mayo bath is real, but it can only bestow glory onto one man a season. It was Mike Locksley's turn next...

Last year saw South Carolina go from a fringe top-25 program to a team that did not get to a bowl game. Beamer essentially wasted the last year of Spencer Rattler at quarterback, only to arrive at a situation where the Gamecocks might be a game worse at 4-8 with their brutal regular-season schedule. If he fails, South Carolina needs a guy who will come in and change the room's temperature.

One of my favorite Group of Five candidates out there is South Florida Bulls head coach Alex Golesh.

Ideal replacement: South Florida Bulls head coach Alex Golesh

9. Oklahoma Sooners head coach Brent Venables

Like Shane Beamer, I wouldn't say that Brent Venables' seat at Oklahoma is super hot, but it is not exactly cool as a cucumber either. This has everything to do with Oklahoma's rich football history, as well the Sooners switching leagues from one they used to dominate in the Big Eight/Big 12, to the SEC. If Jackson Arnold is as advertised, maybe OU can make the playoff as the fifth-best SEC team?

What I am getting at is Oklahoma appears to have hired a good coach, but good isn't great enough in Norman. OU should be winning 10 games annually as a top-three program all time in the sport of college football. If Venables is merely just a league-average head coach after year three, then the Sooners need to move on. They would probably need to mend fences to land their top candidate.

Former Sooners quarterback Josh Heupel's ego may be bruised, but he is worth the squeeze for OU.

Ideal replacement: Tennessee Volunteers head coach Josh Heupel

8. Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day

If you thought the situation going on in Norman was tense, wait until you get a load of what all is going on in Columbus. Simply put, if Ohio State is not a final four team in 2024, the Buckeyes are going to move on from Ryan Day as their head coach, especially if they lose to a depleted Michigan team for the fourth year in a row. Day has all the resource advantages this year. No excuses, just get it done!

Should he fail to live up to semi-unrealistic expectations, Ohio State needs to get rid of Chip Kelly, and Chip Kelly's greatest protege, which just so happens to be Day, and hire one of their own. I don't think Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman would come just yet, but I know a guy who is out of a job he deserves that would be perfect for it. Mike Vrabel is just waiting to be had, chilling over in Cleveland.

The former Tennessee Titans head coach could be the missing piece to get Ohio State over the top.

Ideal replacement: Former Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel

7. Iowa Hawkeyes head coach Kirk Ferentz

This is another hard one to gauge. To what degree do the Iowan faithful want to put up with Kirk Ferentz's nonsense for another year or five? An interim athletic director had to force-fire his son Brian for having the worst offense since the 1976 Tampa Bay Buccaneers. While Ferentz did replace Brian with former Western Michigan head coach Tim Lester, Iowa is about to get lapped in the new Big Ten.

Long gone will be the antiquated concept of divisions. No longer can Ferentz hide behind Big Ten West banners, three yards and a cloud of punt. While I think Iowa will still be a bowl-caliber team, the Hawkeyes are never getting back to Indianapolis again under the current regime. It is why I think it may be time to go with a guy who used to play for Hayden Fry, as opposed to was mentored by him.

For the right price, former Iowa defensive back Mark Stoops will leave his home in old Kentucky.

Ideal replacement: Kentucky Wildcats head coach Mark Stoops

6. Virginia Cavaliers head coach Tony Elliott

Of the 10 hottest seats in major college football, I have the hardest time finding a suitable candidate to replace a struggling Tony Elliott in Virginia. He needs to get the Hoos to a bowl game in year three, especially if Brent Pry starts to get the ball rolling over in Blacksburg with the Hokies. It takes the right head coach to win at Virginia, but Elliott has proven to not be a George Welsh or Bronco Mendenhall.

In truth, I think UVA may give Elliott a fourth year on the job anyway, so long as the Cavaliers show some signs of promise on the football field in 2024. If not, then I would try to get out ahead of it and hire the best up-and-coming offensive mind in the sport. The one coordinator I think could be leading his own team soon would have to be Will Stein at Oregon. The Ducks offense is so much fun to watch.

Since Stein's alma mater of Louisville is not opening up any time soon, Virginia will need to act swiftly.

Ideal replacement: Oregon Ducks offensive coordinator Will Stein

5. Colorado Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders

How have we even gotten to this point? Deion Sanders went from one of the top up-and-coming head-coaching candidates at any level of college football, to being another bad season away from being on the first bus out of Boulder, baby. While Coach Prime has made Colorado football relevant for the first time in my life, is this a joke to him? He is putting himself and his sons ahead of everyone.

Truth be told, if Colorado is closer to 8-4 than it is to 4-8, Sanders will get a third year in Boulder if he so chooses. Honestly, he may walk away for another program that is desperate for attention, especially once Travis Hunter and The Sanders Brothers turn pro. If it is not worth doing business with Sanders for a third year a row, I would suggest hiring one of your own who would actually care.

The right head coach for Colorado in the Coach Prime aftermath is Purdue head coach Ryan Walters.

Ideal replacement: Purdue Boilermakers head coach Ryan Walters

4. Pittsburgh Panthers head coach Pat Narduzzi

Pat Narduzzi is living hard in Narduzziland, brother. He has pulled out a folding chair, placed it on the goal line and won't let anyone into his end zone ... ever! His blue-collar ethos has worked at times in Pittsburgh, but the Panthers were all sorts of terrible a year ago. The demotion of Phil Jurkovec from quarterback to tight end was only the tip of the iceberg. Firing Frank Cignetti Jr. was certainly rich...

What I think Pitt needs more than an angry, defensive-minded bully at head coach is one who knows how to recruit and hails from the region. Well, I know a fast-talking, well-compensated man by the name of Jimbo Fisher who could be of service to yinz. He may hail from West Virginia, but I bet he would make Pitt as talent-rich as they were when Uncle Dave Wannstedt was leading the Panthers.

Hiring Fisher to replace Narduzzi is the way to bring the buzz back to Pittsburgh in a big way, alright.

Ideal replacement: Former Texas A&M Aggies head coach Jimbo Fisher

3. Baylor Bears head coach Dave Aranda

Dave Aranda is the man with too much zen. He has gone from Baylor's Sensai into something soft, outspoken and borderline comatose. Baylor won the Big 12 three years ago. The Bears won 12 games, which is unheard of given their up-and-down history as a Southwest/Big 12 program. To me, it seems like he won with Matt Rhule's players. Guess who got nothing for it when he was with Carolina?

If Baylor really wanted to, the university could outspend just about everybody in the new Big 12 not named Houston. Since it is a private school, they do not have to disclose whatever it is they pay their coaches. For as much as Scott Drew has been an institution on the hardwood, Baylor may need more joy and enthusiasm from its head coach than Aranda. That is why you must hire a prodigy from UTSA!

Jeff Traylor is going to be leading a Power Four team, and I think Baylor is the perfect spot for him.

Ideal replacement: UTSA Roadrunners head coach Jeff Traylor

2. Arkansas Razorbacks head coach Sam Pittman

Arkansas is going for broke this year, and I kind of love it. Sam Pittman is a lovable head coach, but he is every bit the CEO type. He is not an X's and O's guy, preferring to lean on his coordinators of note. Pittman had two great ones initially in Fayetteville in Barry Odom and Kendal Briles. Now that both are long gone, Pittman has had to resort to something we didn't think was possible: Hiring Bobby Petrino.

With John Calipari taking over for Eric Musselman on the hardwood, all the pressure will be on Pittman to get the Hogs back to a bowl game. Moving on from K.J. Jefferson at quarterback was probably the right call, but the guy who will be coaching him this year at UCF is a strong candidate to replace Pittman if he and Petrino get wrecked on Bobby's hog together. Gus Malzahn, come on down!

Malzahn should have never been fired at Auburn, so let's get him back to the SEC on his alma mater.

Ideal replacement: UCF Knights head coach Gus Malzahn

1. Florida Gators head coach Billy Napier

When I say I love to be proven wrong, I do tend to agree with that in most instances. This is an exception. It is not that Billy Napier coaches my Georgia Bulldogs' arch rival Florida Gators that I have him No. 1 on this list nobody wants to be on. It has everything to do with the expectations at hand in Gainesville, as well as the Gators' brutal schedule for 2024. I don't know how they get to even 6-6?!

Yes, Napier was the head coach I had in mind when I first came up with the concept of this long-form article. Don't you see it? As soon as it hits the fan on the rusted fan boat one more time in the gator-infested Everglades, Florida is going to fire Napier and all of his expansive support staff in favor of a man who is currently wearing a purple visor in the rain over in Seattle. Welcome home, Jedd Fisch!

Fisch just left Arizona for Washington, but keep in mind Pat Chun did not hire him; Troy Dannen did.

Ideal replacement: Washington Huskies head coach Jedd Fisch

This article was originally published on fansided.com as 10 hottest seats in college football, an ideal candidate to replace each head coach.

2024-05-08T13:51:15Z dg43tfdfdgfd