Sometimes, the real-life hot seat doesn't wait around for the CBS Sports' Hot Seat Rankings. Since we updated you last month, five more coaches have been fired bringing the total to eight since the start of the 2021 college football season.
That saved us some work on Ed Orgeron (LSU), Nick Rolovich (Washington State), Matt Wells (Texas Tech), Gary Patterson (TCU) and Tom Arth (Akron). Clay Helton has been fired (at USC) and rehired (at Georgia Southern), replacing Chad Lunsford, since Sept. 13. Randy Edsall (UConn) left his second stint with the Huskies just two games into his fifth return season.
This isn't a coaching carousel; it's become bungee jumping with a whistle. With less than a month to go in the regular season, the Hot Seat Ranking have been updated again. Remember, the hot seat doesn't necessarily mean imminent firing. At a minimum, it means it's time to monitor the temperature of your coach's seat from here on out.
A reminder: This is where we started with our annual offseason edition with ratings for all 130 FBS coaches before the season began. Now we are taking a third look with two full months of the 2021 season in the books.
Below is our ratings key. Here's how the 130 FBS coaches sorted out before the season began. There were nine on the proverbial hot seat (rated 5 or 4) entering the season with another 14 starting to feel the heat (rated 3).
| Rating | What it means | Coaches |
|---|---|---|
5 | Win or be fired | 3 |
4 | Start improving now | 6 |
3 | Pressure is mounting | 14 |
2 | All good ... for now | 33 |
1 | Safe and secure | 52 |
0 | Untouchable | 22 |
That leads us to our updated Hot Seat Rankings. Here's how things are shaking out just over two months into the season. Take a look below.
Heating up
| Team | Coach | Rating | Breakdown |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Doug Martin | 5 | Martin might have sealed his fate complaining again about facilities. His contract expires at the end of the season. An extension isn't in sight. The Aggies are 1-7 in Martin's fourth and final year of his current deal. October rating: 4 |
 | Justin Fuente | 4 | It may be a three-headed race for SMU's Sonny Dykes with VT potentially in the market. A 3-1 start for Fuente devolved to 4-4. It looks like the Hokies will have to win at Miami or Virginia to become bowl eligible. A losing season would be Fuente's third in the last four. That hasn't happened at VT since 1979. A $10 million buyout decreases by $2.5 million on Dec. 16, but can AD Whit Babcock afford to wait for that discount with the early signing period approaching? October rating: 3 |
 | Chip Kelly | 4 | It's never good when the Los Angeles Times' UCLA writer calls for your job. The Bruins have lost two in a row, given up significant yards and Kelly is down to his backup QB. His .375 winning mark is the worst of any full-time UCLA coach. When pushing for the Jimmy Kimmel Bowl is being discussed, things are not going well. As of Dec. 1, the school would owe Kelly $9 million in buyout money. The pivot point may be the USC game on Nov. 20. UCLA is not awash in money, which may be Kelly's security blanket. Preseason rating: 3 |
 | Rod Carey | 4 | After an 8-4 start at Temple, Carey is 4-12 in his last 16. The Owls' closest loss this season has been by 20 points. There have been two AAC wins since the tart of 2020. Temple is used to losing coaches to Power Five jobs (Matt Rhule, Manny Diaz, etc.). This time, a change might come from within. Preseason rating: 2 |
 | Seth Littrell | 4 | The Mean Green have slipped badly since back-to-back nine-win seasons. Littrell is 10-21 since (2-6 in 2021). AD Wren Baker just got an extension through 2029, which means the guy who hired Littrell has job security. His coach might not. Pressure will be further ratcheted up with North Texas entering the AAC. That's year (2023), Littrell's contract expires. It would seem he'd need an extension or canning now to address recruiting. Littrell would be owed less than $3 million. Preseason rating: 2 |
 | Scot Loeffler | 4 | In a fine example of performance art, Loeffler became the first coach ejected for back-to-back unsportsmanlike penalties. Is this a foreshadowing of his own future at Bowling Green? Loeffler lost to South Alabama, beat Minnesota, then lost four in a row before rallying to beat Buffalo after he was booted. Loeffler is 6-20 at a school that launched Urban Meyer's career and in a conference (MAC) that is up for grabs each season. Preseason rating: 3 |
 | Jake Spavital | 4 | Spavital made headlines before the season when, in the age of one-time transfers, he populated his roster with almost all transfers. The message had not been lost on the Bobcats' coach that he had to win now. It hasn't happened. Texas State is 2-6 in Spavital's third season after going 3-9 and 2-10 in his first two. Johnny Football's position coach when Johnny Manziel won the Heisman Trophy in 2013 is in the third year of a five-year deal. Preseason rating: 3 |
 | Dan Mullen | 3 | This team both gave Alabama all it could handle and got blown out by Georgia. That's one reason why Mullen's so debated. Since that Bama game, the Gators are 2-3. Mullen's seat has heated up only five months after getting a three-year extension and raise to $7.6 million (fifth-highest in the game). Who can blame Gators everywhere for expecting more? Less than a season after playing for the SEC title, Florida is 4-4. Worse, it's 4-7 in their its 11. Maybe defensive coordinator Todd Grantham's name should be here instead, but sooner or later the Mullen would run out of coaches to fire. Pressure is on Mullen to end 2021 with a flourish. Preseason rating: 1 |
 | Marcus Arroyo | 3 | Now in his second season, the Rebels are winless (0-14) since he arrived in 2019. UNLV administration had plans to use Arroyo's hiring to dovetail into momentum with the move to Allegiant Stadium, but the AD who hired him left for Missouri. In realignment, the Mountain West is expected to be the strongest Group of Five conference. Arroyo is making $1.5 million. The school would have to eat $3.6 million if they fired him without cause. Preseason rating: 2 |
Holding in place
| Team | Coach | Rating | Breakdown |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Butch Davis | 5 | The best thing to happen to the Panthers (1-7) this season is that they appear to still have a Conference USA to play in going forward. The school had to shoot down an erroneous report that Davis was retiring. Still, don't be surprised if this is end of the 69-year old's grand career. October rating: 5 |
 | Herm Edwards | 4 | There is an ongoing NCAA investigation, two assistants have been put on administrative leave, and defensive coordinator Antonio Pierce has been called the "mastermind" of the recruiting violations. Adding to it all: The Pac-12 South that was once theirs is slipping away from the Sun Devils. October rating: 4 |
 | Scott Frost | 4 | If anyone can open a portal into Trev Alberts' intentions, it would help. We simply don't know which way the Nebraska AD is leaning. Nebraska continues to lose close in agonizing ways, but overall, there has been improvement. A $20 million buyout would seem to be in Frost's favor, but it only takes one (or more) booster(s) to decide to scratch a check. There is some concern about Nebraska becoming a coaching merry-go-round. The Cornhuskers may be a quarterback or a new coach away. Ask Trev. October rating: 4 |
 | Steve Addazio | 4 | This curious hire just got curiouser. Someone's gotta own how the Oct. 23 game against Utah State was mismanaged. Instead of spiking the ball to stop the clock with 11 seconds left, the field goal team rushed and missed a game-winning kick with a second left. "No one sent them [in]," Addazio said. Wait, what? The Rams are 3-5 in Addazio's second season. October rating: 4 |
 | Walt Bell | 4 | There's actually good news for a Bell, 2-22 in his second season. UMass is deciding whether to join Conference USA … or is it C-USA deciding whether to invite UMass? There are three potential wins left on the schedule: Rhode Island, Maine and New Mexico State. Administration continues to support Bell, who would be owed $1.1 million if fired before Dec. 2. October rating: 4 |
 | Jim Harbaugh | 3 | It's obvious the Wolverines have improved in Year 7 under Harbaugh. Cade McNamara is the Harbaugh's best QB, there's better team speed, Aiden Hutchinson looks like a young J.J. Watt. Following the Michigan State loss, the knee-jerk reaction in Michigan was Harbaugh, once again, can't win the big one. To this sportswriter's naked eyes, UM has the roster to still challenge for a College Football Playoff berth. I almost feel guilty putting Harbs on this list. For the first time in years, Michigan has an upwards trajectory. Even with another Ohio State loss, the arrow should remain pointing up. The problem in firing Harbaugh remains: If you do, who are you gonna get of substance? October rating: 3 |
 | Manny Diaz | 3 | Diaz's career at Miami has a pulse after he probably should have been rated higher last go-around. Two straight wins have made a bowl game possible. Freshman QB Tyler Van Dyke has been an absolute find. Since last month, the Hurricanes have beaten then-No. 18 NC State and then-No. 17 Pittsburgh. At this point, it's not so much a Diaz thing but a Miami thing. UM needs to upgrade (beyond a new indoor facility) and invest in an on-campus stadium. That second point is a long shot. In a modern twist, Diaz reportedly has leverage because the administration doesn't want to lose young players and prospects. That beats firing a guy to get ahead in recruiting. October rating: 3 |
 | Mike Norvell | 3 | Like it's in-state rival, Florida State has seen some surprising success since the last set of rankings with three straight wins before a hard-fought loss to Clemson. Norvell has not won hearts and minds back just yet -- players are still transferring away from the Seminoles -- but he has earned a longer leash. October rating: 3 |
Cooling off
| Team | Name | Rating | News |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Dino Babers | 3 | In the interest of fairness since last month, we must note Babers (5-4) is on track for his best season at Syracuse since going 10-3 in 2018. Freshman Sean Tucker is leading the nation in rushing yards. The Orange are 2-3 in one-score games, so they're getting there. An eight-win season is an outside possibility. October rating: 4 |
