Welcome to CBS Sports' annual Hot Seat Rankings where buyouts meet speculation, job security meets job openings and normal everyday furniture gets torched. Sometimes, the process isn't pretty, but it is a part of the game.
This offseason, 24 programs changed coaches. That makes 54 in the last two years and 96 across the last four seasons. There will be more -- as always.
That's not wishing bad on anyone, but consider the hit rate of these annual preseason Hot Seat Rankings. Since 2016, 43 names have appeared on this list rated either 4s (start improving now) or 5s (win or be fired). Thirty of those (69.8%) have been fired or resigned under pressure. The hit rate for Power Five coaches is nearly identical (18 of 26, 69.2%).
Last year alone, seven of the eight coaches who appeared on this list were let go. That included Scott Frost (Nebraska), Herm Edwards (Arizona State), Bryan Harsin (Auburn), Geoff Collins (Georgia Tech), Willie Taggart (FAU), Jake Spavital (Texas State) and Marcus Arroyo (UNLV).
The lone survivor? Dino Babers (Syracuse), who led his program to its first winning season since 2018. That does not mean Babers is off the hot seat entering 2023, though.
Again, we're not here to condemn but merely to inform. Below is our list of coaches rated 4's and 5's. There are also 16 with 3's attached to their names (pressure is mounting), and we've highlighted five of the most notable coaches in that category.
So, what openings might there be entering 2023? Plenty ... potentially.
One already for sure as Northwestern's Pat Fitzgerald was fired Monday amid a hazing scandal within the program. Fitzgerald had led the Wildcats to the program's worst two seasons in his 17 years with the team (4-20 combined). This coming off signing a 10-year contract in January 2021. His seat was already heating up before he was handed a two-week suspension after NU determined through an investigation that hazing abuses occurred within the program. Subsequent reporting revealed shocking details of the alleged hazing, leading to Fitzgerald's dismissal.
Check out our ratings key showing how the 133 FBS coaches sort out. There are eight on the proverbial Hot Seat entering the season with another 16 starting to feel the heat. (Ironically, the same numbers as 2022).
| Rating | What it means | Coaches |
|---|---|---|
5 | Win or be fired | 3 |
4 | Start improving now | 4 |
3 | Pressure is mounting | 16 |
2 | All good ... for now | 52 |
1 | Safe and secure | 42 |
0 | Untouchable | 15 |
That leads us to the annual Hot Seat Rankings and the seven Power Five coaches that need to figure out a way to cool things down before 2023 comes to a close. Check out our complete set of 2023 Hot Seat Rankings for ratings of all 133 FBS coaches entering the season.
2023 Hot Seat: Now or never
| Team | Coach | Rating | Breakdown |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Tom Allen | 5 | Allen's best (former) quarterback (Michael Penix Jr.) is chasing a Heisman Trophy in Washington. Allen's last winning season was during COVID-19. Since then, Indiana is 6-18, its worst two-year run since 2010-11. There have been two -- two! -- Big Ten wins combined since 2021. That is the definition of hot seat, especially with the Big Ten changing before our eyes. IU hasn't finished above 10th in Big Ten total offense since 2019. The Hoosiers need to be entertaining, they need to score and they need to win -- right now. 2022 rating: 2 |
 | Neal Brown | 5 | Brown has to win -- now. While the Big 12 is getting hipper, cooler, sexier under commissioner Brett Yormark, WVU would merely settle for a winning season. The program is coming off consecutive losing seasons for the first time since 1978-79. A third straight would mark the first trend since a four-year bender from 1976-79. WVU is better than this. For some reason, this Mike Leach disciple has only one winning season across four tries. Former AD Shane Lyons lost his job, in part, because he didn't get rid of Brown. New AD Wren Baker has elected to keep Brown -- for now. The buyout is a reported $16.7 million. 2022 rating: 2 |
 | Danny Gonzales | 5 | There are two considerations. Is Gonzales in trouble? Yes, if you go by the record: 7-24 in three seasons. Does New Mexico have the financial will to make a change? TBD. Gonzales is entering Year 4 of a five-year deal making $700,000 annually. Maybe that's peanuts to other programs, but it causes New Mexico officials to pause before calling for The Big Haircut. By now, Gonzales should either have an extension or start winning. The Lobos were winless in the Mountain West last year. They go into 2023 tied for the nation's fourth-longest losing streak (nine games). The Lobos last scored 20+ points in a Setember 2022 victory. 2022 rating: 2 |
 | Dino Babers | 4 | Give Babers credit for staying power. He was the only coach on the Hot Seat last year who did not get fired. Things were looking up in 2022 after a 6-0 start, but the Orange finished 1-6. That 7-6 mark ended a three-year streak of losing seasons. Babers came to Syracuse as an offensive savant, but his unit hasn't finished among the ACC's top seven since 2018. Of coaches who have currently been in the league for more than one year, Babers has the ACC's worst record (39-49, .424). 2022 rating: 4 |
 | Jimbo Fisher | 4 | Look, we're not predicting that Texas A&M is going to pony up $70 million-plus for the buyout after this season if things continue to go sideways. However, hot seat is the topic, and Jimbo is certainly on one. A major bounce back is needed from the Aggies after their first losing season (5-7) since 2009. Jimbo hired Bobby Petrino as the new offensive coordinator and will (maybe? hopefully?) give him 100% play calling duties. Talented QB Conner Weigman and a deep receiving corps give the Aggies a chance offensively (101st in scoring last season). The usual slog through the SEC West looms. TAMU travels to Tennessee, LSU and Ole Miss. Is eight wins enough for Jimbo to keep his job? Stay tuned. 2022 rating: 0 |
 | Butch Jones | 4 | Jones is salt of the earth. Before Arkansas State, he won everywhere he has been as a coach. He was an indispensable part of Nick Saban's staff for three seasons as he rebuilt his game after Tennessee. At ASU, Jones has won just two Sun Belt games (5-19 overall). The schedule suggests a bowl is possible and a 2022 contract extension through 2026 suggests security. Complicating things: New AD Jeff Purinton, entering his second season, didn't hire Jones but is pleased with the direction of the program. The Red Wolves have had the conference's best recruiting class the last two years. There is reason for hope: In his career, Jones is a combined 29-9 in his third seasons. 2022 rating: 2 |
 | Mike Bloomgren | 4 | Hired in 2018, Bloomgren has yet to post a winning season (16-39), but Stanford's former offensive coordinator is showing progress. JT Daniels, once considered an elite QB, now qualifies as a transfer expert (four teams, four conferences). Elite play from him might lead to a winning season. Rice is coming off a bowl, its first since 2014. Never mind the Owls got an APR break into the postseason at 5-7. Their eventual 5-8 finish marked the program's eighth consecutive losing campaign. Winning gets tougher with a move up to the AAC from Conference USA. Bloomgren also lost his AD, Joe Kaarlgard, who announced in June he was leaving for an administrative position outside of sports. 2022 rating: 2 |
Check out the full set of 2023 Hot Seat Rankings for all 133 FBS coaches.
2023 Hot Seat: Getting warmer
| Team | Coach | Rating | Breakdown |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Jeff Hafley | 3 | Ohio State's former defensive coordinator looked promising with back-to-back six-win seasons to start his head coaching career at BC. Then the bottom fell out with a 3-9 stinker in 2023. Injuries had a lot to do with it. The pressure is never high in Chestnut Hill. Hafley will be given plenty of rope. 2022 rating: 1 |
 | Mel Tucker | 3 | There might be only two people who can decide on Tucker's future: boosters Mat Ishbia (owner of the Phoenix Suns) and Steve St. Andre. Nineteen months ago, their contributions made Tucker one of the highest-paid coaches in ball (10 years, $95 million). Is Tucker the portal king who went 11-2 in 2021 or the disappointment who dropped to 5-7 in 2022? For the money, he better be the former. In Year 6 of his head coaching career, Tucker is 18-14 overall. 2022 rating: 0 |
 | Eli Drinkwitz | 3 | Believe me, we all want to be Eli Drinkwitz. In the middle of his second consecutive 6-7 season, Drink was extended two more years to 2027 and had his salary bumped up 50% to $6 million per year. The game's glibbest coach has never had a winning season (17-19). The Missouri board of curators who signed the extension may have to sign off on a pricey buyout if things go South. 2022 rating: 2 |
 | Ryan Silverfield | 3 | This conclusion is based half on Silverfield (6-10 in the AAC since 2020) and half on circumstances. Cincinnati, Houston and UCF grabbed the brass ring in the Big 12. For whatever reasons, Memphis has been left out in realignment despite desperately wanting to be part of the Big 12. The Tigers need to cause a national stir in the suddenly wide-open AAC. The pressure is on to take over the league with the big boys gone. Silverfield is a good coach who just had an added burden heaped on him: get the Tigers good enough to be attractive to a bigger, better conference. 2022 rating: 1 |
 | Dana Dimel | 3 | By any measure, Dimel should be in trouble. He has lost 40 of his 57 games at UTEP, posting one winning season. But he is a known commodity in El Paso, Texas, and the program has gotten better since back-to-back 1-11s when he arrived in 2018. The current 12-13 combined record over the last two seasons is tied for the program's best over a two-year period since 2004-05. The Miners missed out going to consecutive bowl games for the first time since '05 after a three-point loss to UTSA. 2022 rating: 2 |
Check out the rest of the coaches rated "3" as part of the complete set of 2023 Hot Seat Rankings for all 133 FBS coaches.
