ESPN reveals five college football coaches on the hot seat in 2026

In modern college football, the leash has been shortened exponentially for head coaches. One or two bad seasons could mark the end of a coach’s tenure with a program, no matter how much success they’ve had in the past.

For example, last season, Penn State parted ways with head coach James Franklin following a 3-3 start to the year. Just one season prior, however, Franklin led the Nittany Lions to the Semifinals of the first-ever 12-team College Football Playoff. In the new landscape, nobody is truly safe.

With just over 100 days remaining until the start of the 2026 college football season, ESPN has ranked the five coaches with the hottest seats in the sport.

1. Mike Norvell (Florida State)

The Mike Norvell era at Florida State has gone completely off the rails in just a short amount of time. Just three seasons ago, the Seminoles compiled a 12-0 regular season record and won the ACC Championship. Following Jordan Travis‘ devastating season-ending injury, however, they were left out of the then four-team Playoff. Since that Playoff snub, Florida State is 7-18 over its last 25 games.

It appeared as if the ‘Noles were on their way back to relevancy following their season-opening victory over No. 8 Alabama in 2025, but they lost seven of their next 11 games and missed the postseason for the second consecutive year. Staring down the barrel of a third straight season without a bowl game appearance (which hasn’t happened since FSU missed five consecutive postseasons from 1972-1976), Norvell will have to deliver some wins to earn an eighth season in Tallahassee.

2. Dave Aranda (Baylor)

Baylor‘s Dave Aranda is a victim of peaking way too early at his program. Aranda, who was brought over to lead the program after serving as associate head coach for LSU‘s National Championship-winning team, led the Bears to a 12-2 record and a Big 12 Championship in his second season as head coach. Since that memorable 2021 campaign, however, Baylor is just 22-28 over the past four seasons.

The program has reached two bowl games in that span, which they’ve lost by a combined score of 74-46. If Aranda is unable to prove this season that he is the right man for the job to lead Baylor back to national relevance, he could very well find himself on the chopping block sooner rather than later.

3. Luke Fickell (Wisconsin)

Luke Fickell seemed to be a strong hire for Wisconsin when he was brought over from Cincinnati in Nov. 2022. Fickell led the Bearcats to the College Football Playoff in 2021, which was a massive feat at the time for a non-P4 program. Wisconsin was hoping that Fickell would bring his CFP experience and winning ways to Madison, but that just has not been the case at all. Through the first three seasons of the Luke Fickell era at Wisconsin, the Badgers boast a lousy 16-21 record.

They’ve missed the postseason in back-to-back years, which hasn’t happened since it missed eight consecutive bowl games from 1985-1992. The program has been highly uncompetitive in Big Ten play (10-17) and has been on the wrong end of some massive blowouts (six 24-point-plus blowouts in three seasons). It will take a monstrous effort by Fickell, who received a boost of confidence from AD Chris McIntosh this offseason, to steer the Badgers back to national relevance this season.

4. Mike Locksley (Maryland)

Of all the coaches on this list, Maryland‘s Mike Locksley has had the least amount of success. The Terrapins’ peak in seven seasons under Locksley came in 2022/2023, when they went 8-5 and won a bowl game. Other than those two seasons, Maryland has been largely irrelevant. Across his seven-year stint in College Park, the Terrapins are just 37-49. Conference play has been disastrous for the program in that span, as Maryland is just 17-48 against Big Ten competition.

The program has become the doormat of the Big Ten, and things look to be getting worse instead of improving. Over the past two seasons, Maryland is 2-16 against conference opponents. The average margin of defeat in those 16 games? 17.5 points. 12 of the 16 defeats have been by double-digits. As the Big Ten continues to dominate the sport of college football, Maryland and Locksley will surely have a hard time digging out of the bottom of the conference.

5. Shane Beamer (South Carolina)

Finally, South Carolina‘s Shane Beamer rounds out the hot-seat list at No. 5. The Gamecocks were expected to be all-in on a College Football Playoff run in 2025, fresh off a 9-4 campaign in 2024. Led by stars LaNorris Sellers and Dylan Stewart, the program was one of the biggest disappointments in all of college football last season. After opening with a 3-2 record, Carolina lost six of its last seven games, although five of the games were against top-15 opponents.

Since taking over at South Carolina prior to the 2021 season, Beamer has led the Gamecocks to a 33-30 (16-24) record. Although 2025 was disastrous for the program, Beamer is likely safe from a firing this season unless it is an all-systems failure in Columbia.