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How We Rank College Football's Hottest Seats

Here's the thing about college football coaching.

One week, you're a hero. Next week, you're updating your LinkedIn. And somewhere in between, we're watching every single move you make.

That's where we come in.

We Track All 136 FBS Coaches Like Hawks

Our system is brutally simple.

We rank every single FBS coach from 1 to 136. Number 1 means your seat is so hot it's practically on fire. Number 136 means you're sleeping like a baby while counting your guaranteed contract money.

But here's what separates us from every other "hot seat" website.

Our Rankings Move Every Single Week

Most sites publish once and disappear.

We update weekly because college football is beautiful chaos. A coach ranked #5 can win 3 straight games and drop to #50. Meanwhile, some guy chilling at #100 loses to an FCS school and rockets into the top 10.

The hot seat doesn't send warning emails.

Here's How We Build These Rankings

We dig into the ugly truth.

We publish blog posts that tell stories nobody else will touch. We send weekly newsletters with insights from people who matter. We mix complex analytics with expert opinions, shaken not stirred.

Is it subjective? Absolutely.

But it's built on factors that determine your job security:

• Program expectations vs. reality

• Recent win-loss record

• Recruiting momentum

• Administrative support

• Fan pressure

• Whispered hallway conversations

These are the things that matter.

What Being "Hot" Means

Here's where most people get it wrong.

Being in our top 10 doesn't mean you're getting fired tomorrow. Coaches like Kirby Smart, Lane Kiffin, and Steve Sarkisian have spent time ranked among our top coaches. They're building championship programs while managing intense pressure.

What it means is every move gets magnified.

Every play call gets dissected. Every press conference becomes a potential landmine. Every recruiting visit turns into a referendum on your future.

Our top-ranked coaches perform surgery while the world watches.

The Bottom Line

We rank all 136 FBS coaches from sizzling to stone cold.

Then we watch the beautiful chaos unfold every Saturday. College football is ruthless - yesterday's national champion becomes tomorrow's hot seat candidate. The pressure never stops building.

How fast does your seat heat up?

Where does your coach stand in our rankings? Click the button below to find out. 

DEEP DIVE

Hot Seat Rankings 6-10: 5 Coaches We're Tracking Every Week (Because The Seat Never Stays Still)

Tuesday, we covered coaches 1-5—the ones beginning the season in immediate danger. Today, we examine coaches 6-10 in our rankings of all 136 FBS coaches.

Hugh Freeze could win his way down to #50 or lose his way into the top 5. Brent Pry's desperate moves will either pay off or rocket him higher up our list. Billy Napier sits at #10, but Florida's championship window could drop him to #100—or beyond.

These are the coaches who will move the most as 2025 unfolds. Every Saturday determines whether they climb toward safety or slide toward the fire.

6. Auburn's Hugh Freeze Sits At #6 On Our Hot Seat Rankings. Here's Why 2025 Will Either Save His Career Or End It.

Most coaches on the hot seat can point to something.

Bad recruiting classes. Injured quarterbacks. Impossible schedules. Meddling boosters. Hugh Freeze can't.

After 2 straight losing seasons at Auburn, Freeze has methodically eliminated every excuse a coach could have:

• No quarterback? He landed Jackson Arnold, a former 5-star transfer from Oklahoma with dual-threat ability and a cannon arm.

• No talent? Back-to-back top-10 recruiting classes filled with blue-chip prospects.

• Roster holes? 19 strategic transfer portal additions targeting every weakness.

• Brutal schedule? Auburn avoids Texas and hosts both Alabama and Georgia at home.

The Perfect Storm Is Coming

Here's the thing about excuses in college football.

They work until they don't. And Freeze is fresh out.

"I'm not a fool, I think we've got to go to a bowl game," Freeze said publicly. That's not confidence talking. That's a man who knows his job depends on 6 wins.

The math is brutal:

• 12 seasons as a head coach

• Missed bowl eligibility exactly twice

• First time: scandal-plagued final year at Ole Miss

• Second time: his rebuilding year at Auburn

Lightning doesn't strike three times for coaches who want to survive.

Why This Time Is Different

The brutal truth hits harder in Year 3.

Freeze recruited this roster. He chose these transfers. He built this system. If it doesn't work now—with Jackson Arnold running his offense and elite recruits filling every position group—then the problem isn't the players.

It's him.

The bottom line: Hugh Freeze has built the perfect team to save his career. Now he has to prove he deserves it.

We take a deep dive into the Auburn program here.

7. Virginia Tech's Brent Pry Fired 3 Coaches And Replaced 30 Players To Save His Job. Here's Why These Desperate Moves Will Get Him Fired Instead

Most people think college football coaches get fired for losing games.

They don't. College football coaches get fired for making desperate moves that prove they never understood why they were losing in the first place. And Virginia Tech's Brent Pry just made every single one of those moves. After going 16-21 over three seasons, Pry enters 2025 knowing anything less than 6 wins ends his career.

Those aren't solutions.

Desperate Coaches Always Fire The Wrong People

When Pry fired his coordinators, he wasn't being strategic.

He was being political. The message to his athletic director was clear: "The problem wasn't me—it was them." But here's what really happened: Pry just proved he can't take responsibility for his failures. The casualties include defensive coordinator Chris Marve, offensive line coach Ron Crook, and strength coach Dwight Galt IV.

Good leaders own their failures.

30 New Players Don't Fix Culture Problems

You know what Virginia Tech lost in the transfer portal?

Their top players left the program. Their top running back (1,159 yards, 15 TDs) and best pass rusher (16 sacks) both transferred out. You know what they gained? 30 strangers who've never played together, no established leadership, and no time to develop trust.

This is roster panic.

Chemistry Takes Years To Build, Seconds To Destroy

Pry is asking the impossible.

He wants 30 new players to trust each other, learn new systems from two new coordinators, and execute under pressure against ACC competition—all while their head coach's job hangs in the balance. New players plus new coaches equals chaos. High pressure plus no chemistry equals meltdown.

That's not a game plan.

Once You Start Making Desperate Moves, You've Already Lost

Here's the hard truth nobody wants to say.

You're no longer building a program. You're no longer developing players. You're surviving. And survival mode is where mediocre coaches live until they get fired. Pry will learn this lesson the hard way.

The end is already written.

More on Virginia Tech here.

8. Tony Elliott Has 8 Regular Season Games To Save His Virginia Coaching Career

3 years. 11 wins. 23 losses.

Those are the numbers that define Tony Elliott's Virginia tenure so far. But there's only 1 number that matters now: 8. Here's the thing most people don't understand about coaching hot seats: it's not about the losses, it's about the lost opportunities.

That's Elliott's real problem.

Now Elliott walks into 2025 with the perfect setup:

• Chandler Morris from TCU (5,500+ passing yards in his career)

• Mitchell Melton from Ohio State (proven pass rusher)

• 7 home games on the schedule

• No Clemson or Miami to worry about

Translation: Elliott finally has everything he said he needed to win. Which means he's completely out of excuses. The Virginia fanbase isn't asking for miracles—they're asking for 8 regular-season wins, and that's it.

Everything is aligned for success.

Here's what makes this fascinating:

Elliott's track record suggests he'll find a way to mess this up. His teams went 4-8 in one-score games, they averaged 5+ penalties per game, and he lost his starting quarterback to the transfer portal. These aren't bad luck streaks—they're patterns that suggest deeper problems.

But sometimes, the perfect storm creates the ideal opportunity.

The math is brutally simple:

Win 8 games, and Elliott keeps his job. Win 7 or fewer, and he's updating his LinkedIn. There's no middle ground here, no "moral victory" season that saves him. After three years of disappointment, Virginia fans want results, not excuses.

2025 is Elliott's moment.

We take a deeper look at Tony Elliot and UVA here. 

9. Sam Pittman Has A 30-31 Record At Arkansas. Here's Why He's The SEC's Most Undervalued Coach

Here's what everyone sees:

• 30-31 overall record

• 14-28 in SEC play

• More than 20 players lost to the portal

• Schedule from hell in 2025

Sam Pittman is "coaching for his job."

ESPN put him in the "Can't backslide" tier. Vegas set Arkansas at 5.5 wins. The narrative is written: another mediocre season = goodbye.

But here's what nobody talks about...

Sam Pittman is the SEC's 3rd-longest tenured coach with his current team.

Only Kirby Smart (Georgia) and Mark Stoops (Kentucky) have been around longer.

That's not an accident.

While other programs churn through coaches like Twitter burns through hot takes, Arkansas stuck with their guy. Through rebuilds. Through growing pains. Through SEC brutality.

Why does this matter?

Because college football is a relationship business disguised as a results business.

Pittman has:

• 5 years of recruiting relationships

• Institutional knowledge that most coaches never get

• Cultural foundation that takes time to build

• 3 bowl wins (yes, 3)

The 2025 season isn't just about survival.

It's about whether patience pays off in an impatient sport.

The data support optimism:

• Taylen Green returns (3,756 total yards)

• Bobby Petrino's 2nd year calling plays

• Transfer portal haul ranked 8th nationally

• Complete roster reconstruction = fresh start

Most coaches get fired before their foundation can bear fruit.

Sam Pittman is about to find out if Arkansas will be different.

The lesson for every program watcher:

Sometimes the best hire isn't the flashiest name. Sometimes it's the guy who stays long enough to see his vision through.

2025 will prove whether college football still rewards patience.

Or if it only rewards wins.

More on Arkansas here.

10. Florida's Championship Window Opens in 2025

Most college football fans think Florida is still years away from competing for titles.

They're wrong.

The Pieces Are Already in Place

The Gators have assembled all the pieces for a breakthrough season in 2025, and the window is opening faster than anyone realizes.

DJ Lagway isn't just another promising quarterback. He's a generational talent who went 6-1 in his starts as a true freshman, beating ranked LSU and Ole Miss teams along the way. His 52.8% completion rate on deep balls led all SEC returners.

Here's what most people are missing:

• Florida's 2025 recruiting class ranks top-10 nationally

• Elite defensive backs and game-changing receivers arriving immediately

• Four returning offensive line starters provide crucial stability

• Defensive coaching upgrades addressing last season's major weaknesses

The culture has shifted, too.

Championship Windows Open Quietly

After winning just 11 games in Napier's first two seasons, Florida closed 2024 with four straight wins and their first bowl victory since 2019.

Yes, the schedule is brutal. Yes, Napier is still on thin ice. Yes, the SEC is loaded with elite programs.

But championship windows don't announce themselves with fanfare.

They open quietly when talent meets opportunity and nobody is paying attention. Florida's window is creaking open right now.

The question isn't whether the Gators have the pieces to compete in 2025.

The question is whether they'll recognize their moment and seize it.

 We take a deeper dive into Florida and Billy Naipier here.

THAT’S A WRAP

 Week 1 Changes Everything

The games start Saturday.

Next week, we'll be profiling some key matchups and monitoring how our hot seat coaches perform when the pressure is real. Some will climb toward safety. Others will slide toward the fire.

Rankings move every week for a reason.

This is where careers get made or broken. Every Saturday determines whether these coaches climb toward safety or slide toward the fire.