WEEK 8 - COACHES HOT SEAT RANKINGS

Week 8 Hot Seat Rankings: Three Coaches Were Fired On Sunday. Here's Who's Feeling the Pressure Now.

Forget the "full support" statements. Ignore the athletic directors saying they believe in the process.

Three major college football coaches were fired on Sunday after losing their locker rooms. James Franklin had a Big Ten Championship. Trent Dilfer had a Super Bowl ring. None of it mattered once the players stopped believing in them.

We've ranked all 136 FBS head coaches by how much pressure they're under right now.

Below is the grid. The higher the number, the hotter the seat. The closer to #1, the closer to the edge. And after Sunday's bloodbath, the coaches in our top 20 know the clock is ticking.

Some will survive the season. Some won't make it to Thanksgiving. And if your coach is in the top 10? Start following search firm Twitter accounts, because December is going to get very interesting.

Where did your coach land this week? See the complete rankings here.

3 Major College Football Coaches Were Fired On Sunday After Losing Their Locker Rooms. Here's Why Your Resume Doesn't Matter Once Players Stop Believing In You.

The Common Thread

Three major college football head coaches were fired in a span of hours. James Franklin at Penn State. Trent Bray at Oregon State. Trent Dilfer at UAB.

All three lost their locker rooms.

That's the story. Not the records. Not the expectations. Not the recruiting rankings or bowl game appearances. When players stop believing in the head coach, the program is already dead. Administration is just making it official.

Sunday made it official three times.

James Franklin: When Good Isn't Good Enough

Penn State fired James Franklin after 11 seasons.

Franklin won a Big Ten Championship, led Penn State to seven New Year's Six bowl games, and took them to the College Football Playoff last year. The Nittany Lions opened this season ranked #2 in the country.

But he lost the locker room.

Penn State's Athletic Director issued this statement:

Translation: The players stopped buying what Franklin was selling.

You don't fire a coach who's won a Big Ten Championship and made the playoff unless something fundamental broke. Franklin's resume would get him hired at 90% of programs in college football. But when the locker room turns on you, the resume doesn't matter.

Penn State wants championships. Franklin couldn't deliver them, and the players stopped believing he ever would.

That's why he's out.

Trent Bray: The Oregon State Collapse

Oregon State fired Trent Bray on Sunday.

Bray was tasked with keeping Oregon State competitive after the Pac-12 collapsed and the Beavers were left behind in conference realignment. He couldn't do it. The program fell apart, and more importantly, the locker room fell apart with it.

When players stop fighting for their coach, the losses pile up fast.

Oregon State decided to cut ties before the situation became irreparable. Bray lost the team, and once you lose the team, there's no coming back.

Trent Dilfer: The UAB Disaster

UAB fired Trent Dilfer on Sunday night.

Dilfer went 9-21 in three seasons. UAB lost 15 straight road games. The program was a disaster on the field, and according to sources, Dilfer had completely lost the locker room by the end.

The stats tell the story:

• 9-21 record in three seasons

• 15 straight road losses

• Zero player buy-in by the end

Dilfer won a Super Bowl as the Baltimore Ravens quarterback. That NFL credibility meant nothing when players stopped believing in him. You can't coach a team that doesn't respect you.

UAB is considered a good Group of 6 job.

Expect significant interest when they open the search. Dilfer's firing clears the way for someone who can actually connect with college players and build a culture.

What Losing The Locker Room Means

Here's what happened with all three coaches:

Players stopped playing for them. The effort disappeared. The buy-in evaporated. Veteran leaders stopped leading. Younger players stopped developing. The culture became toxic.

And once that happens, no amount of X's and O's can save you.

Franklin had the resume. Bray had the difficult circumstances. Dilfer had the NFL pedigree. None of it mattered. All three lost their teams, and all three were fired on the same Sunday.

The Lesson

You can survive bad losses. You can survive tough schedules. You can survive recruiting misses.

You cannot survive losing the locker room.

The moment players stop believing in you, the clock starts ticking. It doesn't matter what your contract says. It doesn't matter what your buyout is. It doesn't matter what you accomplished last year or five years ago.

When the locker room turns, you're done.

Sunday proved that three times over. Three coaches. Three locker rooms lost. Three programs starting over.

Welcome to the reality of college football in 2025.

HOT SEAT FOCUS

2 Coaches, 2 Hot Seats, 1 Critical Difference: Why Hugh Freeze Is Coaching For His Job Saturday While Justin Wilcox Gets Protected Despite A Shutout

We’re shining a spotlight on two hot seat coaches this week.

Hugh Freeze is 14-17 at Auburn and coaching for his job against #16 Missouri on Saturday. Lose, and insiders say his seat goes from hot to scorching. Justin Wilcox is in Year 9 at Cal after getting shut out 0-34 by San Diego State, and the entire fan base wants him fired.

The difference? Freeze's decision-makers are done waiting. Wilcox's new GM is making excuses.

One coach is fighting for survival. The other is being protected despite worse results. Here's why both situations matter, what the numbers tell us, and what happens next.

Hugh Freeze Is 14-17 At Auburn, 0-3 In The SEC This Season, And Coaching For His Job Against Missouri Saturday. Lose, And His Seat Goes From Hot To Scorching.

Hugh Freeze is coaching for his job on Saturday.

The Numbers That Damn Him

Freeze is 14-17 (.452) at Auburn. That's unacceptable at a school that expects SEC championships, not mid-tier mediocrity. This season, he's 3-3 overall and 0-3 in conference play after losing to #14 Oklahoma, Texas A&M, and Georgia at home.

Auburn is not known for patience.

Here's the offensive breakdown that tells you everything:

• 37.0 PPG in wins against Ball State and South Alabama

• 13.5 PPG in SEC losses

• 173.2 passing yards per game (just 1 TD through the air)

• 169 rushing yards per game (competent, but not enough)

That 23.5-point drop-off in SEC games is the difference between building a program and watching it collapse.

The Missouri Game Changes Everything

Freeze needed to beat Georgia on October 11 to buy breathing room.

He lost.

Now #16 Missouri comes to Jordan-Hare Stadium on Saturday, and according to Auburn insiders, this is where the seat goes from hot to scorching. Lose this game, and Freeze is 0-4 in the SEC with #17 Vanderbilt, Arkansas, Kentucky, and #6 Alabama still on the schedule.

The math is brutal.

What's Broken?

Auburn's passing offense is the problem. You cannot win SEC games in 2025 throwing for one touchdown per game. The run game works (4.6 yards per carry), but when you're trailing ranked opponents in the fourth quarter, you need explosive plays through the air.

Freeze doesn't have an answer.

The defense is actually solid:

• 88 rushing yards allowed per game (2.6 yards per carry - elite)

• 227.6 passing yards allowed (teams are exploiting them through the air)

• -0.8 turnover margin (not creating splash plays to flip momentum)

You can dominate the run but if teams throw for 228 yards and you can't answer, you lose.

Why Saturday Matters

If Auburn loses to Missouri, Freeze will be 3-4 overall and 0-4 in the SEC.

Even if Auburn beats Arkansas and Kentucky at home, they're staring at road games against #17 Vanderbilt and the Iron Bowl against #6 Alabama. Best case scenario: 6-6. Worst case: 5-7.

That's a fireable season in Year 2.

The passing game is the ceiling. Until Auburn can consistently throw for multiple touchdowns, they'll beat the teams they should beat and lose to everyone else. That worked against Ball State and South Alabama.

It doesn't work in the SEC.

Freeze has one game to save his season. Win on Saturday, and he buys himself time. Lose, and the pressure becomes unbearable.

This is survival football now.

Justin Wilcox Got Shut Out By San Diego State And Cal Fans Want Him Fired. Here's Why His New GM Is Protecting Him Anyway (And Why That Keeps Him At #8 On Our Hot Seat Rankings)

Cal fans want Justin Wilcox fired.

Why The Noise Is Loud

The pressure from the Calgorithm, students, and supporters is real. Letters demanding Wilcox's job are landing on desks. Message boards are exploding. The patience is gone after nine years of mediocrity.

Here's what they watched this season:

• Shut out 0-34 by San Diego State (a Mountain West team)

• Blown out 21-45 at home by Duke

• Nine years at Cal with zero breakthrough seasons

• A run game averaging 3.1 yards per carry

The fan base is done.

So why is Wilcox ranked #8 on our Hot Seat Rankings instead of the top 5? Because the one person whose opinion matters is defending him.

What Ron Rivera Said

Ron Rivera is Cal's new GM.

Wilcox is not his hire. Rivera could easily create distance, let Wilcox sink with his own results, and position himself to bring in his own coach next year. New GMs do this all the time.

Rivera is doing the opposite.

In an interview with the Daily Cal's Joaquin Ruiz this week, Rivera publicly defended Wilcox after the San Diego State shutout:

"One of the most distasteful things I got recently was a letter telling me I need to fire the head coach. You know, the head coach's arms have been tied behind his back. One arm's been tied behind his back because we haven't gotten the resources. We finally got the resources. So I want to tell everybody, let's slow down, let's focus on the rest of the year. We're 4-2, OK? Sure, something bad happened last week; I get it. But that doesn't mean we can't bounce back."

Rivera continued:

"I want to judge it on the whole picture, not half a picture. And then to be told, 'Well, you know, if things don't happen, I'm going to withhold.' Well, you know what? That's part of the fucking problem. People withhold."

That's not creating distance.

Rivera is using profanity to defend a coach who just got shut out by a Mountain West team. He's asking Cal fans to "slow down" and give Wilcox more time. He's blaming resources instead of results.

That's public cover.

The Numbers Tell A Different Story

Cal is 4-2 (1-1 ACC). The offense averages 31.0 points per game in wins but just 10.5 points per game in losses. The run game is broken at 96.7 yards per game and 3.1 yards per carry.

The defense can't stop the run either.

Cal allows 123 rushing yards per game at 4.1 yards per carry. When you can't run the ball and you can't stop the run, you lose close games. When you face better competition, you get shut out.

That's what happened against San Diego State.

Why He's Ranked #8

Here's the key insight that explains Wilcox's ranking:

Fan pressure doesn't fire coaches. GMs fire coaches.

The fan base wants Wilcox gone. The students want him gone. The Calgorithm wants him gone. The letters are being written, the message boards are melting down, and patience has evaporated after the San Diego State shutout.

But Rivera is defending him.

That's why Wilcox is at #8 instead of the top 5. The decision-maker isn't ready to make a change. Rivera is a new GM who didn't hire Wilcox, but he's choosing to protect him by citing resource constraints and asking for patience.

The moment Rivera stops defending Wilcox, the seat temperature changes immediately.

Right now, Rivera is buying Wilcox time. He's publicly telling Cal fans to back off and let the season play out. That's the only thing keeping Wilcox at #8 instead of #3.

What's Left On The Schedule

Cal has six games remaining: North Carolina, Virginia Tech, #18 Virginia, Louisville, Stanford, and SMU.

Best case: 8-4 if they win the winnable games.

Worst case: 5-7 if the ACC schedule overwhelms them. And if Cal finishes 5-7 in Year 9 of the Wilcox era, Rivera's tune will change fast.

The seat is warm because the fan base is furious.

The seat isn't scorching because the GM is making excuses. But that protection only lasts as long as Rivera keeps defending him.

One more embarrassing loss, and the public cover disappears.

THAT’S A WRAP

Sunday was a bloodbath, and Saturday could be worse.

The Bottom Line

Three major college football coaches were fired on Sunday. James Franklin at Penn State had a Big Ten Championship and a playoff appearance on his resume. Trent Dilfer at UAB had a Super Bowl ring. Trent Bray at Oregon State had difficult circumstances after conference realignment.

None of it mattered once they lost their locker rooms.

Hugh Freeze is coaching for his job at Auburn. He's 14-17 overall, 0-3 in the SEC, and facing #16 Missouri on Saturday. Auburn insiders say lose this game and his seat goes from hot to scorching. The offense scores 37 points per game in wins but just 13.5 in SEC losses. Saturday is survival football.

Justin Wilcox is at #8 despite getting shut out by San Diego State.

Cal's new GM Ron Rivera is defending him publicly, blaming resources, and asking fans to slow down. Rivera didn't hire Wilcox, but he's protecting him anyway. That public cover is the only thing keeping Wilcox out of the top 5.

Fan pressure doesn't fire coaches. GMs fire coaches.

Friday: Three Games That Will Move The Rankings

Our Friday edition drops with three game previews that will shake up next week's Hot Seat Rankings.

We've identified three matchups where coaches are fighting for survival. Win, and they buy themselves time. Lose, and the seat temperature skyrockets. These aren't just important games—these are make-or-break moments that determine whether coaches make it to November.

We'll break down the matchups, the stakes, and what happens if the coach on the hot seat loses.

See you Friday. Buckle up for Saturday.