Broadway UNC’s 2025 Hot Seat Power Rankings

(aka Which Coaches Are About to Learn Zillow Premium the Hard Way)

Forget “warm,” “hot,” and “toasty” — we’re ranking these guys by how close they are to a forced sabbatical.

Tier 1: Fire Drill Level 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

These guys can’t afford a bad quarter, let alone a bad month.

Hugh Freeze – Auburn
The man survived scandal, survived Liberty, and somehow convinced Auburn boosters he was the answer. Then he lost at home to New Mexico State, Cal, and Vandy in back-to-back seasons. This isn’t the Plains, it’s quicksand. Jackson Arnold better be a superstar Day 1 or this whole thing goes up in flames — and knowing Auburn, they’ll fire him in November, win the Iron Bowl with an interim, and hand the job to a golf pro from Opelika.

Mike Gundy – Oklahoma State
Last year: 0-9 in Big 12 play. The only thing keeping him in Stillwater is that they didn’t want to pay movers in December. They gave him a pay cut and a “please smile more” clause in his contract, but if he starts 1-3, the mullet will be in mothballs by October.

Brent Venables – Oklahoma
Two losing seasons in three years at OU is like finding mold on your brisket — unacceptable and cause for immediate panic. They brought in Ben Arbuckle and a shiny new QB, but if he starts slow, that $40M buyout starts feeling a lot less ridiculous to the oil guys.

Tier 2: The Slow Cooker Crew ♨️

They might survive the season… but only because the AD’s calendar says “call movers” in 2026.

Sam Pittman – Arkansas
Nice guy. Players love him. But he’s under .500 in five seasons and just can’t win enough big games. In the SEC, “good hang” doesn’t cut it. A rough September and they’ll replace him with some up-and-comer from Troy before Halloween.

Scott Satterfield – Cincinnati
Fans want receipts, not excuses. Luke Fickell left him a machine, and now the thing’s running like it’s on Dollar General batteries. If they miss a bowl again, Nippert’s gonna be handing out pink slips instead of pom-poms.

Brian Kelly – LSU
Here’s the problem: LSU boosters expect rings in four years or less. Saban, Miles, Orgeron all did it. If Kelly doesn’t? They’ll “mutually part ways” while casually floating the words “morals clause” to avoid that $50M buyout.

Tier 3: Smoldering But Safe… For Now 🔥

They’d have to completely botch 2025 to get tossed. But hey, we’ve seen it happen.

Billy Napier – Florida
Finished strong last year, has a stud young QB, but that schedule is an assassin’s row. If they start 2-4, the “patient” AD suddenly remembers Gainesville tradition is firing coaches after a bad breakfast.

Mark Stoops – Kentucky
One bad year isn’t enough to erase two 10-win seasons at UK. His buyout’s roughly the GDP of a small island nation, so he’s safe. But another 4-8? Even the horses at Keeneland will start booing.

Mike Locksley – Maryland
Beloved locally, but 1-8 in Big Ten play last year. He gets more rope than most, but that rope’s starting to fray.

Tier 4: “Wait, We Hired Who Again?” 🤷‍♂️

Guys who might be fired simply because their bosses didn’t hire them in the first place.

Brent Brennan – Arizona
One year in, roster turnover galore, no momentum. Buyout isn’t insane, and his AD didn’t pick him. The best thing he can do is start 3-0 and make everyone forget they were Googling “next Arizona coach” in July.

Trent Dilfer – UAB
Three wins last year, one of them against a program that can’t even find its stadium on Google Maps. Another 3-9 and he’s back on the NFL Network doing QB breakdowns in under six months.

UNC’s Closing Thought

Hot seat season is beautiful chaos — it’s where desperation meets delusion. Half these guys will save their jobs with one miracle upset, the other half will be updating LinkedIn before the leaves turn.

By Thanksgiving, we’ll be hearing “mutually agreed to part ways” press releases like Christmas carols. Until then, let’s enjoy the tension — nothing spices up a Saturday like watching a coach sweat harder than a defensive tackle at a 2-minute drill.