In college football, after a few weeks, it might actually become apparent that some coaches may be on the hot seat. This year, it is no different, with several teams starting quite awfully. Here are some coaches who seem to be possibly on their last leg after week 3.
Coaches on the Hot Seat After Week 3 in College Football
Luke Fickell, Wisconsin
Sure, the Wisconsin Badgers have started only 2-1. 2-1 isn’t 0-3. However, Luke Fickell‘s Badgers have been extremely mediocre, becoming an afterthought in the BIG Ten. Under Paul Chris, the Badgers were almost always in the conversation for the BIG Ten. The Badgers would dominate the BIG Ten West with the only true rival being the Iowa Hawkeyes. However, with Fickell, the Badgers seem to look more like a 4-8 or 5-7 team than actually being contenders. It might not take very long for Badgers to get tired of being average fire Fickell. At Wisconsin, Fickell hasn’t done anything right.
Billy Napier, Florida
Billy Napier‘s time at the Florida Gators feels like something that could’ve been much greater. It now feels inevitable that Napier will no longer be coaching the Gators after being extremely average for most of his tenure. Unfortunately for the Gators, this season is only going to get worse with so many ranked opponents. Realistically, it feels like the Gators may only win 4-5 games on their schedule. This doesn’t feel like enough to save Napier from the wrath of Florida. The schedule may be brutal, but for contenders this means nothing. Obviously, the Gators aren’t contenders and have never been under Napier.
Mike Gundy, Oklahoma State
Mike Gundy has been the coach of the Oklahoma State Cowboys now for a long time. However, thanks to being 3-9 last season, losing all nine conference games and now having lost their last ten games against power 4 opponents, Gundy’s tenure at OSU feels threatened. Unfortunately, 3-9 followed by another potential 2-10 to 4-8 season just might not cut it for the Cowboys. After their game against the Oregon Ducks in which they lost 69-3, Gundy could definitely be fired. Unfortunately, a long tenure can only go so far.
Overall, many of the these coaches may very well right the ship and not be fired this season. However, all of these coaches have underperformed. Overall, colleges want to have good football teams and don’t want to be 3-9 or 5-7 or worse. Especially colleges with excellent history like the Wisconsin Badgers or Florida Gators. These seasons could very spell be the last seasons for these coaches. For so many colleges, underperformance isn’t allowed.
Big Moves Have Already Happened…
Just after week 3, both the Virginia Tech Hokies and UCLA Bruins have fired their head coaches after torrid starts. Both teams have started the year 0-3, with both losing to group of 5 teams and being blown out in some of the games each team played. Deshaun Foster was barely the head coach of the Bruins after being coaching from just 2024-25.
However, with embarrassing losses against both the New Mexico Logos and the UNLV Rebels, the Bruins had had enough of being embarrassed severely. Meanwhile, the Hokies loss was the final straw as the Hokies got absolutely destroyed by the Old Dominion Monarchs 45-26. This score wasn’t just bad, it was atrocious for the ACC hopeful Virginia Tech. Overall, both teams absolutely failed to do anything to begin the season and got tired of really bad coaching.
Overall, this season like many others will feature the firing of many coaches underperformed. Some teams just don’t want to lose and lose, especially legendary programs. These teams are no exceptions. Unless these teams begin to win games now, there will be no mercy in the end for many of these coaches.
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