The 2025 college football season has not even kicked off yet, but oddsmakers are already projecting which head coaches could find themselves on the hot seat first.
According to BetOnline, three coaches from the Big 12 appear among the top 10 candidates most likely to be the first fired this year.
At the top of the list is Arizona’s Brent Brennan, who holds the best odds to be fired in the country. Brennan is entering his second year in Tucson after a disappointing debut season, and with Arizona now facing the week-to-week grind of the Big 12, the pressure to show progress is only increasing.
Cincinnati head coach Scott Satterfield came in with the sixth-best odds, as his Bearcats continue to search for stability in the Big 12. After an underwhelming 2024, Satterfield faces the challenge of proving Cincinnati can compete with the league’s established programs.
Rounding out the trio is a bit of a shocker, Oklahoma State’s Mike Gundy, who was listed with the eighth-best odds. Gundy is one of the longest-tenured coaches in college football and a fixture in Stillwater, but after a disappointing season and a difficult 2025 schedule, oddsmakers believe he could be under scrutiny if things unravel early.
While betting odds are far from guarantees, their inclusion underscores the uncertainty surrounding several Big 12 programs. With the conference deeper than ever and expectations running high across the board, the margin for error is shrinking.
For Brennan, Satterfield, and Gundy, how their teams start the season could go a long way in determining their futures.
