Head football coaches are always on a hot seat. But hot seats aren’t created equal.
In many cases, when we talk about a hot seat, we’re talking about a coach whose job is on the line. But not always.
Each week I’m going to dig into the five coaches in the Big 12 Conference who are on the hottest seat. The criteria? It could be job security. It could be what happened last week. It could be what might happen this week. These four coaches just have the most on the line going into Week 2 and, hence, are on a hot seat — in no particular order.
Sonny Dykes, TCU
On the upside, Sonny Dykes and his staff have had two weeks to break down the film from their loss to North Carolina and correct what went wrong. On the downside Dykes and his staff have had two weeks to stew about what happened in Ireland. It was not a pretty sight. That was a winnable game for TCU, and the Horned Frogs let it slip through their fingers. And the natives in Fort Worth are getting restless.
Since that magic carpet ride to the College Football Playoff final in Dykes’ first season, TCU is 23-16. It’s not bad. But TCU was poised to do more, and it hasn’t. A win over Grambling isn’t going to solve anything. But it would give the fan base a little red meat to gnaw on before next week.
Eric Morris, Oklahoma State
The Cowboys see Morris as a long-term investment as head coach. But the fan base grumbled after the Cowboys went into Tulsa and laid an egg, losing 24-10 to the Golden Hurricane. All the good vibrations and all the momentum that Morris built in the offseason basically went in the dumpster. Now it’s real. The Cowboys are still working to dig themselves out of the hole they created for themselves the past two seasons.
The heat comes from this week’s opponent, No. 6 Oregon. Only the most faithful Cowboys fan believes Oklahoma State will win this game. For those of us watching, it’s about seeing improvement. They don’t want to see their quarterback, Drew Mestemaker, commit three turnovers.
Brent Brennan, Arizona
The first game in the Big 12 play pits Arizona against No. 15 BYU. Arizona is coming off a nine-win season under head coach Brent Brennan, who took a lot of heat in his first year in Tucson before he was able to flip the switch and get the Wildcats back to winning.
Now he and the Wildcats want to take the next step: truly contend for a Big 12 championship. How does he do that? He goes to BYU, a team most consider to be a CFP contender, and beats them at their place.
Add to the motivation the fact that Arizona lost to BYU in double overtime in Tucson last year. That’s a recipe for plenty of heat, especially if the Wildcats lose big.
Jimmy Rogers, Iowa State
No one in Ames is going to run Rogers out of town if the Cyclones go to Iowa City and lose to the No. 21 Hawkeyes. But, man, he could really ingratiate himself with the fan base with a victory on Saturday.
It’s a rivalry game for the Cyclones. And it’s a game Iowa State has dominated of late. The Cyclones have won three of the last four matchups on the field, and Iowa was forced to vacate its 2023 win due to NCAA violations. Before that, the Hawkeyes had won six straight games over the Cyclones.
No new coach likes to feel the heat after his team’s arrival. Rogers has to make sure the recent trend continues.
