The hot seat in college football is in the eye of the beholder.
For fans at some Big 12 schools, the hot seat is all about their head coach’s job security. Maybe he’s been there too long. Maybe he hasn’t won enough. Maybe the fan base is just tired of seeing his mug. It could be all sorts of things.
Other heat comes from what’s happening that week. It has nothing to do with job security. It has everything to do with the task at hand. Maybe that’s a game that coach and his team really must win.
Each week here at Heartland College Sports I’ll point out four hot seat coaches going into the next slate of games. I’ll explain why and then we’ll watch the games and see what happens.
Joey McGuire, Texas Tech
This is not a Joey McGuire is in trouble post. I just wrote that hot seat isn’t always about job security. There is a lot at stake for Texas Tech this week when they play Houston in Week 3.
Sure, Houston has plenty to gain. But Houston coach Willie Fritz doesn’t manage one of the highest-paid rosters in college football nor has it reached a level of villainy (I think that’s a big much to be honest) that McGuire doesn’t mean leaning into.
McGuire’s seat is hot this week because, aside from Texas Tech fans, everyone wants to see the Red Raiders lose. That’s life with a target on your back. But the Red Raiders want to answer all the haters with a win on Friday night — especially since the fan base drug their heels into Friday night kicking and screaming.
Lance Leipold, Kansas
Kansas lost its Border War game with Missouri last Saturday and now heads to London to take on Arizona State at Wembley Stadium. It’s a big game and it’s a big stage and it’s a game that Leipold needs to win.
As much praise as he deserves for putting Kansas on a more consistent trajectory as a football program, the Jayhawks haven’t gotten much done since that 2023 season when they won nine games. There are a lot of great things happening around the program, including the stadium renovation and the Gateway Project. That raises the football program’s profile. It also raises the pressure when it comes to winning.
If the Jayhawks lose this game and Kansas gets off to a slow start in Big 12 play, the temperature is only going to rise under Leipold’s seat.
Scott Satterfield, Cincinnati
You might not think playing Miami (OH) brings pressure, but that just means you don’t know Cincinnati football. The Bearcats and the RedHawks have been playing the Victory Bell game for decades, but they skipped last year. Miami has been nursing a grudge since losing the 2024 edition, 27-16, which was revenge for Cincinnati after losing the 2023 edition, 31-24, in overtime of Satterfield’s first season.
The RedHawks are no pushover. They went to the MAC championship game last year. These are the kinds of games that get under the fingernails of the fan base so to speak. Satterfield doesn’t want to be the coach that loses this game two out of three tries after Cincy won the game 17 straight times before he arrived.
Kalani Sitake, BYU
Satake and BYU did their job last week and beat Arizona at home. BYU goes on the road to face Colorado State in Fort Collins. Give the Cougars some credit for playing a group of six team on the road. Not many schools are willing to do that.
But the Rams have some offensive talent. Notably, quarterback Hauss Hejny, who has thrown nine touchdown passes in two games this season. This feels like a trap game doesn’t it? BYU wins its conference opener against a tough opponent then goes on the road against a team that most believe the Cougars should beat and what happens? They struggle? They win with impunity? Who knows.
But this is one of those games where Sitake and his staff will feel the heat. This is not a game BYU wants to lose.
