The seats for our Big 12 coaches only get hotter as conference play heats up.
By the end of this weekend, every Big 12 team will have played at least one conference game. Times are set for the first week of October. We’re about to really get into it.
Every coach has something on the line, but the stakes are different for some than others. As I’ve noted in this space, a hot seat isn’t necessarily about job security — it’s about the stakes for that particular week.
Each week here at Heartland College Sports, I’ll point out four Big 12 coaches on the hot seat heading into the next slate of games and explain why.
Dave Aranda, Baylor and Deion Sanders, Colorado
Two hot seat coaches in one convenient game. And yes, for both of these guys, it’s about job security.
With Dave Aranda, it feels like a broken record. Is this the year Baylor finally cuts ties with the well-liked but inconsistently successful head coach? I think Baylor is better than it was a year ago and, frankly, should be 3-0.
For Aranda, who’s fortunate enough to get this game in Waco, it’s about getting Big 12 play started on the right foot — and he needs it. After this game, Baylor travels to Arizona State before returning home to face TCU. There’s potential for an 0-3 start in league play, and that would only invite more serious conversations behind the scenes about what Baylor does next.
As for Deion Sanders, things have gotten messy quickly.
After last weekend’s disastrous loss at Northwestern, Sanders dismissed several players for what he called conduct detrimental to the team. One Colorado player also issued a public apology for comments he made in the tunnel before the game.
I already felt like some of the shine had come off the Coach Prime era entering this season, but the Northwestern loss and its aftermath have only added to the pressure. And the schedule doesn’t get easier after Baylor, with Texas Tech and Utah up next.
An 0-3 start in Big 12 play would make things increasingly uncomfortable for Sanders. The athletic director who hired him, Rick George, is gone, with Fernando Lovo now leading the department.
Whoever wins Saturday gets at least a little respite from the hot seat. Whoever loses could find themselves facing much bigger questions in a couple of weeks.
Sonny Dykes, TCU
If you pay attention to social media, you’ll find a small but mighty group of Horned Frogs fans who are about done with Sonny Dykes — and that’s after TCU won nine games last season.
The reasons are all over the place, but the crux of the frustration is pretty simple: They’re not happy with what has followed TCU’s run to the national championship game in 2022. And on some level, they have a case.
The loss to North Carolina in Ireland still looks ugly, and the history of teams losing in Ireland isn’t exactly encouraging as the Horned Frogs prepare to face UCF.
Orlando is a sneaky-tough place to play. It’s still hot, the humidity is brutal, and unexpected rain and thunderstorms can always become a factor.
If TCU loses this game, its two wins will have come against Grambling and Arkansas State. After UCF, the Horned Frogs get BYU. An 0-2 start in league play, if TCU were to lose both, wouldn’t sit well with this fan base and would only lead to more questions about Dykes.
The Horned Frogs need this one.
Morgan Scalley, Utah
This isn’t about job security. It’s about the moment for Morgan Scalley.
This is his opportunity to prove he can be a successful head coach after spending years being groomed for the job under Kyle Whittingham. And to this point, the Utes have done everything right.
They blew out Idaho, destroyed Arkansas and shut out Utah State. That’s exactly how you’re supposed to take care of lesser teams.
Now comes Big 12 play.
This is Utah’s first road game of the season, and it comes in Ames against an Iowa State team that has looked solid under new head coach Jimmy Rogers.
Objectively, this is a game Utah should win. So the heat is on Scalley to put his players in position to prove it, especially as the Utes increasingly look like a team capable of getting to Arlington and playing for a Big 12 championship.
Win in Ames, and Utah’s early momentum continues to build.
Lose, and there will suddenly be plenty of questions about what this team looks like against the better competition on its schedule.
