Now that we’re closing in on the halfway point of the 2026 college football season, the hot seat is going to be more about keeping the job and less about winning or losing from week to week. Not that winning and losing doesn’t matter — and we’ll highlight coaches that are on the hot seat just for that week’s game. But the seat is starting to cook for some coaches.
Each week here at Heartland College Sports I’ll point out three hot seat coaches going into the next slate of games. I’ll explain why for each.
No Deion Sanders this week. Colorado is off. You must play to be on this list. Which means so Sonny Dykes from TCU either.
Lance Leipold, Kansas
The Jayhawks are heading to Utah to take on the No. 12 Utes. I don’t like their changes. I’m also getting worried about Lance Leipold’s job.
Kansas is 2-2 and 0-1 in the Big 12 in four games. The offense has dominated lesser opponents and struggled with everyone else. KU beat Long Island and Middle Tennessee by a combined score of 106-06. The Jayhawks have lost to Missouri and Arizona State by a combined score of 62-38.
I don’t think Kansas is going to hang in there with Utah. I could be completely wrong, but the Utes are rolling and there aren’t many flaws to exploit. Leipold hasn’t had a winning season since 2023 when he won nine games. He set a high bar from a Kansas perspective and he’s not meeting it.
He’s coaching on a $7 million per year deal through 2029 with a buyout that could approach $22 million. Rough.
Collin Klein, Kansas
Remember — the hot seat is not always about job security. It’s about what is happening that week. The Wildcats are returning to the field after their first piece of adversity under Klein, their Week 4 loss to Cincinnati. They’ve had two weeks to think about the nearly 300 rushing yards they allowed.
Kansas State is hosting No. 22 Houston on Saturday. This is one of those games where, traditionally, K-State plays a team tough. I think there is enough talent there to challenge Houston, and the Cougars really can’t afford a second league loss.
This is about seeing whether Klein can rally his team and get them prepared to play a ranked team at home two weeks after suffering their first real adversity of the season. I’m really interested to see how he handles that.
Scott Frost, UCF
The bloom isn’t off the rose in Orlando, but Frost and his Knights are experiencing some turbulence. Notably, quarterback Alonza Barnett III is out with a hamstring injury and his backup, Keyone Jenkins, has played well. But he dealt with cramps and minor injuries against Houston last Saturday. But what really ended up hurting UCF the most was defensive breakdowns late in the game.
The Knights are entering a tricky game against Oklahoma State, which is now ranked and starting to look like a team that could contend in the Big 12. The heat is on Frost to steal one in Stillwater and get the Knights back on a path where they could get to a bowl game, something they missed by one win a year ago. But his job is safe.
