8 College Football Coaches Who Felt The Hot Seat Warm Up And Cool Off After Week 6

Week 6 of the 2024 college football season didn’t feature a ton of games that suggested we’d be treated to the most exciting weekend of the year so far, but that ended up being the case thanks to the slew of upsets and back-and-forth nailbiters that unfolded when everything was said and done.

There were a number of college football coaches on the hot seat prior to Week 6, and a handful of guys felt the pressure mount due to their team’s performance while a few others are able to breathe a little easier thanks to what transpired.

We’ll kick things off with the coaches in that first category before turning our attention to the second.

HEATING UP: Hugh Freeze—Auburn

No one really expected Auburn to beat Georgia on Saturday, and the Bulldogs walked away with a 31-13 victory in spite of a lackluster showing from a fanbase that was called out by Kirby Smart and Carson Beck.

The Tigers dropped to 2-4 on the season as a result and still have five games against SEC opponents who all have what it takes to beat them on paper.

Hugh Freeze has posted an 8-11 record since taking over in 2023, and at this point, it’s a bit hard to imagine he’ll be back in 2025.

Trent Dilfer—UAB

Trent Dilfer had only been a head coach at the high school level before UAB went out on a limb and hired him prior to the 2023 season, and the gamble has not paid off.

The Blazers went 4-8 during his inaugural season and dropped to 1-4 this year following an embarrassing 71-20 rout at the hands of Tulane on Saturday.

At this point, it seems like there’s a good chance Dilfer will be kicked to the curb before the season even ends, and barring a miraculous turnaround, he probably won’t be getting another shot even if he’s able to make it to the end of the year.

Ryan Walters—Purdue

Ryan Walters knew he was signing up for a fairly thankless job when he was hired as the head coach at Purdue, but he still hasn’t managed to come close to meeting the fairly low expectations that were set for him.

Walters has suffered the exact same fate as Dilfer since taking over for the Boilermakers, who went 4-8 last year and are sitting at 1-4 after ending up on the wrong side of a 52-6 blowout against Wisconsin.

It will probably only get worse when you consider Purdue has four games remaining against Big Ten teams who are currently ranked in the Top 25—including three (Oregon, Ohio State, and Penn State) in the Top Five.

Dave Aranda—Baylor

Dave Aranda desperately needed a win against a #16 Iowa State team in order to make a statement, but Baylor fell victim to a second-half collapse that saw the Cyclones walk away with the 43-21 win after scoring 24 unanswered points.

The Bears are now 2-4 and have a head coach who’s gone 25–29 since taking over in 2020 (he’s 13-27 if you exclude the 12-2 campaign in 2021 that seems like more of a fluke with every week that passes).

At this point, it’s pretty obvious Aranda is not That Guy, and it seems safe to assume Baylor will be moving on sooner rather than later.

Mike Norvell—Florida State

Florida State got its first win of the season against Cal at the end of September, but the Seminoles are still the laughingstock of the college football world this season after dropping to 1-5 with a loss against Clemson.

Norvell’s massive $65 million buyout is his only real saving grace at this point, but FSU is still going to have a tough decision to make based on the current state of the program.

COOLING DOWN: Billy Napier—Florida

Florida got off to a 1-2 star thanks to losses to Miami and Texas A&M, but they’ve rebounded with wins over Mississippi State and UCF to crawl back to 3-2.

Napier is still firmly on the hot seat, but the fact that the Hurricanes and Aggies are respectively sitting at #6 and #15 has taken some of the sting out of those losses.

With that said, the Gators headed into the season with one of the hardest schedules in the country based on a slate of SEC games that are about to kick into full swing, and Napier (who also has a $26 million buyout) is going to need to pull off at least a couple of upsets if he wants to ward off the boosters calling for his head.

Sam Pittman—Arkansas

Sam Pittman acknowledged he was on the hot seat heading in 2024, and you have to give him credit for doing what he can to get off of it so far.

The Razorbacks improved to 4-2 with a stunning upset of a #4 Tennessee team at home, and Pittman may have saved his job with the biggest win of the season.

Arkansas is still facing an uphill battle thanks to upcoming showdowns with LSU, Ole Miss, Texas, and Missouri, but another upset and a bowl berth could be enough for Pittman to get another chance next season.

P.J. Fleck—Minnesota

I argued that P.J. Fleck had ended up on Hot Seat Watch after Minnesota came up short in its quest to upset Michigan, but he’s firmly off that list thanks to what transpired against USC.

The Golden Gophers stunned the #11 Trojans with a last-minute touchdown that ended up being the deciding factor to improve to 3-3. They may not be national championship contenders, but that’s the kind of win Fleck needed to firm up his position.