Ranking 20 College Football Coaches On (Or Near) The Hot Seat By Largest Buyouts

The 2026 college football season will start in late August with Week 0 matchups officially kicking off the upcoming campaign. A number of head coaches will not survive through late November.

Many are currently on the hot seat due to lacking production. Others are seeing temperatures rise amid declines in success.

Last year, notable names like James Franklin and Brian Kelly were axed midseason. Who will headline this year’s list of fired head football coaches?

20 College Football Coaches On The Hot Seat (+ Buyouts).

There will undoubtedly be attrition as the college football season wages on. Some firings will be foreseeable. Others will be surprises. All will come with some sort of financial exchange.

There are few professions where you are paid handsomely to stop doing your job. College football head coach is one of them.

Buyouts can total tens of millions, just ask LSU. Contracts must be honored, even after on-field failures. It is a risk taken upon making top hires.

Here, we’ve gathered a group of 20 college football coaches that are either on or near the hot seat. I’ve used a CBS Sports hot seat rating system that gauges the temperature on a scale of 0 (untouchable) to 5 (win or be fired).

For this list, I’m using coaches that sit at 3 (pressure is mounting) or higher on the chart. Rather than rank them by threat of a firing like every other site, I’ve rated them in terms of buyout totals.

Numbers may not be exact. I’ve attempted to base buyouts on firings that occur at season’s end. Timing would impact these guarantees in some cases. They are best estimates with the information at hand.

Let’s start with the smallest buyout totals and work our way up to No. 1.

Derek Mason

Mason is entering Year 3 with the Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders. He has gone 6-18 since being hired in 2024.

Mason is currently on a five-year deal with a base salary of $925,000. He is owed 50% of that remaining money should he be fired.

That would equate to around one year’s pay at just under $1 million if fired in December.

Sonny Cumbie

Cumbie has been at Louisiana Tech for four years. He restructured his deal ahead of the 2026 season to take a pay cut. He’ll make a base salary of $755,000 this season.

If fired in December, he is owed 75% of his remaining money to total around $1.1 million. Cumbie has gone 19-31 during his time as head coach.

Scotty Walden

Walden is 5-19 across two seasons with UTEP. He will hope to turn the tides in Year 3, but he is firmly on the hot seat heading into 2026.

The head coach is owed an estimated $1.5 million if he fails to lead a turnaround. He faces an uphill battle with matchups vs. Oklahoma and Michigan in the month of September.

Dell McGee

McGee took over at Georgia State in 2024. He’d previously been touted one of college football’s top recruiters at the University of Georgia.

Since being hired, the Panthers are 4-20. He will be fired if unable to right the ship. If that comes after the 2026 season, it means a buyout of around $2.5 million.

Clay Helton

Helton has already landed one major buyout after being fired from USC. That departure cost the Trojans $10 million. He will not receive the same payout if fired by his current program.

Helton was hired by Georgia Southern ahead of the 2022 campaign. He is owed $2.6 million if canned at season’s end. The Eagles are 27-25 under his leadership.

Mike Locksley

The price tags see a significant increase with the coaches to follow. Locksley kicks us off with an estimated buyout of $7 million.

The Maryland head coach has posted just two winning seasons since being hired in 2019. He avoided being fired after last year’s four-win campaign. He will not receive the same fate if history repeats itself.

Jeff Lebby

The Mississippi State head coach is entering Year 3 with the program, and he could be shown some grace even with a few bumps in the road. Still, the upward trajectory needs to continue for Lebby to feel completely safe.

The Bulldogs showed progress last season with five wins. Lebby believes he has his best team in Starkville this fall. The schedule is brutal, but if he can knock off some of the big boys in the SEC, he’ll avoid an early exit. If not, his buyout sits around $8 million.

Dave Doeren

Doeren has been at NC State for 13 seasons. He has gone 95-70 in that time. His job is not in as much danger as others on this list, though there was speculation that he’d be fired in 2025.

Doeren signed a contract extension in 2024. His buyout falls somewhere around $8 if fired this year.

Scott Satterfield

Satterfield took over at Cincinnati in 2023 after an up and down stint in Louisville. He’s shown progress in his three seasons on the sidelines, but the program wants to see him take the next step.

The Bearcats are 15-22 under his leadership. They posted their first winning season under Satterfield last year. If he is unable to continue trending up, his $8 million buyout will become a talking point.

Dave Aranda

Aranda is in a make-or-break year with the Baylor Bears. The head coach has gone 36-37 across six seasons. He’s largely failed to build on the momentum of a Big 12 title in 2021.

Baylor went 5-7 last season to put Aranda squarely on college football’s hot seat. Another down year will result in a firing. His buyout is reported to be $9 million.

Bill Belichick

The Belichick era at North Carolina has been marred by negative headlines and off-field drama. As a result, the marriage could come to an end after just two seasons.

The Tar Heels were 4-8 last year in his debut. Many of those games were not competitive. He’ll look for a turnaround in 2026. Failure could push administration to pay his $10 million buyout.

Bill O’Brien

O’Brien is another college football coach with an NFL resume. Like Belichick, he’s been unable to find success in the ACC.

O’Brien took over at Boston College in 2024. The Eagles have gone 9-16 across the last two seasons with a 2-10 record last year. O’Brien’s buyout is nearly double that of Belichick, sitting at $18 million.

Shane Beamer

Beamer is entering Year 6 with the South Carolina Gamecocks. He is coming off his worst season to date. The program started last year as a potential playoff squad. It finished at 4-8.

Beamer is 33-30 over his five seasons. He’ll likely need to win six games or more to keep his job beyond 2026. If not, South Carolina might pull the trigger on paying his $19 million buyout.

Luke Fickell

The Fickell era in Madison has largely been a disaster. He took over in 2022. His team’s win totals have dipped in each of his three seasons.

Wisconsin is 17-21 under Fickell’s guidance after going 4-8 last year. That poor output had many calling for his job in 2025. He survived last fall. He may not be so lucky the next time around.

Fickell’s buyout is estimated to be just north of $19 million.

Deion Sanders

Two years ago, Sanders was flying high off a nine-win season. The departures of Travis Hunter and his son, Shedeur, left voids the program was unable to replace.

Colorado went 3-9 in 2025 to bring Coach Prime’s overall record to 16-21 in Boulder. He may not be squarely on the hot seat, but the temperatures will continue rising if he’s unable to produce.

The coach’s buyout is around $27 million if fired this year.

Mike Norvell

Norvell went 13-0 in the regular season during the 2023 season at Florida State. The Seminoles were controversially left out of the College Football Playoff, and it’s been downhill ever since.

FSU is 7-17 over the last two seasons. Discussions about Norvell’s job status were had last year. Ultimately, he was given another chance. A third straight losing season will result in a firing. Florida State will gladly eat his $45 million buyout to part ways.

Kalen DeBoer

DeBoer is one of the more accomplished coaches on this list. He made the College Football Playoff just last year. That came after a playoff appearance with Washington in ’23. The success has not shielded him from criticism.

The Alabama fanbase is used to winning. DeBoer has failed to live up to Nick Saban’s standard. Despite going 20-8 over two seasons, the heat is cranking up on his seat.

I do not expect DeBoer to be fired unless the bottom completely falls out in Tuscaloosa. He should survive to coach in 2027. With that said, his $50 million buyout will become a topic of conversation should the Tide miss the CFP for a second time in three years.

Dabo Swinney

Swinney may be safest coach on this list. He is the greatest leader to roam the sidelines in Clemson with a pair of national titles to his name. He’s won 10 games or more in 13 of the last 14 seasons.

With that said, success has dipped over the last few years. His refusal to adapt in an everchanging college football landscape irks the fanbase.

Swinney did win the ACC and make the playoff in 2024, but the year was deemed a failure by some due to struggles against the SEC. Last year, the Tigers went 7-6 to further warm the seat.

I expect Swinney to be back with the program in 2027. In the slim chance he is fired, the Tigers will be forced to pay $57 million.

Lincoln Riley

Riley has failed to live up to expectations at USC over the last four years. Since being hired in 2022, the Trojans have gone 35-18. It’s not bad by any means, but for a program seeking to compete for championships, it’s been a letdown.

Riley came to Los Angeles with fanfare. He’s finished the season unranked in two of the last three years.

Riley has a proven passer returning in 2026. USC is viewed as a legitimate playoff contender. If he can’t find his way into the national championship race, his tenure could soon end. Of course, a $60 million buyout might cause some hesitation.

Matt Rhule

Rhule has the largest buyout on this list. He is also firmly on the hot seat. Nebraska gave him a contract extension midway through last season due to his supposed interest in Penn State. It immediately backfired.

Rhule was given a raise after eight games last year. The Cornhuskers went 1-4 in his final five contests to bring his overall record in Lincoln to 19-19.

The head coach has struggled against top talent. He’s yet to beat a Top 25 opponent (0-9). He has not won more than seven games in a season.

Making matters worse for his future, starting quarterback Dylan Raiola left to be a backup at Oregon. Nebraska is predicted to finish in the bottom half of the Big 10.

That’s not what the Cornhuskers had hoped for in Year 4 of the Rhule era, but it is reality. They will not be able to cut ties with their head coach without paying his $63 million buyout.