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Fickell, Napier, and More: 5 Coaches on the Hottest Seats Entering 2025

5 Power Four coaches who may not survive 2025—and why the heat is rising fast

Avatar photoMike Huesmann
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By Mike Huesmann

In my world it’s never too early to think about what coaches need to win now and who might get a pink slip. This is a teaser of the top 10 coaches hot seat list I do in-season. Here we have five Power Four coaches and why I think there is a chance they don’t see 2026. 

One of these men was on the hot seat last year and saved his job, one was riding high but failed miserably, while the other three have spent minimal years at their school where patience for them is growing thin.

Luke Fickell, Wisconsin

Fickell is 13-13 through two full seasons at Wisconsin, hardly good enough for a man making nearly $8 million a year. Yet, in a baffling move, his current record somehow got him a one-year extension this offseason. The Badgers have been significantly worse under Fickell than they were with Paul Chryst, who was fired after going 67-26. 

Do the Badgers have some buyer’s remorse now considering the financial backing Fickell has? He brought in one of the more respected offensive coordinators in Phil Longo and fired him. There might not be people left for him to axe if this season doesn’t produce eight wins, and against the nation’s fourth-toughest schedule, I don’t know that it will.

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Billy Napier, Florida

Do not mistake a temporary reprieve for long term stability. Napier saved his job in 2024 going 8-5 and winning his last four. However, that does not mean his team can regress in 2025. If the Gators don’t match or better that total, he might be out. 

He’s in the Neal Brown scenario—saved his job one year but easily could lose it the following year. The Gators’ schedule is a gauntlet starting in week three with consecutive games against LSU, Miami, Texas and Texas A&M. A worst case scenario of one or zero wins could happen there, and I don’t know if Napier lasts much longer. I will give him credit, the upside looks way better this year than it did last year, and he made it through that.

Mike Norvell, Florida State

In my time covering and examining coaches, I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a coach go from loved to hated so fast. A 13-0 start and a QB injury away from the College Football Playoff to 2-10 in one season did that. It’s probably not fair so recently removed from the great 2023 season, but fair isn’t in the equation. 

The Seminoles were atrocious in 2024 and looked awful most games. They were uncompetitive and the QB play was poor. Bringing in Gus Malzahn and Tony White as coordinators should go a long way to improving the team in 2025. For Norvell’s sake, it has to.

Hugh Freeze, Auburn

It’s amazing to me that Auburn fired a coach so quickly after the boosters went out of their way to railroad him, hired a guy who is doing worse with more time, and we still haven’t even seen Freeze’s third season yet. Talk about all-time incompetence by administration and boosters on the Plains. 

I think Freeze is a good coach. He proved it at Arkansas State, Ole Miss and Liberty. That doesn’t mean he’ll win here. Freeze has assembled a good roster at Auburn, but made awful decisions at the QB position. We saw Jackson Arnold fail at another SEC school last year. Why does he suddenly become the guy here? After this season Freeze can’t say that he hasn’t been given enough time. He is 11-14 in two years. The Tigers’ projected win total is 7.5 this year, and I have my doubts that they will get eight. If Freeze doesn’t get the over, he is probably gone.

Lincoln Riley, USC

Riley is here as much for being unlikable as his record, which isn’t awful but definitely isn’t meeting the standard. He is 26-14 through three seasons leading the Trojans. He wasn’t given a 10-year contract for more than $100 million to win anything less than nine or 10 games per year. The recent drama surrounding the series with Notre Dame has also made him unpopular, though that probably should be directed more at the athletic director. 

Considering his massive buyout and unpopularity, I think Riley is in a weird dynamic. He probably won’t get fired. I do think it would be more likely that he takes another job if the writing is on the wall. He leaves with no buyout, USC doesn’t pay him severance. Both sides probably regret the marriage at that point, but it’s behind them. 

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