By Mark Pszonak
There are plenty of coaching hot seats, but which coaches will actually get fired in 2025? Here are my four predictions on which schools will be looking for a new coach after this season:
Luke Fickell, Wisconsin
The skinny: The lists of negatives have piled up for Coach Fickell since the start of the 2024 season, but it really began earlier with his decision to hire Phil Longo as offensive coordinator. Now the Badgers will be installing a new offense after parting ways with Coach Longo, while also dealing with a major roster overhaul. On top of that the Badgers are playing Alabama, Ohio State, Michigan, Oregon, Iowa and Indiana in 2025. These games will also give Coach Fickell the opportunity to make a positive statement, but there just seems to be too much going on in Madison right now to get that accomplished.
Brent Venables, Oklahoma
The skinny: While I do believe that the duo of new offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle and quarterback John Mateer will help the Sooners, I don’t think they’ll be able to do enough to save Venables’ job. An early home game against Michigan will show a great deal, but even if the Sooners win, the SEC schedule is brutal with Texas, South Carolina, LSU, Ole Miss, Alabama and Tennessee all waiting. Coach Venables is a very good coach, but it doesn’t seem as though he is meant to be a head coach.
Scott Satterfield, Cincinnati
The skinny: After a disastrous first season with the Bearcats, 2024 started well with a 5-2 start before a painful five game losing streak that left a sour taste in everyone’s mouth. In 2025, the Bearcats season very well may ride on the neutral site season opener against Nebraska. Cincinnati will be an underdog and the fanbase will be greatly outnumbered at Arrowhead Stadium, but a win could make this prediction incorrect by the end of August.
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Sam Pittman, Arkansas
The skinny: Prior to the 2024 season I thought Pittman would get fired, but to his credit he led the Razorbacks to a surprising 7-6 finish, which included one of the biggest upsets of the season against Tennessee. Looking at the schedule in 2025, Pittman will need one or two more upsets of this caliber to save his job again with Arkansas playing Notre Dame, Ole Miss, Tennessee, Texas A&M, LSU and Texas. An early season trip to Memphis will also be tricky. It just looks like a continuous uphill battle for Coach Pittman and the Razorbacks.
