10 college football coaches under the most press getting in the
The 2025 season might be a referendum on lots of coaches.As there was
n’t much coaching turnover in the power conferences after the 2024 season, numerous coaches enter this season needing their teams to have strong efficiencies. Not all of the coaches on the list listed below might be in immediate risk of losing their tasks. Heck, we have one first-year coach on the list. But here are 10 coaches who could truly use fantastic seasons.Advertisement Expense Belichick, North Carolina This is no regular debut season for the previous New England Patriots coach. Not just is Belichick the head coach of a college football group for the very first time, it’s his very first college coaching task period. The six-time Super Bowl winner got his start as an assistant with the Baltimore Colts, though his daddy notoriously coached at Navy when Belichick was growing up.How much of a learning curve will there be for Belichick in his first season? And will he discover that he likes the college game just as much as he loved training in the NFL? North Carolina hasn’t won an ACC football title because 1980 and hiring Belichick to replace Mack Brown was a relocation for short-term success. Merely going 6-6 and making a championship game wasn’t enough for Brown to keep his task after the 2024 season.Kalen DeBoer, Alabama DeBoer got the job of a lifetime when Nick Saban retired. However that task likewise included incredibly high expectations. The Tide were 9-4
in 2024. That’s an excellent season for a great deal of college football groups. But it was the very first time Alabama didn’t win 10 or more games because Saban’s first season in 2007. Advertisement [Join or develop a Yahoo Dream Football league for the 2025 NFL season] Alabama missed out on double-digit wins with an unsightly 19-13 loss to Michigan in the ReliaQuest Bowl. The Tide can’t blame a mass of opt-outs for that loss either.Simply being in playoff contention again in 2025 isn’t good enough in Tuscaloosa. Alabama requires to make the playoff as it breaks in a new quarterback and adds former Washington offensive
planner Ryan Grubb back to DeBoer’s staff after the 2 worked together with the Huskies. A huge secret to 10 or more wins in 2025? Minimizing charges. Alabama averaged over 13 penalties per game last season. Who will be feeling the heat most this college football season?(Joseph Raines/Yahoo Sports)Luke Fickell, Wisconsin The former Cincinnati coach’s move to Wisconsin has actually not caused much success. The Badgers were 7-6 in Fickell’s first season in 2023 before falling
to 5-7 in 2024. Advertisement The 2025 season gets here with a new offending organizer in previous Kansas assistant Jeff Grimes and a new quarterback in Maryland transfer Billy Edwards. Wisconsin notoriously won with an offense predicated on a reliable run game throughout the Barry Alvarez, Bret Bielema and Paul Chryst years. When Fickell showed up, the Badgers aimed to throw the ball more often under previous OC Phil Longo and simply didn’t have the workers to do it.The share of run plays increased in 2024, but the results on the field didn’t enhance with them. You need to go back to 1991 and 1992 to find the last time the Badgers had consecutive losing seasons. And the 2025 schedule consists of Alabama, Michigan, Ohio State, Oregon, Indiana and Illinois. There’s very little margin for error.Hugh Freeze, Auburn Freeze has actually now had more losing seasons in his first two years at Auburn than he had in 5 seasons at Ole Miss before he was fired.Advertisement The Rebels were 5-7 in his last season with the school– the exact same record Freeze’s Tigers published in 2024. That was worse than 2023, when Auburn went 6-6 before losing in the Music City Bowl. Freeze wasn’t shy about criticizing his team’s quarterback play in
2024, and the
Tigers brought in former Oklahoma QB Jackson Arnold in the offseason. Arnold is trying to find a fresh start after a rough season in Norman last year.Freeze said at SEC
media days that he anticipated his group to be in playoff contention. That ‘d be a huge leap. Specifically with a schedule that includes five teams that won at least eight games in 2024. Mike Gundy, Oklahoma State It’s fair to call 2024 an abject catastrophe for Oklahoma State. The program has actually been a constant winner in Gundy’s 20 years at the school and entered 2024 with 18 straight winning seasons. OSU was a favorite to win the Big 12, too.Advertisement Instead, the Cowboys went 3-9 and failed
to win a conference game all season. Quarterback play wasn’t excellent and the protective play was even worse. OSU quit 6.8 yards a play and almost 36 points per game.The season caused 2 brand-new organizers and a modified agreement for Gundy. The coach’s income and buyout were reduced, as Oklahoma State will owe him$15 million if he’s fired within the next 3 years. That’s not an obnoxiously a great deal, and it might make a coaching switch a lot more possible if Oklahoma State again
has a losing season.
The 2024 season was a catastrophe for Mike Gundy and Oklahoma State.( Image by Kevin Langley/Icon Sportswire by means of Getty Images)( Icon Sportswire by means of Getty Images )Billy Napier, Florida Napier entered the 2024 season on the hot seat after a disappointing first two seasons in Gainesville. The Gators were simply 4-4 in the SEC but 8-5 total and scored wins over LSU and Ole Miss in November as part of a four-game win streak to end the season.Advertisement Their schedule could again be among the toughest in the nation, however there are reasons for optimism. QB DJ Lagway impressed as a freshman and might make a big leap in 2025. The defense also gave up fewer than 20 points in each
of those 4 wins to end the season after Texas and Georgia installed a combined 83 in the previous two games.The Gators are sleeper contenders
for both the SEC title and College Football Playoff. However a
step back from an appealing end to 2024 might cause more concerns about Napier’s job status.Mike Norvell, Florida State Florida State’s drop from 2023 to 2024 was definitely amazing. After narrowly missing the final four-team playoff because of Jordan Travis’leg injury in 2023, the Seminoles were an abysmal 2-10 in 2024 with simply one win over an FBS opponent.Advertisement The greatest factor was the offense. Previous Clemson and Oregon State QB DJ Uiagalelei struggled strongly and so did Brock Glenn and Luke Kromenhoek after Uiagalelei was sidelined for the season. FSU averaged simply 15 points per game.Former UCF coach Gus Malzahn has been generated as the Seminoles’ new offending organizer and the group included
Boston College QB transfer Thomas Castellanos. He’s got experience in the ACC, however likewise was changed midseason last year.The Seminoles had over 30 players move out after the season but added 23, consisting of previous Oklahoma RB Gavin Sawchuk and ex-Tennessee WR Squirrel
White. The offense needs to be better for a variety of factors, but primarily due to the fact that it can’t be much worse. Nevertheless, just getting back to 6-6 isn’t good enough in Tallahassee.Sam Pittman, Arkansas Pittman had an extremely blunt response when he was inquired about job security at SEC media days.Advertisement”I’m going to state this, the only implications of somebody constantly having you on this list or this list, whatever other list, is recruiting, “Pittman stated.”That’s the only thing. It seems to impact us a bit more in the state of Arkansas since they’re up on the Razorbacks. They see more.”Now, how can we stop that? We win more games. That’s what we can do. Look, many whatever a guy causes him, he brings on himself. Many things that come out, you make it. Now, you may disagree with some of it, all that. However I’ve earned it.
I have. To leave that, we’ve got to win more games. “Is another season above.500 sufficient to peaceful any discussion about Pittman’s task status? The Razorbacks have actually won all 3 of their bowl games in his five-year period and were 7-6 in 2024 after going 4-8 in 2023. Lincoln Riley, USC USC’s record has gotten worse in each of Riley’s 3 seasons. The Trojans were 11-3 in
2022 before going 8-5 in 2023 and 7-6 in 2024. The trend just can’t continue.Advertisement The defense enhanced a season ago
, however that coincided
with a drop-off in offensive production. After Caleb Williams starred in 2022 and 2023, USC struggled for constant quarterback play as Jayden Maiava replaced Miller Moss in November.Maiava returns, however he has a great deal of new faces on offense with him. 3 of the group’s leading receivers transferred along with
offensive lineman Emmanuel Pregnon and running back Quinten Joyner.Reloading the offense is key, as is continuing the defensive enhancement due to the fact that the Trojans’ Huge Ten schedule isn’t a cinch. There are road games at Illinois, Notre Dame, Nebraska and Oregon. USC won just one road game in all of 2024– and that remained in Los Angeles at UCLA. USC needed a bowl win to complete above.500 in 2024.( Image by Melinda Meijer/ISI Photos/Getty Images) (Melinda Meijer/ISI Photos by means of Getty Images )Brent Venables, Oklahoma Venables has definitely dealt with the 2025 season as a make-or-break year. Oklahoma went 6-7 for the second time in his 3 seasons as the Sooners scored simply 24 points per game thanks to inconsistent quarterback play.Advertisement The Sooners made a late 2024 modification at offensive coordinator and hired Washington State’s Ben Arbuckle to run the offense after the season was over. Arbuckle’s arrival then caused the transfer of previous Washington State QB John Mateer.Mateer had 44 total goals in 2024 after taking over for Webcam Ward in Pullman.
He must right away be an upgrade at QB and former Cal RB Jaydn Ott could be a 1,000-yard rusher if he remains healthy.A home game in Week 2 vs. Michigan need to be a great early test of Oklahoma
‘s offensive restore, and Auburn visits in Week 4. Oklahoma has a sensible shot of being 5-0 before its annual rivalry game versus Texas. Which start might be necessary for Venables’job with games against South Carolina, Ole Miss, Tennessee
, Alabama, Missouri
and LSU over the 2nd half of the season.