15 college basketball coaches on the hot seat in 2017

NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 07: Head coach Brad Brownell of the Clemson Tigers reacts during their game against the North Carolina State Wolfpack during the first round of the ACC Basketball Tournament at Barclays Center on March 7, 2017 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. (Photo by Lance King/Getty Images) /

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LAS VEGAS, NV – JANUARY 21: Head coach Dave Pilipovich of the Air Force Falcons looks on during his team’s game against the UNLV Rebels at the Thomas /

12. Dave Pilipovich, Air Force

Pilipovich admittedly might have the toughest coaching job in Division I, the Falcons need to win a few games at some point for him to keep on.

After bouncing around for two decades as an assistant coach at various stops including Michigan from 2005-2007 and Air Force from 2007-2012, Pilipovich got his first head gig with the Falcons Air Force had struggled mightily since going to the NCAA Tournament twice in the mid-2000s, yet chose to promote Pilipovich from assistant to head coach after Jeff Reynolds was fired in Feburary of 2012.

The move initially worked out, as Air Force had one of its best seasons ever at 18-14 in 2012-13 and picked up a rare postseason victory over Hawaii in the first round of the CIT Tournament. Air Force picked up a pair of ranked wins over San Diego State and New Mexico during the season after registering just one in program history prior to Pilipovich’s arrival.

That success was not sustainable, as Air Force has not topped 14 wins in any season since while going 51-74 overall. The Falcons have finished 10th or worse in the Mountain West in each of the past two seasons, including a miserable 12-21 campaign last year that was its worst since 2008.

Air Force is a difficult place to win due to its recruiting disadvantages as a service academy in a Mountain West conference that typically has some strong teams. Even so, a fifth straight campaign of 14 or fewer wins would put Pilipovich’s job in jeopardy.