Fansided

10 college basketball coaches on the hottest seats entering 2018-2019

By Brad Berreman

LOS ANGELES, CA - NOVEMBER 17: Head coach Steve Alford of the UCLA Bruins during the game against the South Carolina State Bulldogs at Pauley Pavilion on November 17, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - NOVEMBER 17: Head coach Steve Alford of the UCLA Bruins during the game against the South Carolina State Bulldogs at Pauley Pavilion on November 17, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images) /
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Mandatory Credit: Dylan Buell/Getty Images
Mandatory Credit: Dylan Buell/Getty Images /

As the 2018-19 college basketball season gets set to start, these 10 coaches are firmly on the hot seat.

A FBI investigation and a recently concluded pay-for-play trial has dominated the news around the sport, so it’s good news the 2018-19 college basketball season is set to start. Games taking place tends to diminish off-field headlines, for better or worse.

It’s early to predict which coaches will be fired after the season, but there are coaches who need better results or a change will surely be considered. For some, simply an NCAA Tournament appearance might be enough. For others, a deeper run in March is probably needed to create job security. Off-the-court issues linger in the background for some coaches thought to be on the hot as well, and when paired with underachievement on the court speculation about job status follows easily.

Entering the new season, these 10 college basketball coaches definitely have some heat on their seat and are heading into a do-or-die campaign.

10. Dave Leitao, DePaul

Leitao is in his second stint as head coach at DePaul, and he was the coach the last time the Blue Demons made the NCAA Tournament (2004). But a 29-65 record over the last three seasons is dismal and disappointing, even with reasonably low expectations for the program amid a rebuild. Four-star recruits Romeo Weems and Markese Jacobs are coming in 2019, but without a little better results in Big East play this year (9-45 over the last three seasons) Leitao may not be the one coaching them (assuming they remain committed to DePaul if he is fired).

Last year’s 11 wins was a bit of progress, sadly enough, and somewhere around .500 would be the next logical step. Whether that would be enough to save Leitao’s job is a different conversation, and his seat is certainly warming.