Toasty Buns: 10 college football coaches on the hot seat entering 2023
By John Buhler
A disappointing 2022, plus a Big 12 arrival has Dana Holgorsen under pressure
Look who is back in the Big 12! Dana Holgorsen returns to his former league with his current team. While he was the best head coach West Virginia had since Rich Rodriguez, Holgorsen’s departure for then-Group of Five Houston was incredibly odd in 2019. But now that U of H has gone Power Five, we have to wonder if boosters like Tillman Fertita will have patience for another down year.
What was so bad about an 8-5 mark from a year ago? Houston was coming off a 12-2 campaign in 2021. The Cougars were the presumptive favorite to win the Group of Five with a relatively favorable schedule during its final year in The American. Instead, the Cougars couldn’t get out of their own way, finishing middle of the pack. Middle of the pack means the cellar in new the Big 12.
If we look at the other Big 12 newcomer head coaches, Holgorsen faces the most pressure. Kalani Sitake faces some at BYU, but it is also BYU. Scott Satterfield looks incredibly snake oil salesman-y over at Cincinnati, but he is a first-year head coach for the Bearcats. And for Gus Malzahn, he did extraordinary things, all things considered, at Auburn. Malzahn is back at a level where he belongs.
If Houston were to win something like four games in year one in the Big 12, Holgorsen is cooked.