All eyes in the college football world are on players who are under pressure entering the 2026 season. For example, can Arch Manning play his way into the No. 1 overall selection in the 2027 NFL Draft? How will Josh Hoover do in Fernando Mendoza's place after Indiana's perfect season? Will Sam Leavitt validate Lane Kiffin's belief in him?
The players generate most of the headlines, but several head coaches face immense pressure, too. Whether it's due to several losing seasons in a row, not being able to get over the national championship hump, or even the need to validate a massive contract, these 11 head coaches are under pressure to deliver tangible results in 2026. Failing to do so could cost some or potentially most of them their jobs.
Dave Aranda, Baylor
In just his second season as the Baylor Bears' head coach, Dave Aranda helped his team win the 2021 Big 12 title by going 12-2. Despite that outstanding season, Aranda enters the 2026 campaign under .500 with a 36-37 record, meaning he's gone just 24-35 in his other five seasons, with only one winning campaign to speak of. Baylor went just 3-6 in 2025.
To put it simply, while 2021 was great, the rest hasn't been close to good enough. Baylor spent a pretty penny to bring in DJ Lagway, a legacy at Baylor, in from Florida. If Aranda can't win with Lagway in his seventh season with the program, what makes anyone believe Baylor won't at least consider moving on sooner rather than later?
Bill Belichick, North Carolina
Bill Belichick is arguably the greatest head coach in NFL history, but college football is a different beast, and Belichick might be learning that the hard way. His first year with North Carolina was catastrophic on all fronts. He was in the spotlight for reasons that had nothing to do with UNC, like his personal relationship and his Pro Football Hall of Fame snub, and the on-field product was not good at all.
The Tar Heels went just 4-8 under Belichick's tutelage, their worst record since 2018 under Larry Fedora. Their roster is a bit better this year, but their schedule is also tougher, and Belichick has yet to prove he can adjust to the college game. A Week 0 win against TCU is a good start, though.
Kalen DeBoer, Alabama
Kalen DeBoer hasn't done a bad job at all, going 20-8 in his first two seasons with the Alabama Crimson Tide, leading them to a CFP appearance in 2025. With that being said, the standards at Alabama, arguably the most illustrious program in college football history, are higher, and it doesn't feel controversial to say DeBoer hasn't quite met them.
DeBoer has more losses in his two seasons (8) than Nick Saban had in his final four years with Alabama (7). He has as many CFP misses (1) as Saban had in that same four-year span. He has just one CFP victory, and in the next game, Alabama got blown out by Indiana. Again, he hasn't been bad by normal standards, but Alabama's standards are not normal. If DeBoer can't get Alabama closer to winning a national title, how much rope does he actually have?
Luke Fickell, Wisconsin
“I know it’s a hot seat,” Luke Fickell said when discussing his job status with the Wisconsin Badgers. If that isn't a clear indication that his seat is piping hot, I don't know what is, and there's a reason that's the case. After a remarkably successful run at Cincinnati, Fickell has gone 17-21 in parts of four seasons with Wisconsin. He's led the Badgers to back-to-back losing seasons, Wisconsin's first time with back-to-back losing campaigns since 1991 and 1992.
In other words, this program is in as bad a spot as it's been in over three decades. I'm not here to say that Fickell is the only individual to blame for that outcome, but the product has not been good enough. A third straight losing season will almost certainly lead to some questions about his future being asked.
Lane Kiffin, LSU
While there's virtually no chance he'll be fired after just one year coaching the LSU Tigers, it can be argued that Lane Kiffin faces the most pressure of any coach or player in college football this year because of the circumstances that came to his arrival at LSU. Kiffin did a wonderful job at Ole Miss before his stunning departure for the LSU job. This job came with a massive seven-year, $91 million contract and wildly lofty expectations. Whether he likes it or not, he's college football's villain, at least right now.
It's championship or bust for Kiffin at LSU. He doesn't necessarily have to win it all, but he does need to get LSU back on the winning track. The Tigers went just 7-6 in 2025 and were wildly disappointing in Brian Kelly's entire tenure with the program. Kiffin brought in a ton of transfers and has a team that should be competitive on paper. If the results don't come immediately, discussions will be had, fair or not.
Mike Locksley, Maryland
Mike Locksley inherited a Maryland Terrapins program that hadn't done much winning, so it was always going to take time for him to turn things around. To his credit, he put together three winning seasons, including back-to-back 8-5 campaigns, each featuring a Bowl win. Unfortunately, Maryland has gone 4-8 in both years since, including going 1-8 in conference play.
Locksley shouldn't be expected to win the Big Ten or anything, but does he really survive another putrid season in conference play? Maryland has produced some NFL talent over the years, but they haven't been able to win much at all. That is a problem, and one Locksley, a head coach who has gone 37-49 with the Terrapins, figures to get the blame for if it continues.
Mike Norvell, Florida State
The Florida State Seminoles were unfairly snubbed from the 2023 college football playoff, but that doesn't give them an excuse for performing as poorly as they have since. FSU went from winning the ACC and going 13-1 in 2023 to going 7-17 in their next two seasons. As great as their 2023 season was, Norvell is now 39-34 in parts of seven seasons leading Florida State, including four losing campaigns.
That is not good enough. FSU figured to be in championship contention after its breakthrough in 2023, but all the program has done is go in the opposite direction. The Seminoles have gone just 3-13 in conference play in the last two seasons and are in desperate need of an immediate turnaround. A Week 0 win over New Mexico State helps, but Norvell has a lot more to prove to get off the hot seat.
Lincoln Riley, USC
Lincoln Riley is entering his fifth season leading the USC Trojans, matching his tenure at Oklahoma. His record at Oklahoma was 55-10, earning him a shot to head USC's program on an absurd 10-year, $110 million contract. His record since joining USC is 36-18 after the Trojans' Week 0 win. He doesn't have a losing season at USC, but he doesn't have a single college football playoff appearance either. Yes, USC has paid nearly $50 million for a grand total of zero playoff games. Heck, the Trojans only have one double-digit win season under Riley, and that came in 2022 — his first year on the job.
I don't know how realistic it is for the Trojans to fire him right now given the money still owed on his contract, but can they really justify keeping him around if they have yet another disappointing season? USC landed one of the best recruiting classes in the country, so it's on Riley to get his team on the winning track. There are no excuses.
Steve Sarkisian, Texas
Not every head coach under pressure is at risk of losing his job. I don't think there's any world in which Texas actually fires Steve Sarkisian. With that being said, the pressure is certainly on him to win for a couple of reasons. First, while he's gone 48-20 at Texas, it's not like he's been great. The Longhorns have made the CFP just twice in five seasons under Sarkisian, going 2-2 in those appearances. They have not been to, let alone won, a national championship.
Second, and perhaps most importantly, this could be Sarkisian's best chance yet to get Texas over the hump. This is the Longhorns' last season with Arch Manning under center, and their roster around him is absurdly loaded. If Texas can't meaningfully contend for a national title this year with this team, are we sure they'll ever be able to with Sarkisian? That'll be a question many will ask if they fall short of expectations, putting the pressure on Sarkisian to get results.
Scott Satterfield, Cincinnati
The Cincinnati Bearcats made the four-team college football playoff in 2021 under Luke Fickell. No, they shouldn't be expected to make the playoff every year, but they went from being a playoff team to going 9-4 in 2022 to being completely irrelevant ever since landing what was supposed to be a major splash hire in Scott Satterfield.
The Bearcats went 7-6 and lost a bowl game in 2025. That was their best season in Satterfield's three seasons as head coach, and even that season ended with them losing five straight after a 7-1 start that had them ranked. They've gone 15-22 overall in the Satterfield era, which is just unacceptable. Again, this program made an appearance in the four-team CFP just five years ago! It's not like Satterfield's tenure at Louisville was all that great. If he can't get things going this season, why should anyone believe he's the right man to be leading Cincinnati?
Dabo Swinney, Clemson
It feels wrong to put Dabo Swinney, a head coach who has gone 187-53 with two national championship wins in four appearances throughout his 18 seasons with the Clemson Tigers, on this list, but at a certain point, "What have you done for me lately?" becomes a question we must ask. Clemson has not been to a national title game since 2019. Clemson hasn't won a national title game since 2018. Clemson is also coming off its second-worst season in the Swinney era, having gone 7-6 in 2025.
Even beyond the results trending downward, Swinney has caught a ton of heat for his refusal to adapt to the modern transfer portal, and understandably so. Clemson is at a talent disadvantage when it really shouldn't be, and a lot of that has to do with Swinney. Starting Christopher Vizzina, a junior with just 14 appearances and one start under his belt, under center rather than paying for a more proven option underscores how Clemson has fallen behind in recent years. Maybe Vizzina will prove Swinney right and lead Clemson to tons of success in 2026. If that doesn't happen, though, how much patience will the program have before wondering if it'd be better off with someone else leading the way?
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