5 college coaches on the hot seat for 2025 ft. Hugh Freeze 

The college football coach's hot seat is going to be one of the more intriguing topics in the college football world. While there are no games for another seven months, some coaches are already entering the 2025 season with a lot of pressure and could find themselves fired if they suffer a slow start.

Here's a closer look at the coaches that are feeling their seats get a bit too warm.

5 college football coaches on the hot seat for next season

#1. Hugh Freeze, Auburn

Hugh Freeze is entering his third season as coach of the Auburn Tigers and has not done too well. He has an 11-14 record and missed the postseason entirely in 2024. Freeze needs to figure out how to be competitive in the Southeastern Conference and figure out a solid quarterback as things have not looked well at the most important position.

Going 5-11 in SEC action is not going to be good enough and things are going to stay difficult going forward. Hugh Freeze has been able to get strong recruiting classes but has failed to figure out how to put everything together. Auburn can ill-afford to have more seasons where they look lost before Halloween.

#2. Lincoln Riley, USC

Lincoln Riley is one of the most talked about coaches in college football and do not let how the season ended change the fact he is still on the hot seat entering 2025. Riley is 26-14 in his three years with the USC Trojans and the team is yet to make a College Football Playoff appearance.

The recruiting issues that Lincoln Riley has faced also create concern as the roster needs to bolster the trenches to compete in the Big Ten Conference. While his buyout is not publicly known, he is entering the fourth year of his 11-year, $110 million contract.

Riley seemingly turned things around and has something in quarterback Jayden Maiava, but that has to translate to wins soon.

#3. Mike Norvell, Florida State

Mike Norvell has been the coach for the Florida State Seminoles since the 2020 season but things got ugly in 2024, finishing with a terrible 2-10 record and just not looking too competitive at all. He is now 33-27 at FSU and has three losing seasons in five years.

The Seminoles had absolutely no offense last year, averaging just 14.8 points and that was 128th out of 133 teams. However, one reason he is still employed is the fact his massive contract buyout of $56 million after getting a huge raise heading into the 2024 season. Norvell needs to figure out what is going on and turn things around quickly before FSU eats the money.

#4. Brian Kelly, LSU

Whether it is fair or not, Brian Kelly is on the hot seat partially due to the success the Notre Dame Fighting Irish had after he left the program as they made the national championship game. However, LSU finished unranked last season and has not made a College Football Playoff up to this point.

When he was hired by the LSU Tigers, the school was expected to compete for a national championship. His 29-11 record in three seasons is solid but the inability to have postseason success and being just 4-8 against ranked opponents with the Tigers makes it difficult to have much faith going forward.

#5. Brett Venables, Oklahoma

Brett Venables is entering his fourth season with the Oklahoma Sooners and the team struggled in their first season in the Southeastern Conference. The Sooners finished 6-7 last year and it brought his record to 22-17, including a 0-3 record in bowl games.

This is something that just does not happen in Oklahoma as John Blake was the only other Oklahoma coach since 1925 to have multiple losing seasons. Venables is under contract through the 2030 season but his contract buyout is sitting at $44.8 million right now. He may not be able to survive a slow start to the 2025 season.

Which college football coach do you think is on the hot seat for next season? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.