KANSAS

Big 12 Football Coaches on the Hot Seat: Kansas' Lance Leipold Is Safe

Kansas may be 1-5, but fourth-year head Lance Leipold is not one of the Big 12 coaches whose job may be in jeopardy.

Rich Cirminiello

Sep 28, 2024; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Kansas Jayhawks head coach Lance Leipold on field against the TCU Horned Frogs during the first half at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-Imagn Images
Sep 28, 2024; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Kansas Jayhawks head coach Lance Leipold on field against the TCU Horned Frogs during the first half at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-Imagn Images / Denny Medley-Imagn Images
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It has been a rough first half for Kansas football and head coach Lance Leipold. Perhaps the toughest first half of a head coaching career that began 17 years ago.

However, Leipold has won at every stage of his journey, from Wisconsin-Whitewater and Buffalo to now in Lawrence. Those who follow the game closest recognize that Leipold is one of the more underrated head guys in college football.

Kansas knows what it has in Leipold, so he isn't going anywhere. In fact, he's more likely to be poached than fired in the next year or so. However, not every Big 12 coach is so fortunate. A handful can use strong finishes, if for nothing else to dial down the pressure in 2025.

5. Brent Brennan, Arizona

It's Year 1 in Tucson, so this is not a true hot seat situation. That said, Brennan has squandered the momentum Jedd Fisch built at Arizona. The Cats are 3-3 and the offense is sputtering despite retaining Noah Fifita and Tetairoa McMilan.

4. Scott Satterfield, Cincinnati

Satterfield has had a bumpy start in Cincinnati. He inherited a program that was rocking under Luke Fickell and went 3-9 in last year's Big 12 debut. The 4-2 Bearcats have already surpassed last year's win total, but these last six games will determine how much pressure Satterfield feels in 2025.

3. Gus Malzahn, UCF

Malzahn got out of the gates fast with back-to-back nine-win seasons, but that was in the American. In the Big 12, he's 9-10 and 4-8 in conference games. One of the conference favorites in the preseason, UCF has lost three straight heading into Week 8.

2. Neal Brown, West Virginia

West Virginia expects more. West Virginia deserves more. Last year's 9-4 finish looks like it'll be more blip than turning point. Almost six years into his tenure, Brown is hovering around .500 and the Mountaineers haven't sniffed Big 12 contention on his watch.

1. Dave Aranda, Baylor

In 2021, Aranda's Bears went 12-2 and won the Big 12. The coach was a rising star in the ranks. Since then, though, he's 11-20 and struggling to keep his job in Waco. Great man and a terrific defensive architect, but how much longer will the administration exercise patience?

Kansas on Sports Illustrated

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Rich Cirminiello
RICH CIRMINIELLO

I've been the VP of College Awards for the Maxwell Football Club since 2008. I oversee and manage all aspects of the Maxwell Award (CFB Player of the Year), Bednarik Award (Defensive POY) and Munger Award (CFB Coach of the Year), including creating watch lists, steering the selection committee and choosing players of the week. I appear weekly on SportsGrid TV to discuss college football, both as a guest and a co-host of various live shows. I oversee and manage two additional college awards, outside the purview of the Maxwell Football Club - former Seattle Seahawk RB Shaun Alexander's Freshman of the Year Award & the Buddy Teevens Award, which was created by Peyton Manning, Archie Manning and Omaha Productions in honor of the late Dartmouth coach. I'm contracted out each May by Phil Steele to help edit the magazine and write select articles leading up to the publication of his annual College Football Preview in June.

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