Big 12 Head Coach Hot Seat Index: Checking the Temperature at the Midway Point

How much pressure are some of these head coaches facing after Week 6?

Sep 21, 2024; Boulder, Colorado, USA; Baylor Bears head coach Dave Aranda looks on from the sideline during the first half against the Colorado Buffaloes at Folsom Field. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-Imagn Images / Christopher Hanewinckel-Imagn Images

Introducing our Big 12 Head Coach Hot Seat Index.

There are a few coaches in the Big 12 who entered this season in danger of losing their jobs.

Some of those coaches have improved their situation, while others have seen their seats get hotter than ever. Here is a look at the Hot Seat Index for the Big 12 head coaches after Week 6.

Big 12 Head Coach Hot Seat Index - Week 6

Scorching: Dave Aranda (Baylor)

The warmest section of the heat index is reserved for Aranda. Since winning the Big 12 Championship in 2021, Aranda is 11-20. The Bears are showing no signs of improvement this year, which will likely be Aranda's last at Baylor.

Hot: Lance Leipold (Kansas), Sonny Dykes (TCU), Scott Satterfield (Cincinnati)

It is hard to imagine Kansas or TCU firing coaches that have recently had so much success. Leipold has resurrected Kansas football from being one of the worst programs in the country. However, they are off to a dreadful 1-5 start. He needs to get things turned around, or some uncomfortable conversations may take place.

Meanwhile, Dykes is 3-3 and just had one of the worst losses of his time at TCU to Houston. He somehow had the Frogs playing for a national championship in 2022. After going 5-7 last year and with this rough start to the season, those glory days feel long gone.

Satterfield had a rough 3-9 first season in Cincinnati, and this year has shown signs of that struggle continuing. The 34-0 win over Houston quieted things down a little bit, but the Bearcats need to keep improving for Satterfield to be completely safe.

Warming up: Mike Gundy (Oklahoma State), Willie Fritz (Houston), Gus Malzahn (UCF)

Gundy is the face of Oklahoma State football and has been since 2005. The Cowboys will not fire Gundy unless he loses the rest of his games in 2024, but the Cowboys are heavily trending downwards, which warranted his inclusion in this section.

Fritz is in his first season at Houston and is very unlikely to be fired so quickly. However, the Cougars have been a disaster in 2024. They managed to quiet criticisms for one week after defeating TCU, but Fritz has to get his program under control and keep quieting the criticisms surrounding his debut year. Getting shut out two games in a row was a very bad look.

Malzahn is likely safe no matter what happens this season as well, but he is starting to lose his grip on the season with two consecutive losses. The Knights play an important game against Cincinnati this week.

Room temperature: Deion Sanders (Colorado), Kalani Sitake (BYU), Neal Brown (West Virginia), Joey McGuire (Texas Tech), Kenny Dillingham (Arizona State)

Sanders has done quite a lot in the last couple of weeks to quiet the criticisms surrounding him as a coach. The Buffaloes have won three consecutive games, including a convincing road win at UCF. All is well in Boulder, for now.

After going 5-7 last season at BYU, there was a lot of pressure on Sitake to turn things around in his second year in the Big 12. He has done just that with his 5-0 start to the season.

Brown and West Virginia had a rough 1-2 start but have since won consecutive conference games. Including a dominant 38-14 thumping of Oklahoma State on Saturday.

After a 7-6 season last year, McGuire is off to an impressive 5-1 start. It is his best start so far as the head coach of the Red Raiders. They are also currently the only 3–0 team in the Big 12 for conference play.

Ice cold: Brent Brennan (Arizona), Matt Campbell (Iowa State), Kyle Whittingham (Utah), Chris Klieman (Kansas State)

None of these head coaches have any level of pressure on them at all. They are all having good seasons so far and sit on the coolest coaching seats in the conference.

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The Big 12 Head Coach Hot Seat Index will change as the season continues. Some seats will get hotter, while some seats may cool down. Stay tuned. We will update the index in the weeks ahead.

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