The college football season is barely underway, we're entering week 3 for most teams this weekend, and there are already three coaches that if they don't win this weekend, may find themselves unemployed very soon.
That may sound like an overreaction this early in the season, but there's a belief in college athletics, that if you are the first to be looking for a new coach, you'll have the attention of everyone who may want your job.
Here are the three coaches that are facing a flaming hot seat this weekend.
Even though he's barely into his second year, Coach DeBoer had an underwhelming first season replacing the legendary Nick Saban, and when I say underwhelming, the Tide went 9-4 last year. It may be hard to believe for folks in Minnesota, but college football is a religion in the south. I grew up in North Carolina, I have lived it myself.
College football is to Alabama is as high school football is to Texas. It's what they're talking about 365 days a year. And considering Bama missed the college football playoff in 2024 hence the charcoals getting hot for Coach DeBoer.
The buyout to fire him now is $69.3 million but will go down after this season. If he is fired this year, the school will have to make monthly payments to him for the remainder of the contract term.
Alabama lost to Florida State on the road in week 1 and this week they host a Wisconsin team that will be primed and ready to try and take the next step under coach Luke Fickell. Kickoff between the Badgers and Tide is Saturday at 11am.
The Gators are 20-20 under Coach Napier who is in his fourth year in Gainesville. The .500 record is the lowest winning percentage of any Coach in Florida history through at least 30 games. After shutting out Long Island University 55-0 in week 1, the Gators dropped a home game to South Florida last Saturday 18-16.
Florida went 5-7 in Napier's first year, 6-7 in 2023 and came on strong at the end of last season to go 8-5. Most folks felt the team had turned a corner at the end of the 2024 season, but the loss to South Florida has the natives restless again in the swamp.
The buyout to be able to fire Napier is only $22 million. And I say only, because buyouts are much higher like what we saw for Kalen DeBoer at Alabama.
Florida has an uphill battle this weekend as they play at LSU Saturday night.
Coach Pry is a former grad assistant for the Hokies from the mid 1990's and was known for his tough defenses as the defensive coordinator at Penn State before returning to Tech. But to say that his time as the head man in Blacksburg has not lived up to expectation is not even close to how most fans feel.
Pry has produced a 16-21 record thus far and his team is 0-2 thus far this season with losses to South Carolina and Vanderbilt, who dominated the Hokies 44-20 last week inside Tech's Lane Stadium.
Coach Pry is the second coach removed from the legendary Frank Beamer, who left the team after the 2015 season. Since that point, Virginia Tech is only 35-46 between Justin Fuente and Brent Pry.
As someone who lived in Virginia and hosted a sports radio show there, that record isn't good enough. The good times for Virginia Tech fans aren't that far removed from winning seasons and bowl appearances, so this is a "fish or cut bait" season for Coach Pry.
The challenge for Virginia Tech this weekend is an Old Dominion team, which is from the other side of Virginia, that pushed nationally ranked Indiana in the first half week 1. A loss to the Monarchs may force the hand of Virginia Tech A.D. Whit Babcock.
Pry's buyout is one of the smaller ones at $6 million which would be paid out quarterly until the end of 2027.