College Football: What has happened with so few head coach hot seats

August used to be made bearable by the steady chatter about many college football head coaches in clear hot seat situations. Why has the frenzy abated?

Could it be for the first summer in whenever not a single SEC head coach can be defined as having a ‘hot seat’ in a coming season? Think of the off-season fun missed because of such little speculation some under-performing head coach might not survive a full college football season.

Perennial hot sitters like LSU’s Ed Orgeron and Missouri’s Barry Odom have gained enough semblance of upward trajectory to solidify their jobs into the 2020 season. Others will most likely make 2020 because of short tenures at their current schools. Count Will Muschamp, Jeremy Pruitt and Chad Morris in that group. Another group of SEC head coaches is still in honeymoon periods at their schools – Jimbo Fisher, Dan Mullen, Kirby Smart and Joe Moorhead.

That leaves five more SEC head coaches to consider. Two are entrenched based on performance. One is, of course, Nick Saban with the Alabama Crimson Tide. The other is Mark Stoops at Kentucky.

Vanderbilt’s Derek Mason must be considered differently than his 13 counterparts. He has done enough for the Commodores to be content with his leadership. But anyone coaching the Dores (except James Franklin) automatically enters hot seat status as soon as his second season ends. Exits are TBD, but Vanderbilt head coaches, including Franklin, are always on the way out by year three.

That leaves two guys – Matt Luke at Ole Miss and Gus Malzahn at Auburn.

Gus is theoretically protected by about a $27M buyout. But, money has never held the Aubies back. As Pete Thamel wrote recently,

"The old joke in the SEC is that Auburn is always a three-game losing streak away from a coach being in trouble."

On the Plains, there has been summer bravado. Gus has been crowing over his return to play-calling duties. Which begs the question, why do the Tigers even bother to have an offensive coordinator on staff? Many suspect Gus’ seat is hot enough that winning only eight games, with losses to Georgia and the Crimson Tide might not save him.

Matt Luke has the only job in the SEC that makes Nashville look good. Luke has fulfilled his stop the bleeding role admirably. There is very little chance he is a permanent solution for Ole Miss. If he makes it to 2020, it will probably be because a school President and an Athletic Director must be hired first.

Who has the hottest seat in college football? Best guess is Clay Helton at USC. Trojans recruit Bryce Young and Alabama football fans will be closely watching.