5 College Football Head Coaches On The Hot Seat After Week 2

Oregon head coach Dan Lanning takes in the rain as the Oregon Ducks face the Oklahoma State Cowboys. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Week 2 of the 2026 college football season has wrapped up. Some coaches have continued their strong starts, while others are still facing pressure.

The coaches who are facing pressure must start to show signs of improvement, or they will quickly be without a job moving forward. With that in mind, here are five coaches sitting on some of the hottest seats in college football after Week 2.

Dabo Swinney, Clemson

Clemson Tigers head coach Dabo Swinney watches a field goal. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Dabo Swinney era seems to be coming to a crashing end. Swinney went 7-6 last year, his worst season since 2010. He started this season off with a 51-10 blowout loss to the LSU Tigers. He then got into a war of words with a media member after that game, before narrowing beating Georgia Southern 22-7 in Week 2. The clock is ticking on his tenure.

Swinney's buyout would be $57 million if fired in 2026.

Greg Schiano, Rutgers Scarlet Knights

Rutgers Scarlet Knights head coach Greg Schiano looks on before a game. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Rutgers started the 2026 season with a disastrous 37-21 loss to UMass, ending a 16-game losing streak for the Minutemen. The Scarlet Knights were also a 29.5-point favorite. Greg Schiano's team followed that up with a 28-21 loss to Boston College. Things don't get better as Rutgers faces two top-12 teams in the next three games.

If Schiano is fired following the season, the school would be owe him roughly $18.5 million

Bill Belichick, North Carolina

North Carolina Tar Heels head coach Bill Belichick on the sidelines. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Bill Belichick's team is 2-0 to start the season with wins over the TCU Horned Frogs and East Tennessee State. So, Belichick is doing the right things on the field up to this point.

But the program has been surrounded by turmoil. Those off the field issues could be what does his tenure in. Those off-the-field issues could be what his tenure is about.

If North Carolina were to fire Belichick at any point before Dec. 31, 2027, the school would owe him everything he was set to be paid up to that date.

Mike Norvell, Florida State

Florida State Seminoles head coach Mike Norvell talks into his headset during a timeout. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Mike Norvell feels like the one most likely to be let go first on this list. They started this season with a win, but it was a 34-17 struggle against New Mexico State. They followed that up with a 27-24 loss to the SMU Mustangs

They had a bye week in Week 2, but now have the Alabama Crimson Tide this week. On top of that, Florida State fired its athletic director, signaling the head coach might be next.

His buyout is set at $45.6 million after this season.

Dan Lanning, Oregon

Oregon head coach Dan Lanning looks on as the Oregon Ducks face the Oklahoma State Cowboys. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

This might be the biggest surprise on the list, but hear me out. Lanning has the same problem that James Franklin had at Penn State and Steve Sarkisian had at Texas. He struggles in big games. It's not fair for national media members to put Sarkisian on the hot seat and not Lanning.

The argument against Sarkisian was that his teams were always extremely talented, but they routinely underperformed. Doesn't that also sound like Oregon? The Ducks came into this season ranked No. 2. However, Fox Sports' Joel Klatt called them the clear best team in college football.

"There is a clear number one," Klatt previously said. "And I honestly don't understand why this is not more unanimous. If you actually evaluate rosters out there and what's coming back. Everyone else out there has a question. Everybody.... Guess who doesn't have questions? Not one. Oregon. Oregon is No. 1 in the country, and quite frankly, it's not close."

The Ducks followed that up with a narrow 34-27 win over Boise State, before falling to Oklahoma State 39-31, who were on a 12-game losing streak and had just lost to Tulsa. The question for Lanning is: if they can't win the title now, when can they?

I don't think Oregon will ultimately fire him, but the pressure should be there after some disappointing performances. The buyout could also save him because if Oregon fires Lanning without cause, he would be owed 100% of the remaining money on his contract.

Week 2 is obviously too early to determine the future of most of these coaches. But that's what makes the next few weeks so important. Swinney, Schiano and Norvell need their teams to start producing results, while Belichick has to keep the off-field turmoil from overshadowing his team's progress.

Lanning, meanwhile, suddenly has to prove that Oregon's loss to Oklahoma State was an anomaly rather than another example of the ducks falling short when expectations are at their highest. With the season barely two weeks old, the pressure is already real.