Kirk Herbstreit Identifies Two College Football Coaches on the Hot Seat in 2026

Just because it’s still August doesn’t mean your job can’t be on the line in college football, especially coming out of an offseason that saw a couple dozen coaches change jobs in one of the more active carousels we’ve seen in recent years.

No one’s job is safe, not in a modern game with even more money on the line and Curt Cignetti proving you don’t need forever to put a program in the national championship picture, and now Kirk Herbstreit has already narrowed his own focus to a pair of names that might be coaching for their jobs in 2026.

Norvell, Fickell face critical seasons

Names that are all too familiar in the hot seat debate continue to be Mike Norvell at Florida State and Luke Fickell at Wisconsin, according to Herbstreit’s reasoning.

Why Norvell is on the hot seat

Kirk Herbstreit Identifies Two College Football Coaches on the Hot Seat in 2026 — USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

After the Seminoles’ undefeated 2023 regular season and ACC championship, Norvell has gone a combined 7-18 the last two years, including a 2-10 collapse in 2024 and a marginally better 5-7 finish in 2025, not winning a road game in two seasons and sits at 38-34 overall under the coach’s direction.

A massive contract extension after that 2023 effort – which controversially saw Florida State kept out of the College Football Playoff in favor of one-loss SEC champ Alabama – left the school facing a buyout of around $49-51 million if they part ways after this year, a big reason why they kept him on after consecutive losing seasons.

How Norvell can save himself

Florida State’s embattled head coach can save himself by delivering an early statement win, particularly in a critical Labor Day primetime matchup against ranked SMU, followed by a competitive showing against a tough slate that includes road dates against Alabama and Louisville and at home opposite Clemson.

Stabilizing the quarterback position, generating a more consistent offense after assuming play-calling duties, and getting more physical at the lines of scrimmage would rebuild some goodwill with a frustrated fan base and buy him some time.

Why Fickell is on the hot seat

Wisconsin’s head man is just 17-21 overall through three seasons, posting consecutive losing records culminating in last season’s 4-8 outing, the school’s first back-to-back sub-.500 marks since the early 1990s.

The former Cincinnati coach who reached the College Football Playoff in 2021 has struggled with inconsistency at quarterback, a lack of offensive identity, and adapting to the NIL and transfer portal era.

The school responded by putting more money into roster building efforts rather than pay Fickell’s buyout, but the man responsible for that investment, former athletic director Chris McIntosh, has since left the school, leaving the coach answering to a new regime that may not be so patient.

How Fickell can save himself

Fickell’s path back to respectability centers principally on quarterback health and getting production from transfer Colton Joseph at the position, establishing a more aggressive offensive personality, and delivering results in pivotal road tests against Penn State, Iowa, and UCLA.

Demonstrating some tangible growth and competitiveness against opponents of that caliber – and winning seven or eight games, something a little better than mere bowl eligibility – would help validate Wisconsin’s decision to keep him around.

(Herbstreit)

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