2023 Pressure Check Rankings: Dino Babers, Mario Cristobal are among ACC coaches under the most pressure this fall

College football coaches, from Kirby Smart to Lincoln Riley, love to talk about how “pressure is a privilege,” and for some that’s true. 

Coaches like Smart and Riley aren’t in any danger of ever being fired, but there’s a demand for their programs to be excellent. To win championships. 

For others, there’s the burden of not meeting expectations, so they’re under pressure to win now or else risk finding their names on the coaching carousel come November. 

So this week, we’re going to do a Pressure Check on every Power 5 head coach. We looked at the SEC and Big Ten head coaches first, and today we examine the ACC. 

Reminder: This is not a hot seat list. It’s a pressure gauge — Low, Medium, High and Extreme. 

Jeff Hafley, Boston College — High

Boston College was hammered by injuries in 2022, but Jeff Hafley is still just 15-20 in three seasons in Chestnut Hill. 

The Golden Eagles’ offense cratered (No. 122 in yards per play), and the defense took a major step back, too. Hafley is well-liked by BC’s administration, but he hasn’t elevated the program since taking over for Steve Addazio in 2020. 

He has a new AD who didn’t hire him, so it would behoove Hafley to navigate BC back to a bowl game this fall or else he could be on the hot seat come the end of the season.

Dabo Swinney, Clemson — Medium 

Dabo Swinney has won seven of the last eight ACC Championships, but much like Nick Saban at Alabama, he’s under real pressure to get the Tigers back to national championship contention — which means getting Clemson back to the College Football Playoff for the first time in three years. 

Swinney made one of the biggest offseason hires by poaching TCU offensive coordinator Garrett Riley, and if the move pays immediate dividends this fall, Clemson will be among the frontrunners to make the CFP again. 

Mike Elko, Duke — Low

Mike Elko inherited a program that was 1-17 in ACC play the last two years, and he went 9-4 in Year 1 and had as many conference wins as fellow first-year ACC coaches Mario Cristobal, Brent Pry and Tony Elliott combined.

Duke brings back one of the most experienced offenses in the country in 2023, and while the schedule is much tougher, Elko can only further extend his long leash this fall. He has among the most job security of any ACC head coach currently. 

Mike Norvell, Florida State — Medium

Mike Norvell went from a coach who might have been a hot seat candidate this fall if Year 3 had gone poorly. Instead, he has the Seminoles positioned as the ACC co-favorites this fall. 

FSU went 10-3 in 2022 and finished No. 10 nationally. But now the pressure is on to maintain — and elevate the results, especially with the nation’s most experienced roster back in 2023. 

Can he improve FSU’s standing on the recruiting trail? Can he deliver the ‘Noles their first ACC title since 2014?

Brent Key, Georgia Tech — Low

 Brent Key was the lone interim head coach in the 2023 cycle to earn a promotion after taking over for Geoff Collins and going 4-4 — all ACC wins.

Key is a former Ga. Tech offensive lineman, and with the school’s tight budget and the way he has quickly connected well with high school coaches in the Peach State, he has a long leash to start rebuilding Tech back into an ACC contender. 

Jeff Brohm, Louisville — Low

Jeff Brohm answered mama’s call and came home to Louisville this offseason, and considering the Cardinals fans’ frustrations with former coach Scott Satterfield, that enough warrants some deep-rooted goodwill for the former UL quarterback.

Brohm won the Big Ten West in his final season at Purdue, and although expectations aren’t overly high to begin his tenure at Louisville, he has an opportunity to get off to a fast start in 2023. 

The Cardinals have mined the transferal portal as well as any ACC team not named Florida State, and they could be poised for a potential leap-year in 2023  with no FSU, Clemson, FSU, UNC or Wake Forest on the schedule.

Mario Cristobal, Miami — High

Mario Cristobal is seeking a mulligan after a rather disastrous return to his alma mater in 2022. The Hurricanes went 5-7 after opening the season as a Top 10 team, and they were blown out in five games by at least two touchdowns.  

Cristobal completely overhauled his Year 1 staff, and he’s flipped much of the roster, too. He did what he’s always done this offseason, which is recruiting well (nation’s No. 6 class in 2023), but if he doesn’t stack some real wins this fall, the situation will start to become very uncomfortable — even for a head coach armed with a 10-year contract. 

Mack Brown, North Carolina — Medium

Mack Brown sits in one of the more unique spots for such an acclaimed veteran head coach. Brown is one of just five active head coaches with a national championship, and the 71-year-old has 18 seasons with at least nine wins. Yet similarly to Kirk Ferentz at Iowa, Brown will not be fired from his position at North Carolina, but his retirement could be expedited if the results start to sputter. 

UNC made the ACC Championship Game in 2022, but the Tar Heels also lost four straight games to end the season. A year prior, UNC was a Top 10 team that stubbled to 6-7 and missed a bowl game. With star quarterback Drake Maye entering his final college season, Brown needs to make the most of 2023. 

Dave Doeren, NC State — Low

Dave Doeren has quietly flirted with a couple of openings the last few offseasons, as NC State’s head coach has yet to get past that eight or nine-game ceiling with the Wolfpack. 

Still, Doeren isn’t under pressure to win an ACC Championship with NC State. He has a young team this season, and despite bringing in a new OC and former Virginia quarterback Brennan Armstrong, expectations are lower than in past seasons. 

Doeren is five wins short of setting a new school record, so barring a complete meltdown season, his position in Raleigh is secure until he either does get the program over the hump or ultimately leaves for a fresh start.

Pat Narduzzi, Pitt — Low

Pat Narduzzi has been at Pitt for eight years, producing six winning seasons. 

Narduzzi is one of the more vocal coaches in the sport, which oftentimes casts a spotlight on his program, but he has mostly exceeded expectations on an annual basis at Pitt. 

The Panthers have won the second-most games in the ACC the last two years (20), winning the conference title in 2021 (11-3) and following that up with a 9-4 year in 2022. They’re off to a much better start in the 2024 recruiting class, too, with a real possibility of signing a Top 25 class this cycle. 

Dino Babers, Syracuse — Extreme

Dino Babers has just two winning seasons in seven years at Syracuse, and he enters the 2023 campaign facing some of the most pressure of any coach in the country after the Orange lost six of their final seven games to end last season. 

Babers lost both his coordinators this offseason, and at a job that’s hard enough to win at already, he isn’t exactly being set up for any real success with a schedule that includes 10 Power 5 games (notables include non-con vs. Purdue, Clemson, FSU and North Carolina) and a game at Army. Babers is well-liked but if he doesn’t take the Orange bowling again this fall, he may be looking for a new job in 2024. 

Tony Elliott, Virginia — Low

After the way he helped unite Virginia following the school’s tragic on-campus shooting that saw three football players killed and cut its season short by two games, Tony Elliott will be given time to fix a flailing football program. 

The Hoos went 3-7 last season and saw their offense completely crater from a Top 25 unit in 2021 to a group that barely averaged 17.0 points per game. They don’t have any real traction on the recruiting trail either, so there’s much work to be done. 

Elliott’s pressure gauge will increase in 2024 if he doesn’t show some progress this fall, but for now, time is on his side. 

Brent Pry, Virginia Tech — Medium

The Hokies are in the midst of a long rebuild, but there’s pressure on Brent Pry to at least prove he has a plan to get Virginia Tech back to being at least a feisty ACC foe in the future. 

The Hokies went 3-8 in his Pry’s first year in Blacksburg — their fourth losing season in five years. The good news is Pry is at least showing some signs that he has the blueprint to turn around a once proud program. He flipped the roster this offseason (34 newcomers including seven transfers) and has Va. Tech’s 2024 recruiting class currently ranked No. 25 nationally — which would easily be its best showing in years. 

Can he find some wins this fall, though? Va. Tech has three toss-up non-conference games and they might only be favored against rival Virginia in ACC play. 

Dave Clawson, Wake Forest — Low

Dave Clawson has made seven straight bowl games at a program that notoriously invests little into its football program compared to many of its conference brethren. 

Clawson is just two years removed from delivering the Demon Deacons their best season in program history (11-3), and while quarterback Sam Hartman transferred to Notre Dame, there’s confidence his backup Mitch Griffis, who may be just as good in Clawson’s slow-mesh scheme this fall. 

Clawson doesn’t have iron-clad job security. But it’s close. His pressure meter is a low as it comes in the ACC in 2023. 

2023 Pressure Rankings: ACC head coaches

1. Dino Babers
2. Jeff Hafley
3. Mario Cristobal
4. Mack Brown
5. Brent Pry
6. Dabo Swinney
7. Mike Norvell
8. Jeff Brohm
9. Tony Elliott
10. Dave Doeren
11. Pat Narduzzi
12. Brent Key
13. Mike Elko
14. Dave Clawson