ACC-Notre Dame Coach Hot Seat Ranking: CBS Sports ranks hottest seat to coldest

Unlike every other power five conference, the ACC is not currently scheduled to undergo any changes from this year to next year, nor are they entering 2023 with a different crew than they had a year ago. While the SEC, Big Ten, Pac-12 and Big 12 all made changes — some for the better, some for the worse — the ACC is the pillar that stood still.

While there isn’t and wasn’t much change during the latest conference carousel, there were a few moves made on the coaching carousel — and several more could be coming, depending on how the football season unfolds.

With a slew of coaches entering their second seasons and needing to prove it, along with a couple of new faces, the folks at CBS Sports recently broke down how safe each and every ACC (and Notre Dame’s) job is as we barrel towards the fall. So take a look at who is completely safe and who has a seat hotter than Hades’ finger when it comes to ACC head coaches:

A note: CBS broke their rankings down with a 0-5 scale, with the following details for each figure:

0: Untouchable
1: Safe and secure
2: All good… for now
3: Pressure is mounting…
4: Start improving now
5: Win or be fired

With that in mind, here was how the ACC coaches stack up:

Dabo Swinney | Clemson — 0

When you’ve won the program’s only two national titles in the last four decades, it’s hard to find yourself on the hot seat. Even if Swinney was to go 0-12 this coming year, would the Tigers really be able to let go of the guy who rebuilt them into a national powerhouse? Well, the good news is that he won’t go 0-12 and it’s hard to imagine any other scenario where his job would not be safe after this season.

It is true, though, that Clemson’s success and national profile has dipped in recent years, as they haven’t been to the College Football Playoff the last two seasons after doing so the first six years of its existence. So maybe there is a tiny bit of pressure to make a return.

Jeff Brohm | Louisville — 0

Cardinal fans rejoiced when Cincinnati made the puzzling decision to swipe head coach Scott Satterfield from them at the end of the 2022 season. He just didn’t have the spark you need at Louisville and the Cards were always a middleweight under Satterfield, seemingly unable to take a step above perfectly average.

Brohm has proven he can win big games and has deep connections in the Derby City, making for a hire that the fanbase is enthralled with. At Purdue, he was a steady and improving coach who won eight and nine games in his last two years with the Boilermakers and could do wonders on the recruiting trail with better resources.

Mike Elko | Duke — 1

In year one at the helm of the Blue Devils, Elko turned around a nine-loss 2021 team into a nine-win group in 2022 that capped the year off with a Military Bowl beatdown against newly-minted Big 12 school UCF. Even if Duke were to regress in 2023 (which is not expected), Elko’s dazzling year one has Durham excited about its football team, which hasn’t always been the case.

Add in the fact that the Blue Devils return 10 offensive starters and their star quarterback Riley Leonard Jr. and Elko is looking at another chance to do something special in year two. If he wins big again, Elko could top these ratings with a big fat goose egg next to his name next summer.

Mack Brown | North Carolina — 1

Brown is living out the twilight of his coaching career giving his old school one last fun run under his guide. With likely top five 2024 NFL Draft pick Drake Maye at quarterback, this coming season will most certainly be thrilling, even if the Heels lack the overall success fans desire.

For at least another season, with an electrifying offense and Heisman contender in place, Mack Brown and his program will be popular around the state. Also, it’s worth mentioning that Carolina would have a tougher time letting go of this legend of the program than most other teams would their coaches.

Pat Narduzzi | Pittsburgh — 1

Narduzzi’s been another slow-burn as a head coach. He’s always found moderate success, having made a bowl game in all but one of his eight seasons. Through his first six seasons, Narduzzi had won eight games three different times but didn’t break past that figure until 2021.

That ’21 fall was huge for him and the program, as the Panthers won 11 games, had a Heisman finalist in QB Kenny Pickett and won the ACC Championship. Then, in 2022, Pitt won its second-most games of the Narduzzi era with a 9-4 record and bowl win over UCLA. He’s got plenty of momentum at the moment.

Dave Clawson | Wake Forest — 1

Aside from the COVID season of 2020, Clawson at WF is a bankable fringe-top 25 program from year to year, generally hanging out in the 7-8-9 win range. In 2021, the Demon Deacons broke through to a whole new ceiling under Clawson, finishing 11-3 and runners-up in the ACC.

That success came in large part thanks to an explosive offense led by quarterback Sam Hartman. He returned alongside some of his receiving talent in 2022 and the team regressed a bit, though, and now, entering the 2022 season, there’s no Hartman and plenty of questions in his place. It’s a big year for Clawson-era Wake Forest.

Mike Norvell | Florida State — 2

Norvell followed up a pretty dreadful first two years with a massively successful campaign in 2022. Florida State surged into the national picture early on with a thrilling one-point win over eventual SEC West champ LSU and stayed there throughout the year, cruising to a 10-3 finish.

In year four of the Norvell era, with Jordan Travis back at quarterback and plenty of stars in other positions returning as well, the hype is real for FSU. Norvell will be expected to deliver at least as good a season as last and hopefully even better.

Brent Key | Georgia Tech — 2

After Geoff Collins got the boot, Brent Key led GT to a .500 finish through his eight games at the helm. Now, with the program completely under his control, Key has some expectation to build on a decent finish to last season. By no means are the jackets expected to make a run at the ACC title or anything, but a finish outside the bottom would be nice.

There’s really not a lot of known commodities on the roster, outside of the offensive line, and Tech will be piecing things together at quarterback, running back and wide receiver. But hey, the old guys weren’t getting it done anyway, so you might as well give someone new a try.

Mario Cristobal | Miami — 2

Four of Miami’s last five head coaches failed to register an above-.500 record in their first season with the program, including Cristobal, who went 5-7 last fall. So it is a bit of a trend and one that most of the previous coaches were able to break. However, many of them still ended up fired when it was all said and done.

To avoid a similar fate, Cristobal has to take a step up in year two. He probably won’t be canned for a seasons with six or seven wins, but he could enter the 2024 fall with the hottest seat in the country if he can’t produce better success in these next few months.

Dave Doeren | NC State — 2

Doeren may be listed as a 2/4 on these Hot Seat rankings, but does anyone believe there’s a snowball’s chance in the underworld that he’s fired after this year? It just seems unlikely when he’s one of the longer-tenured and more consistent power conference head coaches in the country.

It’s not like NC State has some grand football tradition they need to uphold. Rather, Doeren’s typical 7-9 win seasons are plenty of success for the Wolfpack compared to their program history. Another year like that seems likely, as does Doeren’s continued stay as the head coach.

Marcus Freeman | Notre Dame — 2

Notre Dame stumbled at times, especially early on, in young Marcus Freeman’s first year as head coach. Just three seasons ago, Freeman was coaching Sauce Gardner as the Cincinnati defensive coordinator — and now, he’s the head of one of college football’s biggest and most historical brands.

As with most jobs, there is pressure in year two. Freeman returns a terrific offensive line unit, boasts another top defense, and nabbed one of the stars of the transfer portal cycle in quarterback Sam Hartman, who presents an immense upgrade over last year’s situation. ND ought to be back in the playoff mix.

Tony Elliott | Virginia — 2

Virginia hasn’t finished with a season of winning football since before COVID. In his second season, a .500 record is likely expected following a rough 3-7 first year. Although, to be fair, the cancellation of the last two games in wake of a tragic event threw the end of the year off completely.

But entering 2023, optimism is pretty scarce nationally for the Cavaliers. They do have a rather friendly ACC draw and return some solid talent on defense, but in a league that often features strong passing offenses, UVA is lacking. Although they do have a great gunslingin’ name in under center in Tony Muskett.

Brent Pry | Virginia Tech — 2

2022 was the second season in the last 30 where Virginia Tech never sniffed the AP Poll. And it was also the worst record in 30 years and also just the third below-.500 finish in that span. Frankly speaking, last fall was the worst VT football season in many young fans’ lives.

If there’s no improvement from that, then it’s hard to see Pry lasting even until the final game of the regular season. The Hokies do get seven starters back on each side of the ball and weren’t a train wreck on defense last season, so the focus in Blacksburg will be putting points on the board. If they don’t, Pry will start to sweat his seat.

Jeff Hafley | Boston College — 3

You wouldn’t think Boston College is that strict on their head coaches, but go take a look at Steve Addazio’s career at BC. He took over the wreckage of Frank Spaziani’s leadership and turned Boston College into a steady seven-win program on a yearly basis. But after five 7-6 finishes in six total years, BC brass got greedy and demanded more success. When he came in at just 6-6 after the 2018 regular season, they booted him and grabbed Hafley.

Hafley has yet to post a single season of seven wins or more and just completed a 3-9 campaign despite starting an established senior at quarterback and a first-round pick at wide receiver. It’s clearly time for Hafley to put BC back in a bowl game or he might not be on this list next year.

Dino Babers | Syracuse — 4

Dino Babers is the lone ACC head coach to land at level four or higher on these Hot Seat Rankings. He’s sure had a roller coaster of a career with the Orange, having exploded onto the scene in year three back in 2018, when he lead ‘Cuse to 10 wins and a top-20 finish in the final AP Poll.

Since then, he’s had a 1-10 season sandwiched between two 5-7 seasons and just went 7-6 last year, which included a very strong start and a leap back into the top-25 for a while. In 2023, CBS is asking him to replicate that success and maybe even more if he’s to stick around in upstate NY.

So there you have it. According to CBS Sports, Dabo Swinney and Jeff Brohm could get by with a down year or two and still keep their jobs, meanwhile guys like Jeff Hafley and Dino Babers could be at the end of the line unless some good fortune comes their way.