Big Ten Coach Hot Seat Ranking: CBS Sports ranks hottest seat to coldest

Albeit for reasons beyond the football field, the Big Ten has already seen one head coach removed from their jobs. Past what has taken place over the last week in Evanston, though, where do the rest of the league’s coaches stand when it comes to job security?

Dennis Dodd at CBS Sports recently ranked all 133 FBS coaches from a hot seat perspective. From zero, meaning untouchable, to five, meaning ‘win or be fired’, the remaining coaches in the Big Ten are found all over the place.

Since it’s a major discussion around college football right now, it is noteworthy that Pat Fitzgerald did come in at a four in these rankings, which meant ‘start improving now’. After 17 years at Northwestern, that would have been justifiable considering the Wildcats went 1-11 in ’22. However, he won’t get the chance to do so as the school made that call just under two months before they were set to take the field.

Jim Harbaugh – Michigan (0)

Jim Harbaugh wasn’t always so safe in Ann Arbor. Over his first six seasons with Michigan, they were very good but, considering their record against Ohio State and the postseason, were missing that next level of success.

However, that script has flipped completely. Two straight seasons with victories over the Buckeyes, Big Ten Championships, and berths in the College Football Playoff will do that sort of thing for your reputation. Now, his status will only be improved if he does any of those things for a third consecutive campaign, especially when we’re discussing their chances in the playoff.

Bret Bielema – Illinois (1)

Part of Bret Bielema’s safety has to do with the fact that he’s still fairly new. After previous stops at Wisconsin and Arkansas, he’s now entering his third year in Champaign.

The other side of that coin, though, is Illinois’ improvement from his first to second year. The Illini picked up three more wins from ’21 to ’22 and are hoping for a similar finish, if not a better one, in ’23.

P.J. Fleck – Minnesota (1)

PJ Fleck has posted a .620 winning percentage over his six seasons at Minnesota. That includes nine or more wins in three of the past four years in Minneapolis.

That success is more than enough with the Golden Gophers, especially considering they’ve won all four of their bowl appearances in his tenure. The question now is where they’ll continue to fit in in the Big Ten, specifically in an improving division in the conference.

Matt Rhule – Nebraska (1)

Matt Rhule has a certain amount of leeway because this will be his first season in Lincoln and first back in the college game. Nebraska isn’t necessarily patient when it comes to their return to contention but, after the last few seasons under Scott Frost, they’re going to give Rhule a fair shot.

Rhule brought night and day difference to both Temple and Baylor while coaching collegiate football in the 2010s. The question now is how quickly he can bring about that kind of turnaround, if at all, for the Cornhuskers.

James Franklin – Penn State (1)

There’s a reason that James Franklin is labeled in this ranking as ‘safe and secure’. He has posted four 11-win seasons over a near decade at Penn State and has helped the Nittany Lions reach the Top-10 in the AP Poll at some point in each of the past seven years.

The issue now is whether he can get the program over the hump, especially in their division in the Big Ten. Being the third-wheel behind Michigan and Ohio State is a lot to overcome but, coming into 2023, many are high on Franklin and his team as a potential contender.

Luke Fickell – Wisconsin (1)

Much like Rhule, Luke Fickell finds himself incredibly safe because, obviously, he’s heading into his first year in Madison. After seven and a half seasons of Paul Chryst, the former Cincinnati head coach will be looking to take Wisconsin back towards the top of the Big Ten.

He has a great chance at doing it too. Considering he only won less than nine games once with the Bearcats over six seasons and led them to the College Football Playoff once, his jump to the Big Ten is one that could make serious waves within the conference.

Kirk Ferentz – Iowa (2)

Kirk Ferentz is entering his 25th season with the Iowa Hawkeyes. There’s been nothing wrong with his product either as the program has routinely contended with their culture as they’ve won eight or more games in seven of the last eight years.

At his age and considering how long he’s been in Iowa City, though, a conversation is at least worth having regarding a potential changing of the guard in the future. He is still relatively safe but that might not continue to be the case, especially if Iowa continues to struggle on offense.

Mike Locksley – Maryland (2)

Has Maryland improved each year under Mike Locksley? Yes. Their winning percentage has been built on each season of his tenure as they started at .167 in 2015 and have since brought it to .615 in 2022 with an 8-5 finish, their best finish so far in the Big Ten.

Still, it’s by no means top-notch. That’s fine and all as there’s no reason to heap a ton of expectations upon the Terrapins, especially considering their division. It’s just that even middle of the road coaches aren’t guaranteed job security for certain.

Ryan Day – Ohio State (2)

Ryan Day’s placement as a coach that’s ‘safe…for now’ is fascinating to say the least. We’re talking about a coach that has won over 88% of his games at Ohio State. In his four full seasons, the Buckeyes have won the Big Ten twice, made the College Football Playoff three times, and played for a national title in 2020.

However, the past two seasons haven’t done him or his reputation any favors for some in Columbus, especially considering a pair of losses to Michigan by a combined margin of 37 points. He’s still safe by a wide gap but, whether you agree or not, may lose some ground if they stop contending as much on top of losing their ground on the Wolverines.

Ryan Walters – Purdue (2)

Ryan Walters is the least safe first-year head coach. Much of that has to do with the fact that Rhule and Fickell have resumes of success at previous schools while this is his first gig as the man at the helm.

Purdue was very happy with how things were going with Jeff Brohm before Louisville brought him home. That’s why they’re going to give Walters, a very young, defensive-minded coach, a shot…for the time being.

Greg Schiano – Rutgers (2)

In his second stint with Rutgers, Greg Schiano hasn’t yet found his footing again. The Scarlet Knights have yet to reach the bowl-eligible threshold as they’ve combined to go 12-22 over the past three seasons.

To be fair, Schiano’s first run in Piscataway didn’t really get going until his fifth year when they made their first bowl game under him. In the four seasons after that, they went 36-16 with four straight bowl victories. Rutgers doesn’t have to get there yet in order for him to be safe but, over the course of this season, they need to show signs that that’s the direction in which they’re headed.

Mel Tucker – Michigan State (3)

Mel Tucker has had an up and down three year stretch in East Lansing. During the pandemic season, Michigan State went 2-5 after bringing him in from Colorado. After that, they exploded in 2021 at 11-2, were ranked as high as No. 5 in the country, and won the Peach Bowl.

However, after giving him a massive extension, the Spartans followed that up by going a disappointing 5-7 in 2022. Whether it’s because of his deal or because of the overall inconsistency, it appears that ‘pressure is mounting’ for Tucker to bring them much closer to their ’21 finish again this season rather than what they did in ’20 or ’22.

Tom Allen – Indiana (5)

Unfortunately for Tom Allen, he is the only head coach in the Big Ten labeled in the ‘win or be fired’ category. He is also only one of three out of the 133 to be that far gone.

It’s not hard to see why though. Indiana has been pedestrian at best over his seven seasons in Bloomington with a 30-40 (.429) record. Bring it all together and it’s fairly clear that the program could move in another direction if they don’t show signs of life this fall.

These storylines will follow each of these Big Ten coaches individually as they head into 2023. For some, they’re nothing to worry about as they have every reason to expect that they’re moving forward with their respective schools. With that said, for others? This season could be what makes or breaks their tenures at their current jobs.