Pac-12 insider breaks down college basketball hot seat throughout conference

With the college basketball regular season nearing its end, Pac-12 insider Jon Wilner broke down which coaches in the conference are on the hot seat. Wilner ranked his schools in the conference with the most concern at the coaching position, with Arizona State and Bobby Hurley topping the list as the most likely coach to be fired this year.

Pac-12 coaches on the hot seat

While Oregon State, Utah and Cal currently are the bottom of the conference in the standings, Wilner believes that there are three schools ahead of those programs in putting their coach on a hot seat. Wilner provided his percentage of a chance that each school would make a change after this year and showed his confidence that several programs won’t be making any drastic changes.

Arizona State
Coach: Bobby Hurley (seventh season)
Chance of vacancy: 35%

With wins over UCLA and Washington State, it appears that Arizona State is still playing competitive basketball despite a disappointing season. However, Hurley’s seventh season has them on pace to be the worst season of his tenure. In addition, Wilner believes that the issues shadowing the Sun Devils’ program with possible recruiting violations will make Hurley’s future a back-burner issue.

Stanford
Coach: Jerod Haase (sixth season)
Chance of vacancy: 30%

Wilner points to Stanford as the next-most likely school to make a coaching change, but isn’t completely sold it will happen. As Haase was hired by athletic director Bernard Muir, it would require Muir admitting the hiring hasn’t worked with six-straight seasons missing the NCAA tournament.

USC
Coach: Andy Enfield (ninth season)
Chance of vacancy: 25%

USC’s record is 21-4, and another 20-win season under Enfield seems to mean that his job is more than secure. But Wilner’s prediction for the Trojans’ coach isn’t that he would be fired. With his record at USC and proven ability, Enfield could begin to look for another job opportunity instead of returning for a tenth season.

Cal
Coach: Mark Fox (third season)
Chance of vacancy: 15%

The final team with a meaningful chance of replacing their coach after this season is Cal, according to Wilner. With an 11-15 overall record this year, the Bears are struggling to make an impact in the Pac-12. However, much like Haase with Stanford, Fox was hired by athletic director Jim Knowlton. With only three years as their coach, coaching through the COVID-19 pandemic, and issues such as not having a dedicated practice court for his team — Fox seems likely to stay another year despite the lack of impact.

Washington
Coach: Mike Hopkins (fifth season)
Chance of vacancy: 5%

Washington State
Coach: Kyle Smith (second season)
Chance of vacancy: 1%

Oregon
Coach: Dana Altman (12th season)
Chance of vacancy: 0.1%

Arizona
Coach: Tommy Lloyd (first season)
Chance of vacancy: 0.00001%

Colorado
Coach: Tad Boyle (12th season)
Chance of vacancy: 0%

Oregon State
Coach: Wayne Tinkle (eighth season)
Chance of vacancy: 0%

Utah
Coach: Craig Smith (first season)
Chance of vacancy: 0%

UCLA
Coach: Mick Cronin (third season)
Chance of vacancy: negative 50%