Big Ten Which Coaches Are On The Hot Seat?

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Big Ten football was fairly stable after the 2024 season. The influx of new teams, new coaches, and new schedules put hot seats on the middle burner for many teams, while the big boys lived up to expectations. The only seat that combusted was Ryan Walters’ at Purdue; after a poor 1-11 showing in his second season, he is out and new head coach Barry Odom is in.

Who is in the hottest seats in the Big Ten this season?

Mike Locksley – Maryland

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After three winning seasons and bowl wins to finish them, Maryland slid back with a 4-8 record last year, and only Purdue kept them out of the Big Ten cellar. More than 20 players entered the transfer portal. That forced Locksley to make heavy use of the transfer portal to fill holes.

Locksley’s possible saving grace this year in turning his program around is that the Terps don’t play Ohio State, Oregon, or Penn State during the regular season. This is his golden chance to turn in a winning season in 2025, and if he can’t do that then he’s probably not the coach in 2026.

Lincoln Riley – USC

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Lincoln Riley has regressed in each of the three seasons that he has coached the Trojans. There have been some administrative changes as well as coaching changes, and you can read about them in Hythloday’s Duck Dive of USC. It’s fair to say that Riley is on the hot seat.

Except that he really isn’t. USC is not made of endless money, and the university is going through the same financial pains that other universities are going through. Couple that with a buyout that is reported to be somewhere in the $80-$90 million dollar range, and you’ll understand that Lincoln Riley’s seat could get very hot this year, but he’s not going anywhere.

At least not for this season.

Luke Fickell – Wisconsin

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Luke Fickell has coached for two seasons at Wisconsin, and his attempts at bringing the offense into the 21st century have been bumpy. Last season, Wisconsin posted a 5-7 record and missed a bowl game for the first time since 2001. That is certainly not what the expectations are for a Wisconsin football team. You can read the particulars in Hythloday’s look at 2025 Wisconsin.

The defense was a huge liability last season, allowing 342.7 YPG and the Badgers were outscored 72-15 in the fourth quarter. That will have to change. It’s fair to say that at the very least Fickell needs to make it to a bowl game if he wants to continue coaching at Wisconsin, and it’s would be even better if he won the bowl game – the Badgers were 7-8 in bowl games under previous coach Paul Chryst, and during his first season Fickell lost the only bowl game he led while coaching Wisconsin.