College Football Coaches from the West on the Hot Seat

Can you feel it?

That’s the hot seat starting to burn.

Coaches these days are paid exorbitant sums of money with essentially guaranteed contracts. Nobody ever gets fired for cause and the buyouts are outrageous.

So, before you go feeling bad for anyone on this list, remember that they get paid life-changing money to win games.

And when they don’t win enough games, they get paid egregious amounts not to coach. Must be a nice gig, huh?

Here are the Coaches in the West on the Hot Seat heading into the 2025 season.

1. Brent Brennan

Arizona Athletics

Arizona’s Brent Brennan has one shot to save his job in Tucson.

Hiring Dino Babers as the offensive coordinator last year was one of the worst coaching decisions in the history of Arizona football. Credit Brennan, though, for quickly moving on from Babers and overhauling the offensive system heading into this season.

It better work, or Brennan will be out of a job.

2. Lincoln Riley

Gary A. Vasquez/Imagn Images

USC is trending in the wrong direction. The Trojans are 15-11 over the last two seasons after finishing last year 7-6. That’s not the standard in L.A.

Lincoln Riley’s teams have consistently performed worse each season. His first year, they won 11 games. In his second year, they won eight. And last year, just seven.

It’s unlikely that Riley will survive another sub-par season. USC will find the money for the buyout.

3. Justin Wilcox

Amanda Loman/AP

Every year, Justin Wilcox does just enough to save his job. It’s a never-ending cycle with Cal football.

If the athletic department wasn’t broke, they probably would have already fired him. Still, Wilcox has adapted to the new era better than most.

He has consistently brought in talent through the portal and has the Bears in a reasonable position. Losing the entire running back room and Fernando Mendoza to the portal was a bad look, though.

4. Timmy Chang

Young Kwak/AP

At a certain point, the Hawaii athletic department will have to make a decision.

Timmy Chang enters his fourth year without a winning season and an overall record of 13-25. The Warriors have been close to bowl eligibility, however, with back-to-back five-win seasons.

If UH ends the year with another losing season, Chang might be looking for a new job.

5. Jay Sawvel

Troy Babbitt/UW Media-Athletics

In Jay Sawvel’s first year as a coach, Wyoming went 3-9. It was the most losses the Cowboys had in a single season since 2015.

Wyoming is too good of a program to have lowered expectations. That many losses is not acceptable and Sawvel needs to turn it around quickly.

This year is critical to get the program back on track.

6. Sean Lewis

Chris Williams/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

San Diego State won just three games in Sean Lewis’s first year.

The nine losses were the most the Aztecs had in a single season since 2008. That’s a tough pill to swallow for a program that is used to winning.

And with the transition to the Pac-12 coming in 2026, this upcoming season is critical to set the foundation. It’s now or never.

7. Trent Bray

Oregon State Athletics

Oregon State can’t have another collapse. The Beavers lost six of their final seven games last year, including an ugly blowout to California and an embarrassing loss to Nevada.

Now with Maalik Murphy under center, there are no excuses for another sub-.500 season.

At the very least, OSU should get to a bowl game. If the Beavs fall short, it’s fair to start the drum beat for change.