College basketball’s coaching carousel never stops spinning. The sport had an active September of changes, with four head coaches departing headlined by Bruce Pearl’s retirement at Auburn. Might that pave the way for a busier-than-usual spring of coaching movement? With several big names potentially either on the hot seat or retirement watch, expect plenty of shake-ups after the 2025–26 season. Who are some names under the most pressure to win this season?
Hot Seat
Hubert Davis, North Carolina
Davis is under significant pressure to bounce back after a rough 2024–25 season that saw the Tar Heels barely sneak into the NCAA tournament. He has had two good seasons and two bad ones at North Carolina, and now enters a pivotal fifth season without many excuses to win. North Carolina has one of the most expensive rosters in the country, built with the help of a revamped “front office” that includes new general manager Jim Tanner. This team should be much improved, and if it is toiling around the bubble again there will be significant pressure to make a move.
Jake Diebler, Ohio State
It’s just Diebler’s second season in Columbus, Ohio, but it’s worth keeping an eye on things after he missed the NCAA tournament in Year 1. Diebler was a surprise choice to replace Chris Holtmann given his lack of head coaching experience, and Ohio State could have a quick hook if he can’t right the ship and get the Buckeyes dancing for the first time since 2022. It’d cost less than $5 million to move on from him this spring.
Earl Grant, Boston College
BC’s problems go far beyond Grant, with no NCAA tournament appearances since 2009 and just two top-100 KenPom finishes in the last decade. That said, Grant did himself no favors going 4–16 in the worst ACC in recent memory last season. In total, he has just one winning season through four on the job. Plus, the athletic director who hired him (Pat Kraft) is no longer there. The program would need significant investment (particularly in the NIL and revenue-sharing space) from where things currently stand to command strong candidates should it move on from Grant.
Mike Young, Virginia Tech
Virginia Tech should bounce back some this season after last year’s 13–19 mark thanks to a better NIL/revenue-sharing situation, but will it be enough to at least get back on the bubble? If not, AD Whit Babcock will have a decision to make with Young’s contract up after 2026–27. Complicating matters is the Hokies’ current football head coaching search, which could eat up significant resources and might make Virginia Tech more inclined to stick with the status quo in hoops.
Adrian Autry, Syracuse
Following Jim Boeheim was always going to be a pretty significant challenge, but things haven’t gone well so far for Autry. Last season’s 14–19 mark was a disaster and turned the heat up early on Autry as he enters just his third season as head coach. It was a good offseason for the Orange with a strong portal class and the return of J.J. Starling and Donnie Freeman, but Syracuse needs to take significant strides this season to feel good about the direction of the program.
Bobby Hurley, Arizona State
Hurley has frequently found his name on lists like this one in recent years but has managed to hang on despite four sub-.500 finishes in the last five seasons. Arizona State is letting him coach into the final year of his contract, a very rare move especially at the high-major level. This job would rank in the bottom tier of the Big 12 as currently constructed, but another rough season would likely signal it’s time for a change in Tempe, Ariz.
Wes Miller, Cincinnati
Miller enters Year 5 at Cincinnati without an NCAA tournament berth after last season’s very disappointing 19–16 finish. The Bearcats underachieved based on their talent level in 2024–25 and were brutal to watch offensively. Cincinnati spent big this spring in the portal to reshape its roster, so there will be few excuses if the Bearcats don’t go dancing for the first time in Miller’s tenure this season.
Johnny Dawkins, UCF
UCF has stuck with Dawkins throughout its transition to the Big 12 despite rumors each of the last two offseasons about the potential for a move. The 62-year-old Dawkins hasn’t made the NCAA tournament since 2019, and his contract isn’t guaranteed after this season. The roster doesn’t seem likely to climb the Big 12 ladder much either. This could be termed a firing, retirement or mutual parting, but a vacancy in Orlando seems likely.
Matt McMahon, LSU
McMahon is just 14–40 in SEC play in three seasons after taking over for Will Wade in Baton Rouge. That won’t cut it for a fourth season, especially after being armed with significantly improved NIL resources this past offseason to build an improved roster. The talent has taken steps forward, but it will still take a lot to climb the ladder in the loaded SEC.
Warming Up
Jeff Capel, Pittsburgh
Pitt badly underperformed last season and has gone dancing just once in seven years under Capel. And it’s not easy to predict much improvement coming in 2025–26, with an almost entirely new roster that will likely be picked in the bottom third of the ACC. His contract runs through ’30 and includes a hefty buyout, which could give Capel some extra leeway in a time when athletic department dollars everywhere are tight.
Steve Forbes, Wake Forest
Forbes has done an admirable job at Wake, digging the program out of the serious hole it was in at the end of the Danny Manning era and finishing a combined 14 games over .500 in league play over the last four years. But making the NCAA tournament is everything in this sport, and Wake has come up just on the wrong side of the bubble all three times they’ve been in serious contention. Last season was a particular disappointment given all the returning talent the Demon Deacons had. If Wake takes big steps back this season, it might create some uncomfortable conversations in Winston-Salem, N.C.
Kim English, Providence
Last year’s 20-loss season was a disaster on all fronts. English had horrible luck with Bryce Hopkins’s injury situation, but missed on a few key transfer portal evaluations that led to the worst season in quite some time in Friartown. English did admirable work grinding the Friars to the brink of the Big Dance in 2024 after Hopkins first tore his ACL. He has loaded up the roster well in the portal for this season, but Providence’s uber-passionate fan base could turn on him quickly if this season looks anything like last.
Steve Pikiell, Rutgers
Pikiell rebuilt a Rutgers program that some considered unfixable after its move to the Big Ten and deserves immense credit for that. But the last two seasons have been ugly, especially last year’s rough 15–17 mark with two top-five NBA draft picks in Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey. The current roster makes 2025–26 look like a rebuilding year. It’d cost a fortune to buy out Pikiell’s contract, but some modernization in how the Scarlet Knights operate might be necessary for Pikiell to get this program winning again.
Porter Moser, Oklahoma
Moser entered last year on the hot seat, then quieted some of that talk by earning a No. 9 seed in the NCAA tournament. That may not be enough for long-term security though, especially with Oklahoma in the process of searching for a new athletic director. That said, if Moser wins this year and goes dancing again, his name could quickly heat up as a popular candidate for other high-major gigs.
Retirement Watch
Bill Self, Kansas
One of the great coaches of this generation, Self is among the names speculated about most for retirement. He has dealt with multiple cardiac issues in recent years and has seen the Jayhawks’ program slip some in the last two seasons. He also brought in former NBA head coach Jacque Vaughn to his staff this summer, a potential succession plan. Self is still recruiting at an elite level and just signed five-star Taylen Kinney for 2026, but it’s at least worth keeping an eye on his future plans.
Kelvin Sampson, Houston
Sampson is in the twilight of his career but just keeps winning. There’s no hard-and-fast timeline at play, but if Sampson can finally break through and win a national championship this season, it’s easy to imagine him calling it quits. Whenever he does retire, his son and top assistant Kellen Sampson is expected to take over as head coach.
Tom Izzo, Michigan State
Izzo will turn 71 midway through this season, so he remains on retirement watch until proven otherwise. He’s showing few signs of slowing down though, fresh off leading Michigan State to the Big Ten regular-season crown and a trip to the Elite Eight. Izzo has not been shy about not being a fan of the changes to the landscape of college hoops, but that hasn’t been enough to prompt him to call it quits yet.
Rick Barnes, Tennessee
Barnes has built Tennessee into a power, with back-to-back Elite Eights and four straight top-10 KenPom finishes. He signed a lifetime contract this summer that ensures he’ll retire in Knoxville, Tenn., but how long he continues coaching for is an open question.
Mark Few, Gonzaga
Few will turn 63 midway through this season and has already openly discussed his succession plan, with top Bulldogs assistant Brian Michaelson in line to take over. Gonzaga has solidified its conference future in the stronger Pac-12 starting in 2026. If Few doesn’t feel like he will have teams capable of chasing that elusive national championship, he could walk away sooner rather than later.
Dana Altman, Oregon
Altman has shot down retirement buzz at every turn, but at 67 is worth keeping an eye on especially as he logs extra miles thanks to Oregon’s move to the Big Ten. Amazingly, he has won 20 or more games in 26 of his last 27 years as a head coach and has taken Oregon to incredible heights in his 15 years in Eugene, Ore.
Thad Matta, Butler
Matta’s return to Butler was supposed to be the move to get the Bulldogs back rolling. Instead, the program has slipped even further, with just one winning record in Big East play since 2016–17. There’s plenty of long-term optimism about a strong ’25 high school recruiting class, but it will likely take multiple years to see the fruits of that labor. If the Bulldogs don’t show signs of life this season, it might be best for both Matta and Butler to move on.
Greg McDermott, Creighton
McDermott has already put his succession plan in place, bringing back former Creighton assistant Alan Huss after a successful run at High Point to be the program’s head coach in waiting. Whether that transition happens this spring or in the next couple of years remains to be seen, but it won’t be long.
Tad Boyle, Colorado
There were plenty of rumors last winter that Boyle was set to retire after a 21-loss campaign. Those didn’t come to fruition, but it wouldn’t be a shock if those pop up again this season. This is a different job with Colorado back in the Big 12, and the school’s investment in hoops isn’t up to par with the top half of the league.
Jamie Dixon, TCU
Entering his 10th year in Fort Worth, Dixon has done a really good job making TCU more than a Big 12 doormat. It seems unlikely his seat would heat up meaningfully even with another bad season, but Dixon will turn 60 next month and has used plenty of tread on the proverbial tires with more than 20 years as a high-major head coach. A retirement wouldn’t be shocking here.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Men’s College Hoops Coaching Carousel: North Carolina’s Hubert Davis Leads Hot Seat Tracker.
