-
Jeff Borzello
The tectonic shift that NIL deals and revenue sharing have sparked in college sports has not spared the men’s basketball coaching carousel and the annual hot seat discussion. When NIL and revenue sharing were first introduced, there were questions on whether schools would be more patient when it came to firing coaches, opting instead to spend buyout money on putting together better rosters.
It’s now become clear that that’s not the case. In reality, patience is at an all-time low. If new hires aren’t cutting it after two years, they’re on the hot seat. If a veteran coach underperforms for a few consecutive years, he’s likely getting forced out the door, or at least under significant pressure.
We saw evidence of that last spring, when Minnesota’s Ben Johnson (four years), Utah’s Craig Smith (four years), Texas’ Rodney Terry (three years) and Villanova’s Kyle Neptune (three years) were let go after short stints. NC State fired Kevin Keatts 12 months after making the Final Four. Indiana’s Mike Woodson stepped down midway through his fourth year at his alma mater.
Then there are the retirements. Virginia’s Tony Bennett stepped down before last season; Auburn’s Bruce Pearl did the same last month. Miami’s Jim Larrañaga and Florida State’s Leonard Hamilton announced their departures midway through last season. There will undoubtedly be more in a few months.
It’s naive to think a coaching cycle will be quiet. The 2024 edition looked like it could be fairly quiet, but it ultimately featured changes at big-name programs Kentucky, Arkansas, Ohio State, Michigan, Louisville, USC and others. The 2025 offseason saw 14 (14!) coaching changes at the Power 5 level.
What will 2026 bring? Will a blue blood like North Carolina open up and jump-start a half-dozen dominoes? Will another coaching legend such as Bill Self call it a career?
Here’s the state of the coaching ranks before the 2025-26 begins.
Jump to:
ACC | Big 12 | Big East | Big Ten | SEC | Other retirements | Who’s up next?
ACC
Hot seat watch
All eyes are on Hubert Davis and North Carolina entering this season. There was some speculation about his position toward the end of last season, but the Tar Heels won eight of their final 10 games to earn a spot in the NCAA tournament. News also emerged that Davis had signed a two-year contract extension in December through the 2029-30 season.
In his four seasons at the helm, Davis has gone to three NCAA tournaments — including a run to the national championship game in 2022 — won the ACC regular-season title and earned a 1-seed in 2024. But UNC missed the tournament in 2023 and barely made it last season. The Tar Heels have a top-25-caliber roster this season, but will just going to another tournament be enough? Davis would be owed around $5 million if Carolina moved on from him in the spring.
Davis isn’t alone on the hot seat in the ACC. Adrian Autry had the unenviable task of replacing a legend at Syracuse when Jim Boeheim retired, and he is already under significant pressure entering Year 3. The Orange won 20 games in his debut campaign, but went just 14-19 last season, the program’s lowest win total since 1970. Athletic director John Wildhack said after the season that “we’ve got to fix it.” There’s plenty of talent on this year’s roster, with J.J. Starling and Donnie Freeman returning to join a pair of top-50 recruits and a handful of impact transfers. Will it translate to wins?
Boston College’s Earl Grant provided plenty of optimism after finishing 9-11 in the ACC in 2022-23 and then winning 20 games in 2023-24. But the Eagles stumbled last season en route to a 4-16 league campaign. He is entering Year 5 in Chestnut Hill, and BC will need to show improvement. Grant is under contract through the 2028-29 season.
Mike Young will have just one year left on his contract at Virginia Tech at the end of this season, and the Hokies have missed the past three NCAA tournaments after back-to-back appearances in 2021 and 2022. Tech went just 13-19 last season. There’s been an influx of talent to the roster, but that has also raised expectations for an NCAA tournament team in Blacksburg. It’s worth noting the school is currently in the midst of a football coaching search after firing Brent Pry in mid-September.
Also worth monitoring
The seats of Wake Forest’s Steve Forbes and Pitt’s Jeff Capel are cooler than the ones above, but an NCAA tournament trip would benefit either greatly. Forbes has finished .500 or better in the league and won 19-plus games in each of the past four seasons, but the Demon Deacons have yet to go dancing in any of his five seasons in Winston-Salem. They’re projecting as a bubble team again for this March.
Meanwhile, Capel is signed through 2030 and would be owed well into eight figures if the Panthers were to move on from him. But Pitt has been to just one NCAA tournament in Capel’s seven seasons.
BIG EAST
Worth monitoring
It’s probably a year early, but Kim English needs to bounce back to feel truly safe at Providence. He did a terrific job in Year 1 getting the Friars to 21 wins and within reach of the NCAA tournament, but they went 12-20 last season. His seat isn’t hot — and he would be owed a significant amount of money — but we might have to gauge the temperature again in a few months.
Retirement watch
The Big East projects to be quieter than the ACC next spring. There aren’t any obvious hot seat situations, although Butler’s Thad Matta and Creighton’s Greg McDermott are on retirement watch.
Matta’s second stint at Butler — he had a one-season run in 2000-01 — has lasted three seasons thus far, without an NCAA tournament trip for the Bulldogs. He’s just 47-53 overall and 21-39 in the Big East, and things don’t project to dramatically improve.
McDermott’s successor is already picked out, with former assistant Alan Huss leaving High Point in April to rejoin the staff and be named head-coach-in-waiting. There’s no specific timeline for McDermott to retire, but anytime a replacement is already in place, it’s worth monitoring.
BIG TEN
Hot seat watch
Just 20 months after firing Chris Holtmann, Ohio State enters another season with a head coach on less-than-ideal footing — although the Buckeyes have a roster that should render this discussion moot. Jake Diebler became the team’s interim head coach when Holtmann was let go, and was given the permanent job after a strong finish to the 2023-24 campaign. But the Buckeyes went just 17-15 last season, with the program missing the NCAA tournament for a third straight time.
Ohio State has March expectations entering 2025-26, with Diebler bringing back three starters and adding three transfers who should push for starting jobs from day one. This team can win games in March. If the Buckeyes underperform and don’t hear their name on Selection Sunday again, though, things could get dicey for Diebler after just two seasons. The school would be on the hook for just under $5 million if it were to fire him in the spring.
Also worth monitoring
It may seem premature for both Nebraska’s Fred Hoiberg and Rutgers’ Steve Pikiell to be on the hot seat. The Cornhuskers won 23 games and went to the NCAA tournament in 2024, then won 21 games and the inaugural College Basketball Crown tournament last season. Hoiberg is signed through 2029 and his contract is fully guaranteed, meaning he would be owed around $13.5 million after this season.
Pikiell is in a similar contractual situation, signed through 2031 and owed more than $20 million after this season.
Retirement watch
Oregon’s Dana Altman and Michigan State’s Tom Izzo have been followed by retirement rumors seemingly every spring. Altman is 67, but is still considered one of the most underrated coaches in the sport. He led the Ducks to 25 wins and a 5-seed last season.
Meanwhile, Izzo is turning 71 in January, but just won the Big Ten regular-season title and took the Spartans to the Elite Eight.
BIG 12
Hot seat watch
The Big 12 could be as active as any high-major league in the spring, with at least three coaches on the hot seat and others constantly hounded by retirement speculation.
Bobby Hurley has made this list a few times — and he finds a way to survive every time at Arizona State. But he is now entering the final year of his contract, so something will need to happen in the next few months. Hurley made the NCAA tournament in two of his first four seasons in Tempe but has made it back just once in the past five years. The Sun Devils also finished 4-16 in Big 12 play last season. He returns just one player from last season, so an entirely new roster will need to produce quickly.
Another coach who has found himself in hot seat discussions for multiple years is UCF’s Johnny Dawkins, who is now entering his 10th year with the Knights. They’ve made just one NCAA tournament appearance under his watch, in 2019 — also the last time they finished above .500 in league play (when they were in the AAC). Dawkins signed a contract extension in 2024 that runs one more season after this one, but his salary is not guaranteed for the 2026-27 campaign.
Cincinnati entered last season with top-25 expectations, but after starting 10-1, finished 7-13 in Big 12 play and missed the NCAA tournament. That has left Wes Miller vulnerable, as he’s going into Year 5 with the Bearcats and has yet to go dancing. Once again, Cincinnati has a talented roster and will have NCAA tournament expectations, but falling short again could make it difficult for Miller to last another season. His guaranteed money reportedly drops from around $10 million to less than $5 million on April 1.
Also worth monitoring
It’s a year early, at least, to consider Jerome Tang in any real trouble. Kansas State has missed back-to-back NCAA tournaments, though he led the Wildcats to 26 wins and an Elite Eight appearance in 2023 and is signed through 2030. The school would owe him nearly $13 million after this season.
Retirement watch
A trio of coaches has been linked to varying degrees of retirement discussions, including two of the sport’s premier coaches.
It starts with Bill Self, who has had multiple health scares over the past few years. Kansas has also struggled on the court in each of the previous two campaigns, but the Jayhawks are bringing in a potential No. 1 draft pick this season and have the nation’s No. 2 recruiting class in the fold for next season.
Houston’s Kelvin Sampson is now 70 years old, and fell seconds short of a national championship in April. Once again, though, the Cougars are expected to be near the top of the national rankings and should have another shot to cut down the nets. Would a title convince Sampson to hang it up?
There was some talk surrounding Colorado’s Tad Boyle toward the end of last season, to the point he needed to announce his return to media outlets in March. The Buffaloes really struggled last season, finishing at the bottom of the Big 12, though they did win 26 games just two seasons ago.
SEC
Hot seat watch
When 14 of the league’s 16 teams hear their names on Selection Sunday, it’s going to be hard to have a crowded hot seat in the SEC.
LSU’s Matt McMahon is the primary one to watch. He’s entering his fourth season in Baton Rouge but after showing tangible signs of improvement in 2023-24 — going 17-16 and finishing .500 in the SEC — the Tigers took a massive step back, going 3-15 in league play last season. The Tigers did go into the portal and come out with a quietly impressive group, so there is renewed optimism. When McMahon was hired in 2022, he was given a deal until 2029, and he would be owed about $6.5 million should LSU move on in the spring.
Also worth monitoring
It’s premature to consider Lamont Paris on the hot seat, although another last-place finish would make things much warmer entering the 2026-27 season. Paris led South Carolina to 26 wins and the NCAA tournament in 2024 but is just 23-41 (6-30 in the SEC) in the two years sandwiching that campaign. He signed a lucrative contract extension in 2024 through 2030.
After a late surge led to an NCAA tournament appearance last season, and with a roster built to go to another tournament this season, Oklahoma’s Porter Moser should find himself on safer footing down the stretch in 2026. He’ll have two years left on his contract after this season, and Oklahoma would owe him over $5 million if it were to fire him.
Retirement watch
Rick Barnes is the only obvious name on retirement watch out of the SEC. He’s 71, but appears to be at or near the top of his game. Tennessee won 25 or more games in each of the past four seasons, producing top-five defenses in each of the past five — along with back-to-back Elite Eight appearances.
Retirement watch elsewhere
The biggest name to monitor outside the high-majors is Gonzaga’s Mark Few, who will turn 63 this season and has long been considered someone who could hang it up earlier than expected. There would be very little drama should a change take place in Spokane, though, as longtime assistant coach Brian Michaelson is expected to replace Few when he opts to retire.
Dayton’s Anthony Grant has had retirement rumors follow him for the past couple of years, making him someone to monitor this season. The Flyers have been to just one NCAA tournament during Grant’s eight years in charge, although they were poised for a 1-seed and a potentially historic NCAA tournament run when the pandemic canceled the tourney in 2020.
Who’s up next?
In March, we attempted to figure out the next group of mid-major coaches ready to make the jump to a higher level by polling more than a dozen industry sources involved in the coaching carousel. Ryan Odom (VCU to Virginia), Alan Huss (High Point to Creighton), Bucky McMillan (Samford to Texas A&M), Ben McCollum (Drake to Iowa), Niko Medved (Colorado State to Minnesota) were all in the top six and have since moved.
Eric Olen (New Mexico), Daniyal Robinson (North Texas), Ross Hodge (West Virginia), Eric Henderson (Drake) and Bryan Hodgson (South Florida) — all ranked in the top 20 — also got new jobs.
The group didn’t include Will Wade (McNeese to NC State) and Richard Pitino (New Mexico to Xavier), who were ineligible for the poll due to previous high-major experience but made the real-life jump.
In other words, a new crop of mid-major coaches will need to emerge in the spring.
Utah State’s Jerrod Calhoun finished fifth in the aforementioned poll, and he’s the only one in the top six not to get a high-major job last spring — although he was heavily involved in the West Virginia search. The Aggies consistently produce high-level coaches, and Calhoun led the program to the NCAA tournament in his first season at the helm after winning 46 games his previous two seasons at Youngstown State.
Also in that top tier or two of guys who could make the jump:
-
Takayo Siddle, UNC Wilmington: Guided the Seahawks to the NCAA tournament last season and has finished in the top three of the CAA in four straight seasons, including a regular-season title in 2022.
-
Drew Valentine, Loyola Chicago: Still only 34 years old, Valentine went to the NCAA tournament in 2022 and split the Atlantic-10 regular-season title in 2024.
-
Bob Richey, Furman: Has an NCAA tournament win under his belt when the Paladins beat Virginia in 2023, and has won 22 or more games in six of eight seasons.
-
Tony Skinn, George Mason: Won a share of the A-10 regular-season title in just his second year as a head coach, and is now 47-21 in his two seasons.
-
Preston Spradlin, James Madison: Has now won at least 20 games in five straight seasons, going to two NCAA tournaments and winning two regular-season titles at Morehead State, before winning a share of the Sun Belt title last season at JMU.
-
Josh Schertz, Saint Louis: He was one of the hottest names in the country 18 months ago after winning 32 games at Indiana State and could easily generate momentum again.
Two names that could get mentioned even though they’ve rarely shown signs of leaving their current situations are Randy Bennett of Saint Mary’s and Boise State’s Leon Rice. Bennett, an Arizona native who has been to four straight NCAA tournaments and won three straight WCC titles, will undoubtedly get linked to the Arizona State job if it opens.
A few other coaches who finished in the top 20 of our spring poll will again be in the mix for vacancies next offseason. UC Irvine’s Russell Turner has won seven Big West regular-season titles. Colgate’s Matt Langel had guided the Raiders to five straight NCAA tournaments and five Patriot League titles in six years before finishing third last season. UNC Asheville’s Mike Morrell has won 70 games over the past three seasons. Princeton’s Mitch Henderson won three straight Ivy League regular-season titles before last season, while also going to the Sweet 16 in 2023.
Yale’s James Jones just missed making the list this past spring, though his résumé is wildly impressive: He has either won the Ivy regular-season title or gone to the NCAA tournament in each of the past six seasons.
Led by Charleston’s Chris Mack, there is a quartet of former high-major coaches looking to get back to that level. Mack has the best résumé of the group, with four Sweet 16s and an Elite Eight on his ledger from his time at Xavier, and he won 24 games last season with the Cougars. Grand Canyon’s Bryce Drew, who went to four of the past five NCAA tournaments in the WAC, is moving up to the Mountain West this season. John Groce has guided Akron to three of the past four NCAA tournaments, while UAB’s Andy Kennedy has won 125 games in five seasons with the Blazers.
We would also be remiss if we didn’t also mention that a handful of coaches who changed jobs last spring — namely Olen, Robinson, Henderson and Hodgson — will be candidates to hit the Power 5 level sooner rather than later, perhaps as early as next March or April.
Other names to monitor: Belmont’s Casey Alexander, Vermont’s John Becker, Omaha’s Chris Crutchfield, Chattanooga’s Dan Earl, Merrimack’s Joe Gallo, San Francisco’s Chris Gerlufsen, Norfolk State’s Robert Jones, Toledo’s Tod Kowalczyk, UC Santa Barbara’s Joe Pasternack, Central Connecticut’s Patrick Sellers, Kent State’s Rob Senderoff, American’s Duane Simpkins, Towson’s Pat Skerry and Bradley’s Brian Wardle. Former NC State head coach Kevin Keatts, who was fired in the spring, likely won’t be out of a job long.
