Coaches can go from on the hot seat to off it in a matter of months, yet before every season there are always those names that are at the tip of the tongue when it comes to those who may not be long with their school.
Below is Dennis Dodd's College Football Coach Hot Seat Ratings ahead of the 2016 season.
| Hot Seat Ratings Key | ||
| Rating | What it means | Coaches |
| 5 | Win or be fired | 2 |
| 4 | Better start improving | 7 |
| 3 | Pressure mounting | 23 |
| 2 | All good ... for now | 35 |
| 1 | Safe and secure | 41 |
| 0 | Untouchable | 20 |
Two coaches received the dreaded "5" rating this season, while seven others are on the verge of losing their jobs with one more season of even below-average returns.
Click here to check out Dodd's full breakdown of the top 15 coaches struggling to keep their jobs.
The below table is in alphabetical order by school. Listed is each coach's win-loss record in his current role at his respective program.
| Coach Hot Seat Rankings | ||||
| Coach | School | Years | Record | 2016 Rating |
| Troy Calhoun | Air Force | 9 | 67-50 | 2 |
| Terry Bowden | Akron | 4 | 19-30 | 1 |
| Nick Saban | Alabama | 9 | 100-18 | 0 |
| Scott Satterfield | Appalachian State | 3 | 22-15 | 1 |
| Rich Rodriguez | Arizona | 4 | 33-20 | 2 |
| Todd Graham | Arizona State | 4 | 34-19 | 2 |
| Bret Bielema | Arkansas | 3 | 18-20 | 1 |
| Blake Anderson | Arkansas State | 2 | 16-10 | 1 |
| Jeff Monken | Army | 2 | 6-18 | 3 |
| Gus Malzahn | Auburn | 3 | 27-13 | 3.5 |
| Mike Neu | Ball State | New | 0-0 | 2 |
| Jim Grobe | Baylor | New | 0-0 | 5 |
| Bryan Harsin | Boise State | 2 | 21-6 | 1 |
| Steve Addazio | Boston College | 3 | 17-21 | 3.5 |
| Mike Jinks | Bowling Green | New | 0-0 | 2 |
| Kalani Sitake | BYU | New | 0-0 | 2 |
| Lance Leipold | Buffalo | 1 | 5-7 | 2 |
| Sonny Dykes | California | 3 | 14-23 | 2 |
| John Bonamego | Central Michigan | 1 | 7-6 | 2 |
| Brad Lambert | Charlotte | 5 | 12-22 | 3 |
| Tommy Tuberville | Cincinnati | 3 | 25-14 | 2 |
| Dabo Swinney | Clemson | 7 | 75-27 | 0 |
| Mike MacIntyre | Colorado | 3 | 10-27 | 4.5 |
| Mike Bobo | Colorado State | 1 | 7-6 | 1 |
| Bob Diaco | UConn | 2 | 8-17 | 2 |
| David Cutcliffe | Duke | 8 | 48-53 | 0 |
| Scottie Montgomery | East Carolina | New | 0-0 | 3 |
| Chris Creighton | Eastern Michigan | 2 | 3-21 | 3.5 |
| Jim McElwain | Florida | 1 | 10-4 | 1 |
| Charlie Partridge | FAU | 2 | 6-18 | 3 |
| Ron Turner | FIU | 3 | 10-26 | 3 |
| Jimbo Fisher | Florida State | 6 | 68-14 | 0 |
| Tim DeRuyter | Fresno State | 4 | 29-23 | 2 |
| Kirby Smart | Georgia | New | 0-0 | 1 |
| Tyson Summers | Georgia Southern | New | 0-0 | 1 |
| Trent Miles | Georgia State | 3 | 7-30 | 3 |
| Paul Johnson | Georgia Tech | 8 | 61-44 | 3 |
| Nick Rolovich | Hawaii | New | 0-0 | 2 |
| Tom Herman | Houston | 1 | 13-1 | 0 |
| Paul Petrino | Idaho | 3 | 6-29 | 2 |
| Lovie Smith | Illinois | New | 0-0 | 0 |
| Kevin Wilson | Indiana | 5 | 20-41 | 2 |
| Kirk Ferentz | Iowa | 17 | 127-87 | 1 |
| Matt Campbell | Iowa State | New | 0-0 | 2 |
| David Beaty | Kansas | 1 | 0-12 | 3 |
| Bill Snyder | Kansas State | 7 | 57-33 | 0 |
| Paul Haynes | Kent State | 3 | 9-26 | 4.5 |
| Mark Stoops | Kentucky | 3 | 12-24 | 4 |
| Mark Hudspeth | Louisiana-Lafayette | 5 | 31-24 | 1 |
| Matt Viator | Louisiana-Monroe | New | 0-0 | 1 |
| Les Miles | LSU | 11 | 112-32 | 5 |
| Skip Holtz | Louisiana Tech | 3 | 22-17 | 1 |
| Bobby Petrino | Louisville | 2 | 17-9 | 1 |
| Doc Holliday | Marshall | 6 | 50-28 | 0 |
| DJ Durkin | Maryland | New | 0-0 | 1 |
| Mark Whipple | UMass | 2 | 6-18 | 3 |
| Mike Norvell | Memphis | New | 0-0 | 1 |
| Mark Richt | Miami (FL) | New | 0-0 | 1 |
| Chuck Martin | Miami (OH) | 2 | 5-19 | 3.5 |
| Jim Harbaugh | Michigan | 1 | 10-3 | 0 |
| Mark Dantonio | Michigan State | 9 | 87-33 | 0 |
| Rick Stockstill | Middle Tennessee | 10 | 64-61 | 2 |
| Tracy Claeys | Minnesota | New | 0-0 | 2 |
| Dan Mullen | Mississippi State | 7 | 55-35 | 2 |
| Barry Odom | Missouri | New | 0-0 | 2 |
| Ken Niumatalolo | Navy | 9 | 68-37 | 0 |
| Mike Riley | Nebraska | 1 | 6-7 | 2 |
| Brian Polian | Nevada | 3 | 18-20 | 1 |
| Bob Davie | New Mexico | 4 | 18-32 | 1 |
| Doug Martin | New Mexico State | 3 | 7-29 | 3 |
| Larry Fedora | North Carolina | 4 | 32-20 | 1 |
| Dave Doeren | NC State | 3 | 18-20 | 2 |
| Seth Litrell | North Texas | New | 0-0 | 1 |
| Rod Carey | Northern Illinois | 4 | 31-12 | 1 |
| Pat Fitzgerald | Northwestern | 10 | 70-56 | 0 |
| Brian Kelly | Notre Dame | 6 | 55-23 | 1 |
| Frank Solich | Ohio | 11 | 80-61 | 2 |
| Urban Meyer | Ohio State | 4 | 50-4 | 0 |
| Bob Stoops | Oklahoma | 17 | 179-46 | 0 |
| Mike Gundy | Oklahoma State | 11 | 94-47 | 1 |
| Bobby Wilder | Old Dominion | 9 | 57-27 | 2 |
| Hugh Freeze | Ole Miss | 4 | 34-18 | 2 |
| Mark Helfrich | Oregon | 3 | 33-8 | 2 |
| Gary Andersen | Oregon State | 1 | 2-10 | 2 |
| James Franklin | Penn State | 2 | 14-12 | 3 |
| Pat Narduzzi | Pittsburgh | 1 | 8-5 | 1 |
| Darrell Hazell | Purdue | 3 | 6-30 | 4 |
| David Bailiff | Rice | 9 | 53-60 | 3 |
| Chris Ash | Rutgers | New | 0-0 | 1 |
| Rocky Long | San Diego State | 5 | 43-23 | 1 |
| Ron Caragher | San Jose State | 3 | 15-22 | 2 |
| Chad Morris | SMU | 1 | 2-10 | 2 |
| Joey Jones | South Alabama | 8 | 42-35 | 3 |
| Will Muschamp | South Carolina | New | 0-0 | 3 |
| Willie Taggart | USF | 3 | 14-23 | 2 |
| Clay Helton | USC | New | 0-0 | 2 |
| Jay Hopson | Southern Miss | New | 0-0 | 1 |
| David Shaw | Stanford | 5 | 54-14 | 0 |
| Dino Babers | Syracuse | New | 0-0 | 0 |
| Matt Rhule | Temple | 3 | 18-20 | 0 |
| Butch Jones | Tennessee | 3 | 21-17 | 3 |
| Charlie Strong | Texas | 2 | 11-14 | 4 |
| Kevin Sumlin | Texas A&M | 4 | 36-16 | 3.5 |
| Gary Patterson | TCU | 16 | 143-47 | 0 |
| Everett Withers | Texas State | New | 0-0 | 1 |
| Sean Kugler | UTEP | 3 | 14-23 | 2 |
| Frank Wilson | UTSA | New | 0-0 | 1 |
| Kliff Kingsbury | Texas Tech | 3 | 19-19 | 2 |
| Jason Candle | Toledo | New | 0-0 | 2 |
| Neal Brown | Troy | 1 | 4-8 | 2 |
| Willie Fritz | Tulane | New | 0-0 | 1 |
| Philip Montgomery | Tulsa | 1 | 6-7 | 2 |
| Scott Frost | UCF | New | 0-0 | 0 |
| Jim Mora | UCLA | 4 | 37-16 | 1 |
| Tony Sanchez | UNLV | 1 | 3-9 | 1 |
| Kyle Whittingham | Utah | 11 | 95-46 | 1 |
| Matt Wells | Utah State | 3 | 25-16 | 1 |
| Derek Mason | Vanderbilt | 2 | 7-17 | 3.5 |
| Bronco Mendenhall | Virginia | New | 0-0 | 1 |
| Justin Fuente | Virginia Tech | New | 0-0 | 1 |
| Dave Clawson | Wake Forest | 2 | 6-18 | 3.5 |
| Chris Petersen | Washington | 2 | 15-12 | 1 |
| Mike Leach | Washington State | 4 | 21-29 | 1 |
| Dana Holgorsen | West Virginia | 5 | 36-28 | 4 |
| Jeff Brohm | Western Kentucky | 2 | 20-7 | 0 |
| P.J. Fleck | Western Michigan | 3 | 17-21 | 1 |
| Paul Chryst | Wisconsin | 1 | 10-3 | 1 |
| Craig Bohl | Wyoming | 2 | 6-18 | 3 |
