Fresh off of Big 12 Media Days in Frisco, Tex., CBS Sports has ranked Big 12 football head coaches’ seats from hottest to coolest. Unlike other conferences, however, there aren’t many contenders in the conference to truly be on the hot seat.

Consistent play and new hires litter the Big 12. That means a change in leadership following this upcoming season would be a little surprising, to say the least. Here are CBS Sports’ rankings from 1-16:

After 20 seasons in Stillwater, Mike Gundy‘s tenure at Oklahoma State could be coming to an end. This would be a huge change for the program.

“After a prolific playing career and leading the program to 169 victories as a head coach, Gundy is Oklahoma State football,” Athlon Sports wrote in its recent College Football Preview magazine for the 2025 season. “But after last year’s 3-9 record and reworked contract that included a pay cut, it’s clear that Gundy is under some pressure.”

After just one season, Arizona‘s Brent Brennan is on the hot seat. Brennan, who made the jump from San Jose State to Arizona prior to its 2024 campaign, led the Wildcats to a lowly 4-8 record. Its eight losses came by an average of 23.9 points per game.

“Brennan inherited a roster capable of contending for the Big 12 title,” Athlon Sports wrote. “Instead, the Wildcats regressed to 4-8, with six losses by 20 points or more. Add in a new athletic director who didn’t hire Brennan, and it’s clear that the second-year coach needs to show marked improvement.”

Cincinnati is entering year three of the Scott Satterfield era and things still look like a mess. The Bearcats are just 8-16 (4-14) over his first two seasons, a far cry from when they made the College Football Playoff in 2021.

“Satterfield was a surprising hire for Cincinnati following a 17-19 record in his final three years at Louisville,” Athlon Sports wrote. “Through two seasons, Satterfield has struggled to find his footing with an 8-16 mark.”

Three seasons removed from taking TCU to the College Football Playoff National Championship Game, Sonny Dykes could be hanging on the hot seat. Following that 13-2 season, the Horned Frogs are just 14-11 over the past two years.

“It’s crazy to say this about a team who played in the national championship, but this is the season that really matters when it comes to Sonny,” an anonymous Big 12 coach told Athlon Sports. “They built depth and recruited to fill every deficiency on that five-win team. Now what? They have the best signing classes in the league, and that matters because they’re also building NIL to keep the kids they want.”

Joey McGuire‘s first three seasons have been consistent, as the Red Raiders have won at least seven games in all three years, along with two bowl victories. However, if McGuire doesn’t take Texas Tech to that next level this season, his seat could get a little warm.

“If they’re not a double-digit win team this season, it will be considered a failure,” an anonymous Big 12 coach told Athlon Sports. “It’s hard to know if that’s fair, or if spending like this is a smart long-term strategy.”

Dave Aranda and Baylor broke through in his second season at the helm (2021), winning 12 games and the Big 12 Championship. Since then, however, the Bears are just 17-21.

With a strong returning cast, led by quarterback Sawyer Robertson, another disappointing season could turn heads amongst the suits in Waco. The Bears look to avoid that being the case.

Nos. 7-16

7. Scott Frost, UCF Knights (19-7)
8. Rich Rodriguez, West Virginia Mountaineers (60-26)
9. Willie Fritz, Houston Cougars (4-8)
10. Kalani Sitake, BYU Cougars (72-43)
11. Lance Leipold, Kansas Jayhawks (22-28)
12. Chris Klieman, Kansas State Wildcats (48-28)
13. Kyle Whittingham, Utah Utes (167-86)
14. Matt Campbell, Iowa State Cyclones (64-51)
15. Deion Sanders, Colorado Buffaloes (13-12)
16. Kenny Dillingham, Arizona State Sun Devils (14-12)

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WSFA) – Federal lawmakers are pushing to bring nationwide consistency to how college athletes profit from their name, image, and likeness — commonly known as NIL.

Rep. Shomari Figures, who represents Alabama’s 2nd Congressional District, introduced a bill in Congress this week aimed at creating clear national standards for student-athlete compensation, naming it the Student Compensation and Opportunity through Rights and Endorsements (SCORE) Act.

“The environment and the landscape of college athletics have changed drastically over the past several years, especially since the Supreme Court decision that came out,” Figures said. “There was a huge need here to stabilize what was going on.”

The SCORE Act extends beyond paychecks. It includes provisions for career development, comprehensive medical care, and protections for athletes who are injured — efforts that Figures said are crucial to long-term success both on and off the field.

“Making sure that student-athletes are not just prepared to participate on the field or the court, but making sure they are there at the end of the day to receive degrees,” Figures said.

The bill also aims to level the playing field for colleges and universities nationwide, ensuring every athletic program operates under the same set of rules.

“It removes this landscape of what some have referred to as the Wild, Wild West of NIL,” Figures said. “It brings everything under … some very straightforward guidelines.”

The proposal has drawn bipartisan support. Sen. Tommy Tuberville, a former college football coach, said smaller schools have been at a disadvantage in the current NIL environment.

“There are some teams that can’t afford to do that,” Tuberville said. “We want to make it fair for everybody.”

Figures said the bill is still a work in progress, but he remains optimistic.

“We’re hopeful to see some progress here,” he said. “There will still be some changes, some things that have to be further discussed. We want this bill to be the strongest it can be to provide the best protections for our student-athletes.”

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Louisville football is beginning to become the nation’s dark horse to win the 2025 ACC Title. While Clemson and Miami are getting all the hype and praise, Jeff Brohm and his Cardinals have been flying under the radar until now.

With the 2025 season quickly approaching, media outlets, college football analysts, and reporters are beginning to bring up the Cardinals’ squad. Everyone is starting to realize just how elite of a head coach Brohm is, and even though they travel to Miami and SMU, they have a favorable schedule.

The newest college football reporter to praise the Cardinals is David Pollack, a former ESPN analyst and member of College Gameday. The analyst didn’t just praise Brohm, but also commended their transfer portal additions, key returners, and their schedule, and even went on air to say they will return to the ACC Title game on his latest podcast.

Related: Louisville football’s superstar makes the Walter Camp pre-season All America team

Louisville football’s Miller Moss get high praise from David Pollack

Brohm is emerging as one of the best coaches in the nation. He recently made the Dodds Trophy Award Watch List, and with his stacked offense and key returners on defense, Pollack has valid points to think that Louisville has what it takes to contend for their first ACC Title.

The analyst was asked who the best transfer would be in the ACC, and in his buildup to pick Miller Moss over Miami’s Carson Beck, it was the best hype speech Louisville might have ever received.

““This is easy to me. I think Beck is going to kill it, but if you’re watching college football, and if you’ve watched Louisville and if you’ve watched Jeff Brohm, he’s a freaking superstar. The way he coaches the game. The way he feels the game. The way he can use misdirection. The way he can use pro-style concepts with spread concepts. Take any quarterback, and I mean any quarterback, I think he could win with any quarterback in this league. And, I just think, with him, with their running back who’s on my fantasy team, I think is going to absolutely destroy it.””

David Pollack

He then went on to pick the Cardinals’ incoming transfer from USC over Beck, who is regarded as one of the top quarterbacks in the nation. Picking Moss over Beck is quite a hot take, but it shouldn’t be one. Moss with Brohm’s offense and style of play should give Louisville a clear path to an ACC Title, and Pollack agrees.

“Miller Moss also showed me some swag last year, man, Pollack stated. “Like, he showed me, because he got the shiznik kicked out of him. That dude got absolutely destroyed. That offensive line was very un-good for. I think Miller Moss is going to come in and absolutely tear it up at Louisville.”

The Cardinals are turning into a top quarterback university and one for the underdogs. They aren’t bringing in 5-star or top 10 quarterbacks, but are bringing in quarterbacks whose programs have given up and thrown in the towel.

Everyone is familiar with Beck and what he brings. The potential of Moss with Brown, Caullin Lacy, and Chris Bell, along with Brohm, has fans and apparently Pollack extremely excited. This offense is stacked, and it has breakout potential. They have some tough games on their schedule, but if Brohm can develop Moss like he did with Tyler Shough, then this team has the chance to return to Charlotte.

Related: ESPN unveils ‘season-defining game’ that will make or break Louisville football’s season

For all the latest on Louisville football’s offseason and recruiting, stay tuned.