Hot Seat Report

Welcome to the Coaches Database Hot Seat Report, an updating list of college basketball head coaches with low job security. Each week, coaches will be added, removed and shuffled around based on their performance (note: coaches are ranked alphabetically within each category). To see the list of coaching changes that have already happened, head over to the Coaching Carousel page.

UPDATED: End of 2019-20 season [RIP 2020 March Madness 🙁 ]

YOUR CHAIR IS ON FIRE, SIR

Coaches at the end of the line at their current school. You should be seeing them here soon enough.

Jim Christian (Boston College) (**UPDATE 3/23: AD Martin Jarmond says Christian will return) Christian’s Eagles sported an ugly 29-67 (6-48 ACC) record through his first three years and after seemingly turning things around in 2018 – 19 wins and a NIT – things regressed last season to three games below .500. At this point, the only thing that should save Christian’s job is a spot in the NCAA Tournament (BC hasn’t danced since 2009) and that doesn’t seem to be in the card. The Eagles lost to 3 mid-majors in the non-conference and are in the lower half of the ACC standings at 7-12. The BC job is pretty enticing if AD Martin Jarmond decides to make a change.

Mike Dunlap (Loyola Marymount) (**UPDATE 3/8: LMU has parted ways with Dunlap) Dunlap has been at LMU since 2014 and after four straight .500 or below seasons, he won 22 games and led the Lions to the CBI smis last year. Now the program is back at the bottom of the WCC at 11-21 (4-12). The contract extension LMU signed Dunlap to back in 2017 has him locked in through next season, but the terms of a potential buyout are not available.

Dave Leitao (DePaul) (**UPDATE 4/2: Leitao was signed to a contract extension) Leitao led the Blue Demons to their most recent NCAA bid (2004), but things have not been in the same in round two (DePaul brought him back in 2015). The squad turned small corner last year as CBI Runner-up (19-17 overall) and their 9-0 start this year was one of the biggest surprises in the country, but they are now just 3-14 in Big East play. DePaul is still a high-major and fans rightfully want more. The program is also on NCAA probation, with Leitao earning a three-game suspension for failing to “promote an atmosphere of compliance.”

Donyell Marshall (Central Connecticut) CCSU made a splash in 2016 when it hired Marshall, a long-time NBA player and former UConn star, to lead the Blue Devils’ program. Unfortunately, the buzz did not translate to wins and Marshall found himself 30 games below .500 through his first three years. This year’s team is sitting at 4-27 (3-15) and ranked #347 (out of 353) by KenPom. There was also that suspension handed to Marshall back in 2017 when the school was investigating a “personnel issue” between he and an assistant. We respect the splashy hire, but it’s time to move on.

Jeff Neubauer (Fordham) Fordham keeping Neubauer was one of the biggest surprises of the past offseason, as AD David Roach continues to hold out hope that his basketball coach will turn things around. Neubauer started off with 17 wins and a trip to the 2016 CBI, but in the four years since then the Rams have gone right back to the basement (just 2-15 in A-10 play). It is worth noting his predecessor, Tom Pecora, finished in last place four straight years and then third to last in his fifth before he was fired.

Richard Pitino (Minnesota) (**UPDATE 3/13: Pitino is expected to return in 2020-21) Pitino took the Gophers to the NCAA Tournament last year but this year, he lands right back on the Hot Seat Report via another underwhelming campaign. Pitino is under contract through 2024, but buyout this year would only $2 million (and it drops to $1.75M next season). His tenure has been mediocre since winning the NIT in his first season, but whenever the heat is on the Gophers have a ‘good enough’ season to save his job. The Gophers do have the toughest schedule in the country (per KenPom), but they are just 2-6 against ranked teams.











THIS SEAT IS RATHER WARM

These coaches need to start winning right now, but that may not even be enough…

Tim Jankovich (SMU) After going 9-0 during Larry Brown‘s suspension in 2016 and 30-5 in his first full season at the helm, things were looking great for Jankovich at SMU . But as Brown’s players filtered out, the tide quickly turned to mediocrity. The Mustangs are decent this year (19-10 overall) but the stadium is empty for home games as fans have lost interest in SMU basketball. There doesn’t seem to be much on the horizon either, as recruiting has been middle-of-the-road (at best) by AAC standards. He’s reportedly only under contract through 2021 and it would be tough to justify extending that deal right now.

Danny Manning (Wake Forest) (**UPDATE 4/25: Manning has been fired after six seasons) Manning is a college basketball legend and his head coaching career got off to a very hot start at Tulsa, winning the 2014 C-USA title and going to the Dance. He left for Wake Forest after that and five years later, his seat is the only thing that’s hot. The 2016-17 season, in which his Deacs won 19 games and made the NCAA Tournament, is now an obvious outlier. His teams have gone 11-20 in three of the last four seasons, have never finished higher than 10th in the ACC and are currently next to last at 13-17 (6-14 ACC). Fans are restless but they may have no choice but to ride this out, seeing as Manning is under contract through 2024-25 and his buyout is rumored to be as high as $15 million .

Josh Pastner (Georgia Tech) Pastner’s tenure at Tech has been messy both on and off the court. The Jackets have finished below .500 in each of the last two seasons and Pastner is dealing with sanctions (scholarship reductions, postseason ban and recruiting limitations) from NCAA violations committed by a former assistant. This year’s squad showed improvement – they are 17-14 (11-9), upset #5 Louisville and finished on a four-game winning streak – and Pastner’s buyout decreases quite a bit if he is let go after the 2020-21 season instead of this year.

Dave Paulsen (George Mason) George Mason is no longer the perennial postseason squad and NCAA Cinderella it was just a decade ago. Ever since Jim Larrañaga left, the Patriots have become an also-ran struggling to regain relevance in a competitive A-10. Paulsen came on in 2015 and has done nothing to move the needle. The highlight was the 2017 squad that won 20 games and went to CBI, but this is a program that went to five NCAAs and three NITs from 1997-2011. His fifth Patriots team might be his worst yet, sitting near the bottom of the A-10 at just 4-13 (15-15 overall).

Shaka Smart (Texas) (**UPDATE 3/27: Smart will return for the 2020-21 season) Smart was the most coveted coach prospect after taking VCU to five straight NCAA Tournaments (including the famous 2011 Final Four run) when he finally made the leap in 2015. The consensus was that Texas had made a grand slam hire. But now in year five, Shaka has just two first round NCAA Tournament exits and a NIT title to show for. While he is recruiting at a high-level, the teams have shown little improvement on the court. His predecessor, Rick Barnes, went to 16 NCAATs in 17 seasons, but got fired after eight-straight first weekend exits. Barnes went to the Final Four in his fifth season, but Shaka is focused on just getting back to the Tournament. As for the staggering $10+ million buyout? We’re talking about a program with the deepest of pockets and if anybody would shell out that kind of money, it would be Texas.











WE’VE GOT OUR EYE ON YOU, COACH

Here are those guys that are having a rough year (or two… or three…) but aren’t in total danger. Yet.

Mike Brey (Notre Dame) Irish fans are getting restless with their longtime head coach. Brey has been at Notre Dame since 2000 and his overall accomplishments are undeniable. But now a few years removed from back-to-back Elite Eights, it is starting to feel like time to make a change. An NIT in 2018 was followed by Brey’s first ever sub-.500 season in 2019. The team is an underwhelming 18-12 and while a trip to the Dance could have changed the narrative, the Irish are on the outside looking in and their fans seem to be significantly cooling on Brey.

Brad Brownell (Clemson) (**UPDATE 3/13: Brownell will return for 2020-21) We have been up and down with Brownell, which is pretty much how his tenure at Clemson has gone since he was hired in 2010. Two NCAA Tournaments and three NITs balanced by four seasons below or just barely above .500. They came into this season riding back-to-back 20+ win seasons for the first time under Brownell, but returned to the bottom half of the conference standings at 9-11 (15-15 overall). Brownell is perpetually on the hot seat but has gotten a few votes of confidence from administration, the latest being a contract extension through 2024.

Allen Edwards (Wyoming) (**UPDATE 3/9: Edwards has been let go) Edwards won 20+ games in each of his first two seasons at the helm, the first consecutive 20-win seasons for Wyoming in more than a decade, but things have really taken a turn in Laramie. The Cowboys went 8-24 last year and finished 9-24 (2-16 MWC) this season, the fourth of five on Edwards’ deal. Edwards has till the end of next year to give AD Tom Burman a reason to give him a new deal, but social media photos of an empty arena for every home game (even when San Diego State came to town) are not helping. Edwards’ team was just 4-13 at the 15,000-seat Arena-Auditorium this year.

Terry Porter (Portland) (**UPDATE 3/24: Porter will return for 2020-21) Since taking over in 2016, Porter’s teams have yet to win more than 11 games in a season (including this year). The hire was an interesting one, as Porter had never coached in college but brought NBA playing and coaching experience to the table. Most teams in the WCC have a really tough time competing or building any significant national attention, so we don’t fault Portland at all for the flashy hire. The problem is that the team still can’t win. Porter’s predecessor Eric Reveno got ten years, but he also won 19+ games in years 3-5.

Mark Turgeon (Maryland) The Terps have been good under Turgeon – but not great – and that is precisely the reason why he continues to land on our list. Consistent 20-win seasons and NCAA berths will fly at a lot of schools, but Maryland is a place where players, fans and alums want more. Much more. Last year, the Terps limped into the NCAAs after getting bounced by lowly Nebraska in the Big Ten Tournament, then failed yet again to get out of the first weekend. They have just one Sweet 16 appearance in eight seasons under Turgeon and the dissatisfaction among fans continues to grow. The Terps may get a share of the Big Ten title, but Turgeon isn’t dropping from this list until he puts together a meaningful NCAA run.

Billy Wright (Western Illinois) (**UPDATE 3/3: Wright has been fired after six seasons) It’s no secret the Western Illinois job is one of the toughest in D-I. The program has never been to the D-I NCAA Tourney, hasn’t won a conference title since 1983 and is consistently overshadowed by nearby programs (high- and mid-major). The Leathernecks finished 10-21 (4-12) last year, the fifth losing season in five years under Wright. There is no shortage of motivated high-major assistants with Midwest connections, but as always, the question is how desirable will the WIU job be if it opens up. Most of last year’s core came back, but the Leathernecks won just 5 games all season (2 of those were against non-D1 schools).











COACHES THAT ARE SAFE (FOR NOW)

This section is comprised of coaches who were previously in one of the above categories this season and/or who are starting to feel heat but are not yet in any real danger of being fired.