By Aidan Joly
The 2025-26 college basketball season will see more than 60 first-year head coaches across the country as the numbers of head coach vacancies seem to rise every year.
Does this have to do with athletic directors being impatient? Not exactly. It certainly seems like boosters have more say about what happens with programs and they get impatient.
Also, with the rise of the portal, coaches are more likely to head to new destinations quicker.
That all being said, here are eight coaches in the power conferences who could be coaching for their jobs this upcoming season.
Hubert Davis, North Carolina
This is the most obvious one on the list.
In four seasons in Chapel Hill after taking over for Roy Williams, Davis has made a national championship game, went to a Sweet 16 and made the tournament three times. Not to mention a regular season title in 2023-24.
Most programs in the ACC would take that, but this is North Carolina. The expectation is that the Tar Heels are a national contender every season. The Tar Heels have not been that consistently.
What would it take for Davis to go? He’s under contract through 2030, but his buyout isn’t exorbitant. It may take missing the NCAA tournament, or an early March exit for Davis to get his walking papers.
Bobby Hurley, Arizona State
It feels like Hurley is the king of the hot seat.
Arizona State has gone under .500 in four of the last five seasons, but Hurley has managed to stick around through all of that. Things bottomed out for a 4-16 season in the Big 12 this past season.
Hurley is entering the final season of his contract, in a rare move to let a guy coach into the last year of a deal. It signifies that if there is another rough season in Tempe, ASU can part ways with Hurley and be off the hook for a buyout.
Adrian Autry, Syracuse
Another guy who took over for a legend.
Autry’s two seasons at Syracuse have brought mediocrity and zero NCAA tournament appearances. The Orange took a step back and finished 14-19 (7-13 ACC) last season. Jim Boeheim never lost that many games in a season.
The talent has been there for Autry, but the results on the court have not. This is probably Autry’s best roster since he took over in 2023. If he misses the NCAA tournament again, the calls for him to get axed could get much louder.
Jake Diebler, Ohio State
Diebler was a surprise pick to get the full-time job after he took over on an interim basis when OSU fired Chris Holtmann mid-season in February 2024.
The Buckeyes missed the tournament in his first full season in 2024-25 and were mediocre throughout the season. Ohio State has not been to the tournament since 2022.
We’ve seen in the past that interim coaches who get the full-time gig often have a short leash. Texas moved on from Rodney Terry after just two full-time seasons after he took over for Chris Beard. If OSU misses the tournament, Diebler could see the same fate.
Earl Grant, Boston College
It is so, so hard to win at Boston College. The resources are not up to par with the rest of the ACC and its very much the third sport at the school behind football and hockey.
Grant gradually improved BC’s win total through his first three seasons, delivering a 20-win season and a NIT appearance in 2024, but the team fell off a cliff to 4-16 in the ACC last season.
Grant will need to show some improvement in his fifth season in Chestnut Hill. However, the question is always if Boston College and its boosters will care enough to make a move.
Mike Young, Virginia Tech
Young is entering year seven at Virginia Tech and has only made the NCAA tournament twice. The Hokies went 13-19 last season.
This year’s edition of Virginia Tech should be a little better thanks to some money being injected into the program that has allowed the Hokies to get some talented players.
Young is entering the second to last year of his contract. Complicating matters in Blacksburg is that the athletic department must conduct a football coaching search this fall and early winter. They may not want to do two major searches in that short of a timespan.
If Young can improve the Hokies, they probably won’t have to do it.
Wes Miller, Cincinnati
Miller was a hot young name in coaching a handful of years ago with his success at the mid-major level and was even thrown around for North Carolina a few years ago.
However, his time at Cincinnati has been underwhelming. After a promising start he now enters year five without a NCAA tournament appearance. Last season was most disappointing after a 10-1 start, but ended up going 7-13 in the Big 12.
There has been some additional investment into the program last spring, so the talent on paper is there to go to the tournament. If the Bearcats miss, it could be it for Miller.
Matt McMahon, LSU
In three seasons in Baton Rouge, McMahon has gone 14-40 in the SEC. That is simply not good enough.
The program has improved NIL dollars so there is some level of talent on this team. Still, significant improvement will need to be made for McMahon to get a fifth season.
One saving grace, though, is that LSU is on the hook for nearly $30 million on a buyout for recently fired football coach Brian Kelly. In a similar situation to Virginia Tech, LSU may not want to conduct two major coaching searches within months of each other.
Other names to monitor
Johnny Dawkins, UCF: Every season there are rumors that UCF will move on from Dawkins, but he has managed to hold on. UCF has not been to the tournament since 2019 and have gone 14-24 in two seasons in the Big 12.
Jeff Capel, Pitt: The Panthers had a rough season in 2024-25 and have only gone to the tournament once in Capel’s seven years at the helm. The roster probably isn’t good enough to be a tournament team this year. However, Capel has a large buyout and is under contract through 2030.
Steve Forbes, Wake Forest: Forbes dug Wake Forest from the depths of the bottom of the ACC during the Danny Manning era, but now is the time to start winning. It feels like Wake Forest is on the wrong side of the bubble every year. He has yet to make a tournament in five tries.
Kim English, Providence: It’s probably a year early to start talking about English, but he is 33-34 (16-24 Big East) in two seasons at Providence. He’s had some bad luck with injuries. Providence has a good enough roster to finish top five in the Big East. If they do that and make the tournament, English is safe.
Jerome Tang, Kansas State: Another guy where it is probably a year early to discuss. Tang burst onto the scene with a 26-10 year in his first season in 2022-23, but the Wildcats have been underwhelming in the two seasons since despite uber-talented rosters. If K-State has another down year, we might be talking about Tang this time next year.
Thad Matta, Butler: Matta’s return to where he had his first head coaching job has not gotten the program back on track. The Bulldogs have finished in the bottom half of the Big East in each of the past three seasons. Butler has a good recruiting class, but that group could take a couple years. This could be more of a situation where Matta retires.
AJ Hoops 