introducing JIMBO'S INFERNO, a tiered college football head coach hot seat ranking that I will be updating every week until I inevitably get lazy and forget in a few weeks.

EXPLANATION

There are seven levels of Jimbo's Inferno:

1. LIMBO - Safe for now. Keeping their job outside of a major collapse.
2. RISING - Questions are starting to be asked. Still safe unless things go south.
3. CRITICAL - The tenure is at a crossroads. Progress needs to be made.
4. HOT - The danger of firing is real. Coach must hit key benchmarks or risk being fired.
5. SCORCHING - A firing appears likely. Only a major turnaround would turn the temperature down.
6. HELL - Unless a significant turnaround is made, this position will be open at the end of the season.
7. THE VOID - Where no head coach wants to find themselves. Essentially a dead man walking. Expect a firing imminently.

There is also a "RETIREMENT WATCH" moniker for coaches that are in the tier they are because they could plausibly retire after the season.

Jimbo's Inferno takes into account team performance, coach behavior and public image, as well as any public statements made by administrators or credible reports that come out.

Alright, let's take a look:

JIMBO'S INFERNO

Jimbo's Inferno - Pre-ish Season

LIMBO

• Matt Rhule, Nebraska - Rhule is not necessarily doing a bad job, but with the resources that Nebraska has and the rich history of the program, a lot of Husker fans expect him to do more.
• Kirk Ferentz, Iowa [RETIREMENT WATCH] - Ferentz has been the head coach of the Hawkeyes forever, and a lot of people have been rightfully critical of him for his lack of offensive success amidst his... let's say questionable coordinator choices. He's also old and may want to start spending Saturdays in a motorized recliner sometime soon.
• Dabo Swinney, Clemson - In my opinion, Dabo has earned the right to be the head coach of Clemson as long as he wants. But Swinney has fallen off hard from what Clemson used to be, and his unwillingness to adjust to the modern era of college football has become a talking point amongst Clemson fans that are starting to want to see him gone.
• Steve Sarkisian, Texas - Similar to James Franklin last season, the excuses are gone. It is time for Texas to compete for a national championship, and with as loaded of a roster as they have, the pressure is on Sark to finally take them to the promised land. If he doesn't? We could be having a very uncomfortable conversation.
• Kalen DeBoer, Alabama - Look, it's really hard to follow the greatest coach in college football history, and I think there are tons of programs that would love to have KDB, but this is a man that we were talking about possibly leaving for Penn State or Michigan last year. If Alabama doesn't make the playoff this year, we could see some pushback from Roll Tide Willie.

RISING

• Bill O'Brien, Boston College - Anytime a coach goes 2-10, they have to be somewhat feeling the heat. Not that Boston College is a premier program at all, but for a coach like O'Brien, we all expect they'd be doing more.
• Scott Satterfield, Cincinnati - Satterfield successfully navigated himself off the hot seat last season with the help of the Gamblin' Man last year, but Desmond Ridder and Sauce Gardner are not walking through that door. Another bad season and the conversation around Satterfield could go right back to what it was before.
• Lane Kiffin, LSU - Alright. Maybe it's insane to place a man who just led Ole Miss to a CFP berth last season and hasn't even coached a game yet at his new team on anything remotely resembling even a warm seat. But this has nothing to do with Kiffin's coaching ability. If he chooses to die on the hill of Wright and Harris, lets them onto the roster, and plays them in games, he is fully responsible for whatever happens after that. If LSU faces major sanctions from the SEC, or God-forbid gets booted from the conference? Brother, YOU were the one that wanted them. Do I think any of this is going to happen? No. But where there's smoke...

CRITICAL

• Sonny Dykes, TCU - We weren't talking about Sonny Dykes being a name on the hot seat last week, but that's what happens when you lose to Bill Belichick's North Carolina and look as bad as they did. I don't think anything will happen to Dykes, especially because they signed him to that extension recently, but man...
• Lincoln Riley, USC - A more urgent version of Steve Sarkisian or Kalen DeBoer. Dude, it's time. USC hired you because they believed you could take them to the playoff, and you have not come remotely close despite having the likes of Caleb Williams, Jordan Addison, Jayden Maiava, and many more incredibly talented players on your roster. Miss the playoffs again and I don't think Riley survives.
• Jeff Lebby, Mississippi State - It's hard to win in the SEC, but Lebby is in year three with a total record of 7-18. Progress needs to be made, especially with Kamario Taylor under center.

HOT

• Luke Fickell, Wisconsin - Fickell has failed to bring Wisconsin back to the relevance they experienced in the 2010s, and it feels like this year is put up or shut up, especially with a certain Jason Eck who would love to come back and coach his alma mater.
• Dave Aranda, Baylor - It's been a while since that 2021 Big 12 Championship, and Aranda has not continued to improve on that finish at all. Like Fickell, it's put up or shut up this season.
• Shane Beamer, South Carolina - It feels like everyone agrees there's no excuse to be going under .500 with LaNorris Sellers, Dylan Stewart, and Nyck Harbor on your roster. They will all be leaving after this year, and if they can't put together a good season, Beamer will be leaving with them.
• Lance Leipold, Kansas - This is one I'm not sure I agree with. Leipold has done more for Kansas than any coach ever, but Kansas hasn't done particularly well closing games and their conference record has been subpar. They did bring back Andy Kotelnicki, who was the OC for their best years, but after watching how that man killed Drew Allar I'm not sure that's a good thing.

SCORCHING

• Dave Doeren, NC State - This man felt immortal for the longest time, but after the disaster that was Saturday's game against Virginia, this might finally be the year Doeren gets the boot. Squandering CJ Bailey's talent might be the last straw.
• Greg Schiano, Rutgers - I had to resist the urge to put Schiano even lower. There really aren't any more words to describe how alarming that UMass game was. You got MANHANDLED by a team that won ZERO GAMES LAST SEASON. Maybe UMass is better than they were last year. I don't care. If that says anything about how Rutgers will be this season, Schiano will be shown the door possibly before the season is even over.
• Bill Belichick, North Carolina - Yes, they beat TCU, but this is still not a good team and Belichick still does not belong in college football. Add on all this Michael Lombardi-drugs-sex scandal-Jordon Hudson-PR nightmare stuff that's been going on, and yeah I don't see him lasting to the end of the year.
• Deion Sanders, Colorado [RETIREMENT WATCH] - Colorado didn't look particularly great against Georgia Tech, but the reason Deion is here isn't necessarily because he's a bad coach. He's dealing with a lot of health stuff, and I think if things get worse and if Colorado doesn't have a great year, he might get ahead of any potential firing and just bow out after this year.

HELL

• Mike Norvell, Florida State - Probably the hottest seat in the sport right now and my pick to be the first coach fired. Norvell has tanked FSU in the past two years and they don't look any better this year. He probably won't be coaching against Florida.
• Mike Locksley, Maryland - Locksley has posted a record of 4-8 two years in a row, and he's actively squandering a dynamic quarterback in Malik Washington. If he does the same thing and all the elite talent decides they've seen enough, he's not coming back.

THE VOID

No coach is currently in The Void. And thank goodness for that. However, I have my eyes on you, Norvell...

CONCLUSION

And there was the first edition of Jimbo's Inferno. I hope to update this next Tuesday after all the Week 1 games are finished.

Please let me know if there are any improvements you would like to see me make or any things you want to maybe see added or changed. I didn't include Group of 6 coaches in this one, but maybe in the future I will include them.

Here's to a great Week 1, and to posting on social media incessantly about how your team's head coach needs to be fired tomorrow.

Box Score provided by ESPN

Box Score provided by ESPN

Box Score provided by ESPN

One of the main “pros” of a separate super league was a greater ability to enforce their own rules. However, the sec being stopped from enforcing their eligibility rules by LSU and the state court puts the entire idea of conference self-governance into question.

So what now? Has the legitimacy of the super conference idea taken a hit? Will being separate from the ncaa fix any issues a super league may have? Or will they still be sued every time a player wants to earn more money anyway?

Box Score provided by ESPN

Box Score provided by ESPN

Box Score provided by ESPN

Box Score provided by ESPN

It would be very interesting if come Sunday the AP doesn't rank LSU, and continues to leave them out of the rankings. Pretty much all of college football is against LSU doing this, I imagine almost all of the AP voters feel the same too. Many might feel strong enough to protest vote against LSU. The AP leaving out LSU would probably ramp up a conversation about what the playoff committee might do. Two months of public speculation and conversation can be very persuasive. Our entire world seems to just be run by the mob of public sentiment these days.

The AP not ranking LSU for two months would be a signal for the playoff committee to do the same, and may give them cover too if they were to find a way to leave them out of the playoff. The AP can vote how they want, that is clearly 1st amendment grounds. I imagine the CFP committee can try and claim the same. The committee would probably have to include another SEC team though for the SEC to go along with that, but I could see that happening.

The university needed a way to get rid of Belichick without having to pay him. They just got it.

Petrino will move into the head coach role, and we are rid of one set of distractions—as long as no motorcycles are involved.

Box Score provided by ESPN

Box Score provided by ESPN

Coastal Carolina vs. West Virginia

When: Saturday, September 5, 12:00 PM Eastern

Where: Milan Puskar Stadium, Morgantown, WV

Watch: TNT | HBO Max

Odds: West Virginia by 21.0 pts.

Total Points: 56.5

All-Time Series : Coastal Carolina vs. West Virginia

Coastal Carolina and West Virginia have met 1 times since 2010-09-04

These teams last met on 2010-09-04.

Series Wins: Coastal Carolina 0-0-1 West Virginia

West Virginia has won the most recent meeting (2010) in this series

Last 1 Meetings

Coastal Carolina Injury Report

No reported injuries per boydsbets.com

West Virginia Injury Report

^{Injury data lifted from: boydsbets.com}

What are your "Keys to the Game"?

Who do you think wins?

Do you think the favorite will cover the spread?

Which player(s) are you most interested to watch?

Let's talk football!

^{Matchup Preview Thread Generator powered by collegefootballdata.com}

^{Start a chat with /u/dupreesdiamond for any issues/suggestions regarding this resource}

Box Score provided by ESPN

North Carolina A&T vs. Georgia State

When: Friday, September 4, 07:00 PM Eastern

Where: Center Parc Stadium, Atlanta, GA

Watch: ESPN+

Odds: Georgia State by 29.5 pts.

Total Points: 62.5

All-Time Series : North Carolina A&T vs. Georgia State

This is the first meeting between these programs.

North Carolina A&T Injury Report

No reported injuries per boydsbets.com

Georgia State Injury Report

No reported injuries per boydsbets.com

What are your "Keys to the Game"?

Who do you think wins?

Do you think the favorite will cover the spread?

Which player(s) are you most interested to watch?

Let's talk football!

^{Matchup Preview Thread Generator powered by collegefootballdata.com}

^{Start a chat with /u/dupreesdiamond for any issues/suggestions regarding this resource}