It's a list shaped by a vote of college basketball writers and analysts and filled with Naismith Memorial Hall of Famers and future Naismith Memorial Hall of Famers. Because this is our annual list of five coaches on the hot seat -- a list that, to be clear, should not be interpreted as a prediction of five coaches who will lose their jobs during or after the 2026-27 season. Rather, this is simply a list of five coaches who likely need good seasons relative to their program's expectations to ensure they still have their jobs in April.
It's a list of five men living with real job-pressure. Sure, they're all multimillionaires who will receive lucrative buyouts if they're removed -- and that's certainly better than the alternative. But getting publicly scrutinized and criticized on the way to what amounts to a pink slip is never fun, no matter a person's net worth.
They might ultimately adjust to not working and actually enjoy the new lifestyle -- and that buyout money is always nice. But the journey from here to there, from a hot seat list in October to a termination in March, is often a brutal ride that takes an awful toll on coaches and their families. The good news here is that every man on this list has a reasonable chance to coach his way off of it -- at least temporarily.
For now, let's just wish them all good luck. Record at school: 175-87 entering ninth seasonLast NCAA Tournament appearance at school: 2025 No program has fallen further over the past 20 years than Memphis -- and I don't even think it's mostly Hardaway's fault. The changing landscape of the sport, combined with every other program that mattered leaving the American Conference while Memphis remains in a league that ranked 10th nationally last season at KenPom, has played a bigger role.
Either way, no traditional-aged college student can remember the Tigers on a Sweet 16 run, considering the last one came three coaches ago and way back in 2009. The byproduct of all of this is season-ticket sales dropping below 2,000 in an NBA arena, and a reality where sports fans in Memphis have gone from knowing every player on the roster to basically none. The Tigers finished 13-19 last season in a year that doubled as the worst for the program since 1970.
And even if it's not all Hardaway's fault, it is all happening on his watch, and he will not be back for Year 10 unless his team performs like what it is -- specifically the best-funded program in its conference, and by a significant margin. Hardaway only has one conference championship in eight years. If that's still true after nine, barring extenuating circumstances, it'll be difficult for the program's greatest alum to overcome.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
