E-mail: Rich Cirminiello , Follow: @RichCirminiello

With almost a full month of the 2015 college football season now in the books, which head coaches are facing the most heat … and the least job stability?

Being on a hot seat is more than just about job status. It’s a combination of pressure, expectations, and the potential for the heat to be raised up with just one big loss. This is a fluid concept, though, with one big win changing everything around in a hurry. Some of these coaches aren’t going anywhere, but their lives will be made far worse unless they come up with wins in the key upcoming games.

Top 10 College Football Coaches On The Hot Seat

10. Steve Spurrier, South Carolina

It’s impossible to deny what Spurrier has meant to Gamecock football over the past decade – but there’s no guarantee South Carolina can do better on the sidelines. But after going 7-6 and awkwardly addressing his future this offseason, he’s dropped back-to-back games to Kentucky and Georgia, both with ugly undertones. At 70, Spurrier is trying to hang on while beating back allegations the game has passed him by.

9. Steve Sarkisian, USC

It’s only Year 2 for Sark, so he ought to be safe for at least another season. But mixing inappropriate off-field behavior with bad losses on the field is always a toxic brew for a coach. You can actually survive public displays of craziness when you’re winning. Lose at home to Stanford as a double-digit favorite, though, and every misstep will be scrutinized under a microscope.

8. Al Golden, Miami

So far, so good for Golden, whose Canes overcame incomplete Week 2 and Week 3 efforts to beat Florida Atlantic and Nebraska, respectively. But the fifth-year coach didn’t begin 2015 with a warchest of goodwill. And the upcoming five-game gauntlet with Cincinnati, Florida State, Virginia Tech, Clemson and Duke will go a long way to determining his future at Miami.

7. Charlie Strong, Texas

Just because Strong deserves patience, at a place like Texas, there’s no guarantee he’ll get it. Last season was all about laying the foundation, which the staff handled well. This fall is when seeds were supposed to sprout. No one in his right mind expected a Big 12 title in 2015. However, the 38-3 implosion to Notre Dame and last week’s home loss to Cal has significantly raised the temperature on Strong.

6. Randy Edsall, Maryland

A Big Ten zip code and Under Armour’s checkbook have justifiably raised expectations in College Park. Is Edsall the guy to get the Terrapins over the top? He’s now nine games under .500 after four-plus years, and he’s yet to win a bowl game at Maryland. The non-conference schedule looked manageable, but the Terps have already fallen to Bowling Green—by three touchdowns.

5. Derek Mason, Vanderbilt

Mason might be one of those rare cases in which two years is enough time to recognize a bad hire. Nashville is a tough place to win, but that argument loses teeth when James Franklin is your predecessor. Mason has dropped all nine games versus SEC opponents, and his four wins with the Commodores came against UMass, Charleston Southern, Old Dominion and Austin Peay.

4. Darrell Hazell, Purdue

So far, Hazell has been unable to duplicate the magic he had at Kent Stat. He’s 5-22 in West Lafayette, including 1-15 in Big Ten play. The Boilermakers have already lost to Marshall and Virginia Tech, with their win coming over FCS Indiana State. Hazell’s future could be tied to redshirt freshman QB David Blough, who was named the starter for the Bowling Green game.

3. Paul Rhoads, Iowa State

Time appears to be running out on Rhoads, one of the favorite sons of the state of Iowa. He went 5-19 the last two seasons, including 0-9 in Big 12 play in 2014. And he’s had one winning season—back in 2009—in six years in Ames. With another Big 12 slate of games looming, Rhoads’ Cyclones have already fallen to Toledo and in-state rival Iowa.

2. Mike London, Virginia

Barring an unexpected rise in the Coastal Division this fall, London may have used up all of his nine lives in Charlottesville. In his sixth season with the Cavaliers, he’s 24-40 with just a single winning campaign in 2011. And while Virginia almost knocked off Notre Dame two weeks, the coach is long beyond the point of calculating moral victories. The clock is ticking very, very loudly.

1. Kyle Flood, Rutgers

Considering the current state of Scarlet Knight football, it’s surprising Flood didn’t join Illinois’ Tim Beckman on the unemployment line. Flood’s problems began early in the year when his recruiting class withered, and it all continued with a spate of off-field involving his players. Just last week, the coach was suspended three games for what Rutgers deemed as inappropriate contact with a professor on behalf of DB Nadir Barnwell. Regardless of what happens when Flood is reinstated, his future is in jeopardy.

Ready to get toasty with one more big loss: Bret Bielema, Arkansas; Mike Leach, Washington State; Mike Riley, Nebraska; Mark Richt, Georgia

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