Three coaches on the hot seat from the Group of Six

UTEP head coach Scotty Walden Gaby Velasquez/ El Paso Times / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Three coaches on the hot seat from the Group of Six

By Daniel Morrison | Last updated May 22, 2026 10:00 AM ET

It's a completely different world in college football. The Group of Five has become the Group of Six, and even with the financial gap widening between conferences, the G6 still has a path to the College Football Playoff, with two of those teams making the field a season ago.

As some things change, some things stay the same, too. In particular, teams want to win, no matter what their station in the sport is. That can, in turn, lead to plenty of coaches landing on the hot seat.

Coaches in the Group of Six are being asked to win their conference and make a run at the College Football Playoff, while consistently losing players to teams that can simply pay more. They're also all hoping to position themselves for the future, so they can best be situated for whatever may come next. It isn't an easy job.

Pulling out just three coaches from six conferences who are dealing with hot-seat concerns isn't necessarily easy. There were plenty of options. For now, though, here are three of those coaches to keep an eye on.

Scotty Walden, UTEP Miners

Going into his third season at UTEP, Walden and the Miners have been stuck in the mud. He has just a 5-19 record and is coming off a 2-10 season last year. Those struggling came in C-USA, and now UTEP is moving to the Mountain West, a step up in competition.

Walden got to UTEP after two seasons at Austin Peay, where he went 26-14 and reached the FCS playoffs in his final season. But it took two years and a change of conference to see that improvement. Maybe he can turn it around now.

Clay Helton, Georgia Southern Eagles

Going into his fifth year at Georgia Southern, Clay Helton has some big wins. Beating Nebraska comes to mind. He also has a 27-25 record (16-16 in Sun Belt play) and has never won the Sun Belt East.

Georgia Southern is a tricky job. This is a program that competed for national championships at the FCS level and expects to be at the top of the Sun Belt. At the same time, there’s also a pride in doing more with less there. Less in the NIL and Transfer Portal era is tough and has created pressure on Helton that he needs to live up to.

Jamey Chadwell, Liberty Flames

It’s been a frustrating run for Liberty since bringing in Jamey Chadwell. While putting more money into football than anyone else in C-USA, the Flames have seen diminishing returns in each of their three seasons, culminating in a 4-8 campaign in 2025.

Expectations are high at Liberty. They want to compete for C-USA and potentially the Group of Six College Football Playoff bid. Without some clear improvement, Chadwell is in trouble.

Daniel Morrison

Dan Morrison is a writer originally from Massachusetts, now residing in Florida. He spent four years at On3, working on the National News Desk there. Prior to that, he’s also contributed at Underdog Dynasty.

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