Dr. Saturday's Coaches on the Hot Seat

College football coaching is a competitive business and if you’re not winning now, you could find yourself out of a job.

Several coaches are facing that very real possibility as we head into the 2016 season after struggling the season before. It’s never too early to get the coaching carousel up and running, so here’s a look at the Top 10 coaches facing the hot seat this season.

Kevin Sumlin, Texas A&M
It wasn’t long ago when Sumlin was the king of College Station. In his first year with the program, Sumlin won 11 games and had a Heisman Trophy winner in quarterback Johnny Manziel. The school started investing in the program by upgrading its facilities and giving Sumlin a raise. However, the honeymoon was short-lived and the Aggies’ win totals have declined while off-field incidents involving players and coaches have been on the rise. Still Sumlin has won 36 games in four seasons at A&M, more than any Aggie coach in a four-year span since R.C. Slocum in the early 90s.

Dana Holgorsen, West Virginia
Holgorsen was almost on his way out last year, but a half-hearted vote of confidence kept him in his current position. Holgorsen won 10 games in the Big East in his first season with the Mountaineers, but it’s been tough for him to field a competitive team in the Big 12, and the win totals have declined because WVU can’t pad its schedule with five nonconference games. Last year’s eight wins was Holgorsen’s best as a member of the Big 12, but that’s not going to cut it this year if he wants to keep his job.

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Les Miles, LSU
Miles was all but fired heading into the final regular season game against Texas A&M, but his AD created such an epic PR nightmare that Miles ended up keeping his position and now he has a team that’s capable of winning a national title. That’s what he might have to do to satisfy boosters and fans. Miles is a shocking 112-32 during his time at LSU, but he hasn’t beaten Alabama since 2011 and coach Nick Saban has won four national titles since Miles won one in 2007. If LSU lets Miles go, there are about 120 other schools that would be quick to grab him.

Gus Malzahn, Auburn
It’s shocking to say Malzahn, who is just two years removed from playing for a national title, is on the hot seat but that’s the situation in Auburn. Since that national title game, Auburn’s records have declined. The Tigers started last season ranked preseason No. 6 and won just two SEC games. Most teams would be thrilled to have a coach with Malzahn’s resume, but this is the SEC West and rival Alabama is making the Tigers look bad. Malzahn will have to get Auburn back to national prominence or he could be looking for work.

Charlie Strong, Texas
Strong hasn’t gotten much of an opportunity to show what he can do at Texas, and if he doesn’t finish his third season competing for the Big 12 title, he probably never will. Strong is 11-14 in his two seasons and while the Longhorns have shown some flashes of greatness there also have been times when they’ve been unexpectedly flat. It’s unclear what kind of season Strong would need to stay in Austin — at the very least a winning one — but things will heat up fast if Tom Herman, a man many want to see in burnt orange, leads Houston to another stellar season.

Mark Stoops, Kentucky
Kentucky has had some of the school’s best recruiting classes during Stoops’ three seasons, but it has little to show for it. Stoops is 12-24 and hasn’t been able to get to more than five wins in any season. Kentucky’s college football pressure might not be nearly as high as its basketball pressure, but Stoops probably needs to have a winning season to keep his job.

Darrell Hazell, Purdue
It’s surprising Hazell still has a job considering Purdue has been the doormat of the Big Ten during his tenure. Hazell won 11 games in his final season at Kent State and he’s won six in three seasons with the Boilermakers. It’s important to note that only three of those wins were against FBS teams. That said, Hazell’s team showed signs of life a year ago with a win against Nebraska, but the Boilermakers will need to make significant strides this season for Hazell to be around for a fifth season.

Mike MacIntyre, Colorado
When MacIntyre took over the Colorado program in 2013, he inherited the worst Power Five program in the country. And that’s not hyperbole. Colorado went 1-11 in Jon Embree’s final season and wasn’t even competitive. MacIntyre was the Buffs’ fourth coach in eight years. He’s made Colorado more competitive, it is not getting blown out, but the Buffs are not winning games either. He’s won just two Pac-12 games and 10 games overall, but if he can take the Buffs to a bowl game, he’ll likely get an extension. Otherwise, he’s probably on his way out.

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Dave Clawson, Wake Forest
Clawson didn’t inherit a good team, but he also hasn’t done much to make the Deacons much better. He’s 3-9 in each of his two seasons with the program with just two total conference wins. Wake Forest hasn’t had a winning season since 2008, but Clawson still needs to show some positive progress this season to give the university confidence that he was the right choice.

Paul Petrino, Idaho
Let’s face it, going 1-11 for two consecutive seasons would have doomed any coach from a Power Five program, but Petrino has had the advantage of coaching at Idaho, which doesn’t even have a conference and is dropping to the FCS. That said, the Vandals might want to head into their new classification with fresh blood. Petrino’s team showed improvement with a 4-8 record last season, but he’ll need that upward trend to continue if he wants to make the transition with the program in 2017.

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Graham Watson is the editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email her at dr.saturday@ymail.com or follow her on Twitter! Follow @YahooDrSaturday