College Football Hot Seat: Gus Malzahn, Ryan Walters, Mike Locksley all at risk of being fired, UCF head coach could be axed after Week 13

FanSided’s John Buhler tabbed UCF’s Gus Malzahn, Purdue’s Ryan Walters, and Maryland’s Mike Locksley as the coaches with the best chance of being the first from the Power 4 handed his walking papers.

Malzahn stands out as the one who Buhler relays can be dismissed after Week 13’s results. Malzahn’s Knights take on West Virginia in Morgantown.

“Looking at the Week 13 slate of games, I can only see three Power Four head coaches potentially getting the ax before the end of the season. That would be Ryan Walters at Purdue, Gus Malzahn at UCF and Mike Locksley at Maryland. Purdue has one win on the season and plays at Michigan State on a Friday night. Maryland is 4-6 and hosts Iowa. UCF is also 4-6, but plays West Virginia on the road,” Buhler wrote.

“I would say of those three, Walters is the least likely to get fired after Week 13. He may be cooked, but I would venture to guess that at this point Mike Bobinski will let him coach the Boilermakers vs. Indiana for the Old Oaken Bucket in two weeks. A loss at home to a six-win Iowa team may be enough for Locksley to get the ax, but I am leaning Malzahn possibly being the one with a road loss at WVU.”

UCF could be eyeing Deion Sanders as Knights’ next head football coach

UCF is eyeing a potential backup plan for Malzahn in case he retires or, as Buhler believes is likely, fires him: Deion Sanders.

“If Gus Malzahn were to retire, fellow Big 12 school UCF would be an intriguing fit, especially as it's centrally located in Florida. Sanders has said that he's responsible for their biggest-ever recruiting weekend when the Buffs played the Knights this fall, and he's pursued multiple recruits from in-state power IMG Academy a few hours away in Bradenton,” CBS Sports’ Richard Johnson wrote.

UCF’s underperformance in the Big 12 relative to the fanbase’s expectations is pushing him out the door in Orlando. Malzahn maxed out at Auburn running a team near the top of the standings, but with the Knights in the Big 12, they can’t escape the conference’s bottom half.