Heat check: Where ACC hot seat coaches Mike Norvell, Dave Doeren and Bill Belichick stand

Weather delays. Second-half collapses. Last-second collapses. 

Four hot seat-coaches dealt with that in a wild Week 3 in the ACC that will lead to even hotter September coaching carousel talk. One of those coaches is safe – at least for now. 

NC State lost 35-31 in one of the worst last-second coaching blunders in recent memory – which will turn up the heat on long-time coach Dave Doeren. 

Clemson beat North Carolina 28-20 after a prolonged weather delay at Memorial Stadium in a battle between coaches Dabo Swinney and Bill Belichick, who made a curious decision on fourth-and-1 with the game in the balance. 

Florida State jumped out to an early lead against Alabama, but where does Mike Norvell stand after a 50-36 loss at Bryant-Denny Stadium?

Who is on the hottest seat in the ACC after Week 3? Here is a closer look.

ACC hot seat coaches after Week 3 

1. Mike Norvell, Florida State 

Florida State led 21-13 at Alabama before a weather delay in the second quarter. The Crimson Tide responded with two quick TDs before halftime to retake a 26-21 lead. Keelon Russell's 57-yard TD in the third quarter opened up a 40-28 lead, and the Crimson Tide pulled away from there. 

Alabama outscored Florida State 37-15 after the delay. How do you square the Norvell era now? Florida State fired Michael Alford on Monday, and former Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher looks like more than just a popular message-board choice as a replacement. The first-half fight from the Seminoles was admirable and the buyout is huge, but 50 points on 569 total yards? The Seminoles might have their mind up at this point. We are past the point of no return.

MORE: Where would Florida State turn next?

2. Dave Doeren, NC State 

The Wolfpack lost in inexplicable fashion against Vanderbilt on Saturday. NC State led 31-28 but took a delay of game on fourth and 3 from the 9-yard line with six seconds remaining. On the next play, CJ Bailey rolled right, but instead of taking a knee, Vanderbilt defensive back Mason Lewis jumped on the quarterback's back. Cayden Daniels poked the ball loose and recovered it for a touchdown that gave the Commodores a 35-31 victory. 

"It's just a play where you roll out — and you don't get tackled," Doeren said. "You try to burn as much time as you can and then fall on the ground and protect the football. He got hit — and he didn't protect the football, so the plan was to take a safety. We're trying to run out the clock if we can, but there was no intent to run the football and get hit on that play." 

Doeren is under contract through 2029 and the buyout ranges between $12-$15 million. The Wolfpack are 1-2 – which also included a 34-8 blowout loss to Virginia. Doeren has never won 10 games in a season at NC State since 2013 – and the Wolfpack are 15-14 since the last round of ACC realignment. This might expedite the end of the Doeren era in Raleigh. It is tough to come back from losses like that.

MORE: CFB's four most inexplicable losses in last 30 years

3. Bill Belichick, North Carolina  

North Carolina had a second-and-goal and a 17-15 lead with 8:11 remaining in the fourth quarter against Clemson before a lengthy weather delay. The Tar Heels were held to a field goal when the teams returned, and it spiraled out of control from there for Belichick. 

Clemson took a 21-20 lead on an 8-yard TD run by Gideon Davidson with 5:01 remaining. The Tar Heels had a fourth-and-1 from their own 45-yard line – and Billy Edwards Jr. missed tight end Jelani Thurman on a deep post. The Tigers scored again – and sealed the victory on an interception by Elliot Washington II. 

That fourth-and-1 call was not good, to say the least. So, what now? Instead of a 3-0 start, the Tar Heels are now 2-1 with an upcoming schedule that includes No. 3 Notre Dame, road trips to Pitt and Duke before home games against Syracuse and No. 5 Miami. Combine that with the scandals with general manager Michael Lombardi and defensive coordinator Steve Belichick – and we're back to where we started at the beginning of the season. How long will this doomed experiment last? 

4. Dabo Swinney, Clemson  

Swinney was on the other side of that Clemson-North Carolina matchup – and there was an aura of gotta-have-it on the Tigers' sideline. He pounded his fist into his hand during the goal-line stop after the break. The Tigers won and the fans who braved the weather at Memorial Stadium continued the tradition of celebrating on the field. 

Freshman quarterback Tait Reynolds (20 of 29, 215 yards, TD, INT) made good decisions in the final minutes, and Davidson finished with 105 rushing yards on 6.6 yards per carry. A loss here would have been devastating coming off the 51-10 Week 1 debacle against No. 7 LSU, but Clemson can prove its ACC contender status the next two weeks in a road trip against Cal before the showdown with Hurricanes in Death Valley. 

That game against Miami – more than anything – will be the true gauge of where this is headed in 2026. 

Beyond that? The vibe certainly has changed. Clemson was booed multiple times by the home crowd, and the program does not resemble the national championship-caliber program that beat Alabama in College Football Playoff championship games in 2016 and 2018. Still, Swinney is 189-54 at Clemson, owns a massive buyout and there is no indication this program will move on from the greatest coach in program history. Does it really feel like he'll be gone before reaching 200 wins?