There's a long time to go until coach firing season — and it can be hard to predict who or who won't be fired (as evidenced by last year's wild coaching carousel) — but it's never too early to take a look at which coaches might be looking for a new job come early December.

There are a few obvious choices that are on the hot seat entering the 2022 season. And then there are a couple of choices that aren't as obvious. Coaches that could be looking for a new job if things break a certain way.

Here are six coaches that I think could be out of a job by the end of the 2022 season.

Mike Norvell — Florida State

This is probably the most obvious choice. Mike Norvell is entering his third season at Florida State and he hasn't had great results so far. Norvell went 3-6 in his first season, though that was the 2020 season which was impacted by COVID-19. It's not necessarily fair to judge him based on that season. But things didn't get better last season as the Seminoles went 5-7 and suffered a loss to Jacksonville State and a blowout loss to Wake Forest. Additionally, Florida State only had the No. 74 scoring offense in the nation. Not what you expect from a coach who is supposed to be an offensive guru. Another 5-7 season and Norvell will likely be looking for an offensive coordinator job somewhere.

Clark Lea — Vanderbilt

I like Clark Lea. I think he's a really good football coach. But he's in an impossible situation. And if he goes 2-10 again as the Vanderbilt head coach, the Commodores may quickly be looking for a new coach.

Winning at Vanderbilt obviously isn't easy. It's hard to land elite talent — especially with the strict academic requirements. But James Franklin proved during his three seasons in Nashville that winning at Vandy is possible. Franklin took the Commodores to three straight bowl games before leaving for Penn State. Derek Mason then struggled to find success, leading Vanderbilt to just two bowl game appearances in seven seasons. If Lea doesn't win at least three or four games in 2022, he could quickly be gone.

Scott Frost — Nebraska

Scott Frost is the reason I've given up on trying to predict how a new head coach will work out. During the wild 2017 coaching cycle, I thought for sure that Frost was a can't-miss head coach after leading UCF to a 13-0 record in just his second season in Orlando.

Boy, what was I wrong.

Frost is entering his fifth season at Nebraska and he has a 15-29 record so far. His best season came in his second year when the Cornhuskers went 5-7. If he wasn't a former Nebraska quarterback who led the program to a share of the national championship in 1997, he probably would've been fired after year three.

There's little hope for Frost turning it around based on what we've seen so far. He's had plenty of time. It feels like it's just a matter of time until Frost gets the boot from his alma mater.

Dino Babers — Syracuse

Dino Babers has had one really good season at Syracuse. In 2018, the Orange went 10-3 and nearly beat a Clemson team that would go on to win the College Football Playoff championship.

Other than that, it's been all losing seasons for Babers. Syracuse has gone just 6-17 the last two years. Another losing season will likely result in Babers' exit from the ACC.

Bryan Harsin — Auburn

Bryan Harsin might not actually get fired from Auburn — he at least led the Tigers to a bowl game appearance in his first season (Auburn finished 6-7 last year).

But I'd be shocked if he's Auburn's head coach in 2023.

It was evident when Harsin was hired that he was a bad fit. He's a west coast guy who has spent most of his career in Idaho. Combine that with wild rumors and a bizarre investigation into — well I'm not really even sure what the investigation was about — and you've got a recipe for a mutual parting of ways after the season. Harsin isn't a bad coach. He'll be able to find another head coaching job if he wants. And I think that's exactly what will happen.

Steve Sarkisian — Texas

This might be a bit of a stretch — especially since five-star quarterback Arch Manning just committed to the Longhorns last month — but Steve Sarkisian was the subject of hot seat rumors after going 5-7 in his first season in Austin. So it's not that crazy to think that a three-win or four-win season could get Sark fired.

And if you're thinking "oh, they won't fire Sarkisian no matter what because Arch is committed". Well, what if Arch decommits after Sarkisian leads Texas to a second straight losing season? If that happens, it would all but guarantee that Sark will be hitting the umeployment line.

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