SWAC Coaching Seat Is Hot in the SWAC? You 🗳️ Vote!
HBCU coaches on the hot seat?
The SWAC edition: from bell-pepper cool to Carolina-Reaper scorching. The records set the table. You decide who needs to feel the heat. Slide the pepper from 1 to 10 to cast your anonymous rating.
These pepper ratings are SheLovesThee editorial assessments of on-field pressure, not reports that a school plans to fire its coach.
0 SHU
1,000–1,500 SHU
2,500–8,000 SHU
100,000–350,000 SHU
855,000–1,041,427 SHU
1,400,000–2,200,000 SHU
Voting scale: 1 = cool; 2-3 = low heat; 4-5 = warm; 6-7 = hot; 8-9 = very hot; 10 = scorching. SHU ranges describe peppers, not a numerical probability of dismissal. Rankings weigh current wins and losses, recent momentum and tenure context. No named coach is linked to the blind item below.
Parity turns the thermostat
The SWAC’s pressure points are not all alike. A losing streak can put a recent breakthrough under scrutiny. A rebuilding team can have a poor cumulative record and still show real progress. First-year coaches deserve a different lens from coaches several seasons into a tenure.
For this edition, TSU’s winless conference start earns the highest heat rating. Valley’s winning conference record cools its seat, and Jackson State’s strong overall start keeps a single loss in perspective. These are opinions drawn from results, not inside knowledge of university personnel decisions.
SWAC East
Alabama A&M
Sam Shade
🌶️ Bell pepper · CoolHead coach since 2025 • school record through Oct. 10
A 5–2 start already exceeds last season’s four wins. The rebound victory and a 2–1 conference mark show enough progress to keep this seat cool.
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Average heat: 1.7/10
Alabama State
Eddie Robinson Jr.
🌶️ Jalapeño · WarmHead coach since 2022 • school record through Oct. 10
Robinson is warm at 5/10, supported by a strong winning tenure and last season's 10-2 finish. The Jackson State hurdle remains a storyline: he lost to Deion Sanders' Tigers in 2022, beat T.C. Taylor's team in 2023, then lost in 2024 and 2025. This was supposed to be the breakthrough year: Alabama State was picked first in the SWAC East with 16 first-place votes, and Andrew Body was named preseason Offensive Player of the Year. A 3-3 start and 1-2 SWAC mark are hiccups, but there is still a lot of football to be played.
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Average heat: 6.7/10
Bethune-Cookman
Raymond Woodie Jr.
🌶️ Habanero · HotHead coach since 2023 • school record through Oct. 10
A .500 start keeps the Wildcats in the conversation, but a losing cumulative record makes sustained progress the question in year four. The 6–6 finish in 2025 is evidence of improvement.
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Average heat: 4.5/10
Florida A&M
Quinn Gray Sr.
🌶️ Poblano · Low heatHead coach since 2026 • school record through Oct. 10
Gray belongs at low heat, 2/10. This is his first season as FAMU head coach, following three seasons leading Albany State. A 2-4 start brings challenges, but the Alabama State win is a building block. Give the new staff time to establish its program.
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Average heat: 1.8/10
Jackson State
T.C. Taylor
🌶️ Bell pepper · CoolHead coach since 2023 • school record through Oct. 10
Taylor stays cool at 1/10. He has continued a strong Jackson State program, winning the SWAC championship and HBCU national championship in 2024, then clinching the SWAC East Division title again in 2025. The Tigers have opened 2026 with a strong 5-1 overall record and currently sit first in the SWAC East standings at 2-1, tied on conference record with Alabama A&M and Mississippi Valley State. One setback does not erase that start or his championship track record.
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Average heat: 1.0/10
Mississippi Valley State
Terrell Buckley
🌶️ Bell pepper · CoolHead coach since 2025 • school record through Oct. 10
Buckley is cool at 1/10. Back-to-back conference wins over Prairie View A&M and Texas Southern are a major step forward for Valley in his second season. The Delta Devils are 2-1 in SWAC play and tied on conference record at the top of the East. Consecutive comeback victories, including the 38-34 win at TSU, show resilience and progress. That momentum earns him the coolest rating on this scale.
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Average heat: 1.0/10
SWAC West
Alcorn State
Cedric Thomas
🌶️ Habanero · HotHead coach since 2024 • school record through Oct. 10
Thomas moves to hot at 6/10 because expectations are bigger in year three. Alcorn opened 2025 winless at 0-5, then found its footing and finished strong, winning four of its final five games. That turnaround raised the bar for 2026. This season has brought big offensive performances, including 53 points against UAPB, 59 at Grambling and 63 against Arkansas Baptist. The Braves lead the SWAC in passing at 293.7 yards per game in this snapshot, backing the view that this is one of the league's best offenses. At 4-3 overall and 2-1 in the SWAC, the talent and production are there; the pressure is to turn them into consistent wins and a serious championship push. There is still football left to meet those expectations.
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Average heat: 7.0/10
Arkansas-Pine Bluff
Alonzo Hampton
🌶️ Jalapeño · WarmHead coach since 2023 • school record through Oct. 10
The cumulative record remains a concern in year four, but a winning 2026 mark and two consecutive victories point in the right direction. Current improvement lowers the temperature.
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Average heat: 4.8/10
Grambling State
Mickey Joseph
🌶️ Bell pepper · CoolHead coach since 2024 • school record through Oct. 10
Two straight wins and a 4–2 record put Grambling on the cooler end. A winning tenure and a place in the West race favor continuity in this results-based assessment.
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Average heat: 2.0/10
Prairie View A&M
Tremaine Jackson
🌶️ Poblano · Low heatHead coach since 2025 • school record through Oct. 10
Jackson is low heat at 3/10. In his first season at Prairie View A&M, he won the 2025 SWAC championship and reached the Celebration Bowl, falling just short of the HBCU national title in a 40-38, four-overtime loss to South Carolina State. The 2-5 start and recent setbacks deserve attention, but last year's championship earns meaningful patience in year two. There is still time to steady the season.
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Average heat: 5.3/10
Southern
Marshall Faulk
🌶️ Bell pepper · CoolHead coach since 2026 • school record through Oct. 10
Faulk is a first-year head coach, so his seat is cool at 1/10. Southern is 3-4 overall, but a debut season needs time for a new staff to build. The latest win also provides momentum.
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Average heat: 5.3/10
Texas Southern
Cris Dishman
🌶️ Carolina Reaper · ScorchingHead coach since 2024 • school record through Oct. 10
Five straight losses and no conference wins put TSU at the hottest end of this results-based scale. Last season's winning record adds context, but the current slide demands a response. There is also a new AD in town: Texas Southern announced Ashley Robinson as Vice President and Athletics Director in August. Will new leadership make a difference through resources, support and expectations? That is a question for the rest of the season, not evidence of a planned coaching change.
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Average heat: 10.0/10
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A SWAC seat is scorching hot… allegedly?
One unnamed SWAC head coach’s seat is allegedly scorching hot, and there could be midseason changes. That is the blind-item premise submitted for this segment; SheLovesThee has not independently verified it.
No coach or school is identified. No midseason change is established as fact. A pepper rating above is not a clue to this item.
Should a program make a midseason coaching change?
Vote anonymously. No guessing names required.
Who deserves more time? Who needs to turn it around?
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