So far, the biggest news in the coaching hot seat domain didn't even involve a coach, nor did it involve a school whose coach appeared on my preseason list.
Nebraska's firing of athletic director Shawn Eichorst last week provided a mostly unexpected twist to the impending coaching cycle. Eichorst had hired and championed Huskers coach Mike Riley, whose future seems shaky at best with his security blanket no longer in Lincoln. Riley suddenly finds himself occupying one of the hottest seats in the country.
Other coaches have helped themselves, although much bigger tests loom as conference play cranks up.