​Some fates are predestined. After all, there’s a reason the so-called “Lane Kiffin Rule” found its way into the nearly 200-page Protect College Sports Act. It wasn’t exactly a pork-barrel project.In this space, we won’t bury our heads in the sand. The reality is heads inevitably will roll during the college football season.The coaching carousel stops for no one. It’s as inevitable as the cloud of drama that seems to follow Lane Kiffin like a coonhound on a bayou trail.College football panic meter: Oklahoma to LSU, SEC teams enter trouble zoneWeek 3 Flop 10: Woof Pig Sooie, Woof-pack and when smack talk backfiresThe expectation is this coaching cycle will be more subdued than the chaos of 2025-26. Still, coaches will be fired, others hired and a few may decide it’s finally time to retire.Some are far closer to the end of their tenure than others.So with temperatures rising and pressure mounting, here’s USA TODAY Sports’ latest Heat Check: Backside Discomfort.Dave Doeren, NC StateThere’s been an amusing meme making the rounds on social media the past two weeks: Every team in college football history that led when the clock hit zero had won the game. Then Western Michigan-Michigan happened, sparking plenty of controversy and putting that theory to the test.Yet even that bizarre finish may not top what unfolded Saturday afternoon in Nashville.NC State somehow managed to lose in a fashion that was arguably even stranger, certainly more self-inflicted and unquestionably overcoached. Holding a 31-28 lead with six seconds remaining, Wolfpack coaches instructed NFL Draft prospect CJ Bailey to run around in his own end zone and bleed out the clock. Instead, Bailey fumbled, Vanderbilt recovered for a touchdown, and the Commodores escaped with a win despite facing a 99.99% chance of defeat before the snap.And with that, fate may have finally arrived for Doeren in Raleigh.Beyond Saturday’s inexcusable collapse, the larger trend is difficult to ignore. Since the start of the 2024 season, Doeren has just eight victories against Power Four opponents. During that same span, the Wolfpack have suffered losses by 41, 34, 29, 26, 24, 19, 12 and 10 points, including this year’s 26-point setback against ACC rival Virginia.The only thing cooling the pressure is the price tag. NC State would owe Doeren nearly $21 million if it fired him without cause, unless the coach opted for retirement and a negotiated settlement.Bill Belichick, North CarolinaPack the pipe and light the match. Tobacco Road football is a smoldering mess, save for Manny Diaz’s success at Duke.At some point, the proverbial juice simply isn’t worth the squeeze with Bill Belichick.His hiring divided the administration and much of the campus from the start. The 2025 season was a disaster, and the university has endured a series of self-inflicted embarrassments. Two of Belichick’s most prominent hires, general manager Michael Lombardi and defensive coordinator Stephen Belichick, have already exited amid in