Slightly warm: Joe McKeown, Northwestern: He has a 71-85 record at Northwestern, but his tenure has been the most successful of the three coaches that have followed Don Perrelli. Furthermore, he's gotten the Wildcats to the postseason - when Northwestern went to the WNIT Quarterfinals in 2010 it was the first post-season visit in 13 years. However, in five years the best he's finished in the Big 10 is 8th place. Is Northwestern satisfied with 8th?
Warm: Pam Borton, Minnesota. In her first seven years at Minnesota, Borton went to the NCAA tournament six times. In her last four seasons, she has only a WBI championship and a WNIT first round loss. However, she's also the school's winningest coach - but those last four years included her first two losing seasons and management has to wonder if she can turn her tailspin around.
Warm: Bobbie Kelsey, Wisconsin. Two disappointing years in a row from Kelsey might be causing Wisconsin fans to wonder why it is that they fired a coach that who had five straight post-season appearances for Kelsey? Was it the Stanford pedigree? If Wisconsin makes the move up this year that many expect them to, that seat will get a lot colder but she will need asbestos underwear if the Badgers can't break .500.
Warm: Dennis Wolff, Virginia Tech. Last year was the sixth consecutive year where the Hokies won four games or less in conference. Two of those years were under Wolff, who is 17-43 in two years. He's won 7 and 10 games respectively, and his predecessor Beth Dunkenberger's worst season was an 11-19 finish. The question is whether or not Virginia Tech cares enough about women's basketball for that to make a difference.
Warm: Jamelle Elliott, Cincinnati. I don't think anyone will be happier to leave the Big East than Jamelle Elliot. Her finishes have been 14th, 15th, 10th (tie) and 13th. In four years she has one .500 season and the rest are underwater. I don't know that they really care enough at Cincinnati for it to make any difference. After her first season in the American, management will probably re-access.
Hot: Niya Butts, Arizona. In five seasons at Arizona, four of those are under .500. The last time that happened at Arizona was in the beginning of the Joan Bonvicini years of the early 1990s. Another sub .500 season and the Wildcats might finally run out of patience.
Hot: Charli Turner-Thorne, Arizona State. Unless your leave of absence is for health reasons, leaves of absence usually don't solve much. After a 13-18 season, Arizona State boosters might wonder if she's still got it. This is the season to "get it" whatever it is.
Hot: June Daughtery, Washington State. Six straight losing seasons for Daughtery, but that's okay, as WSU has had 17 straight losing seasons. They're used to it. Even so, about every five or six years even a losing program does some cleaning, and the crystal in Daugherty's palm is starting to blink.
Hot: Todd Buchanan, Houston. He's in trouble. After a undefeated season in Conference USA, he went 3-26 and 13-17. Going from feast to famine will raise eyebrows, and the pressure is on in the AAC.
Boiling Hot: Paul Westhead, Oregon. That 4-27 finish last year and his age make it a question of not if, but when.
Might be gone tomorrow: Sharon Dawley, Massachusetts or Cathy Inglese, Rhode Island. Dawley has had three 20-loss seasons in three years; Inglese has four 20-loss seasons in four years. Then again, no one seems to care about women's BB in Massachusetts or Rhode Island.
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