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SEC Head Coach Hot Seat Index: Mark Stoops and Kentucky Look Lost

Another important weekend has come and gone. Whose seat got hotter?

Tanner Johnson

Oct 26, 2024; Lexington, Kentucky, USA; Kentucky Wildcats head coach Mark Stoops looks on during the second quarter against the Auburn Tigers at Kroger Field. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Prather-Imagn Images
Oct 26, 2024; Lexington, Kentucky, USA; Kentucky Wildcats head coach Mark Stoops looks on during the second quarter against the Auburn Tigers at Kroger Field. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Prather-Imagn Images / Jordan Prather-Imagn Images
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Welcome back to the SEC Head Coach Hot Seat Index.

This edition of the index comes after Week 9 had several interesting outcomes that have caused a few different coaches to move up and down the index. Without any more delay, let’s take the temperature of the SEC’s head coaches.

SEC Head Coach Hot Seat Index - Week 9

Scorching: Billy Napier (Florida), Mark Stoops (Kentucky), Jeff Lebby (Mississippi State)

Napier had a bye this week and did not do any more damage to himself. However, his next four games will determine whether or not he keeps his job. He is facing four teams in a row who are all currently ranked inside the top 20. It almost seems impossible that Napier will still have his job after those four games are concluded. If Napier coaches the Florida State game at the end of the season, it will be one of the biggest surprises of the year.

Stoops has to be included in the scorching section after Kentucky’s miserable performance against Auburn. The Wildcats made the Tigers look like a team that has already figured out all of their problems. In reality, Auburn just showed how far Kentucky has fallen under Stoops’ leadership. His $44 million buyout makes firing him difficult, but the Wildcats are moving backward quickly. All that he has done for the program in years past feels like a distant memory at this point.

Lebby is in his first season on the job, but it is going as poorly as it possibly could. The Bulldogs are 1-7 after losing to Arkansas in convincing fashion. If Mississippi State can defeat UMass, they will finish 2-10. Is that acceptable for Lebby’s first year as a head coach? Time will tell if he is safe or not, but any head coach who goes winless in conference play is certainly in danger of being fired.

Hot: Hugh Freeze (Auburn), Brent Venables (Oklahoma)

Freeze was able to temporarily quiet critics after defeating Kentucky for his first conference win of the season. However, Auburn still has real issues and their record still sits at 3–5. Freeze has a chance to win his next two games against Vanderbilt and UL Monroe. It is very important that he wins both of those games and then at least one of his final two conference games for Auburn to make a bowl game.

If Venables was not just recently given a huge contract extension, he would be in even more danger than he is already in. Oklahoma actually kept things close with Ole Miss for longer than expected, but once again the offense failed the Sooners. Jackson Arnold made Venables look like he made a premature decision to bench him a few weeks ago by passing for two touchdowns against the Rebels. Oklahoma will also have to fight very hard just to make a bowl game, and that is not the standard in Norman.

Warm: Sam Pittman (Arkansas), Shane Beamer (South Carolina)

Pittman was able to pick up another conference victory, although it was against the worst team in the league in Mississippi State. Nonetheless, a 58–25 SEC road win will always earn a head coach at some point with his fan base. Meanwhile Beamer was on a bye week with Texas A&M looming up next.

Room temperature: Kalen DeBoer (Alabama), Eli Drinkwitz (Missouri), Lane Kiffin (Ole Miss), Brian Kelly (LSU)

None of these coaches are in any real danger yet, but they have done something to make their respective fan bases angry with them. 

DeBoer and Alabama bounced back from their loss to Tennessee with a 34-0 victory over Missouri. Still, no Alabama fan is satisfied with having two losses before November. The Tide are on a bye week now before the home stretch of the season commences.

Drinkwitz’s Tigers are now 6-2 but are clearly fraudulent contenders. They have been blown out by the two best teams they have played this season and looked absolutely lost on Saturday against Alabama. Drinkwitz’s success from a season ago keeps his job in stable condition. The Tigers are still ranked No. 25 in this week’s AP Poll, but they do not look like anything close to a top-25 team.

Kiffin’s Rebels sleepwalked to a win on Saturday despite looking rough at times. Ole Miss and LSU are both in the same boat as far as the college football playoffs are concerned. They both have two losses and would need tons of help from outside forces to get into the field. Right now, Kiffin and Kelly are both good head coaches who have disappointed their respective fan bases.

Ice cold: Kirby Smart (Georgia), Josh Heupel (Tennessee), Steve Sarkisian (Texas), Clark Lea (Vanderbilt), Mike Elko (Texas A&M)

All of these head coaches are not hearing much complaining from any of their fans right now. Smart, Sarkisian, Heupel, and Elko all have their teams ranked inside the top 10. They are each in a great position to be one of the 12 playoff teams. Elko in particular, just picked up the biggest win of his head coaching career so far over LSU. Meanwhile, Lea and his Vanderbilt Commodores only lost by one touchdown to a heavily favored Texas team. Lea is continuing to make his case that he is the SEC Head Coach of the Year. At this point, it is hard to argue with his results.

The SEC Head Coach Hot Seat Index will fluctuate as the season continues. Stay tuned for an update next week.

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Tanner Johnson
TANNER JOHNSON

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