SEC Head Coach Hot Seat Index: Napier is Safe Despite Blowout Loss

As the season's end gets closer, what head coaches are in the most danger?

Tanner Johnson | Nov 11, 2024

Florida Gators head coach Billy Napier argues with officials during the first quarter of an NCAA college football matchup Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024 at EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville, Fla. The Georgia Bulldogs defeated the Florida Gators 34-20. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union] / Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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Tennessee Volunteers

Welcome back to the SEC Head Coach Hot Seat Index.

Week 11 of the SEC calendar included some shocking results and some huge wins. Some head coaches improved their standing, while others made their fan base angry. Here is the newly updated SEC Head Coach Hot Seat Index.

SEC Head Coach Hot Seat Index - Week 11

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

Napier is not moving from the scorching section, despite the news that he will be returning for 2025. The Gators were just blown off the field by Texas by a score of 49-17. It was one of the most lopsided losses in conference play for Florida in a long time. D.J. Lagway was unable to play after injuring his hamstring in the previous game against Georgia, and his replacement Aidan Warner was not up to the task. Napier also elected to kick a field goal on 4th & goal despite being down 42–0 in order to preserve the no-shutout streak. It was not a good look for him as a coach, and it still seems like he will be gone after next season, if not before that.

Stoops and Kentucky were on a bye week and thus could not do any more damage to their season last week. Stoops said earlier on Monday that he has no plans of retiring at the end of the season, which is probably not what Kentucky fans want to hear. His buyout is hefty and will likely keep him from being fired this off-season. However, his team's performance on the field warrants the scorching hot seat that he has under him.

Lebby and the Bulldogs are still winless in conference play. They are now 2-8 overall and 0-6 in the SEC. They seemed destined to go 2-10 after suffering another blowout loss, this time at the hands of Tennessee. Is Lebby destined to meet the same fate as Zach Arnett, who was fired in the middle of his inaugural season as head coach?

Freeze was also on a bye this week. It was a badly needed break for an Auburn team that is struggling mightily. Questions about Freeze’s ability to fix this mess are starting to be raised on the plains.

Hot: Brent Venables (Oklahoma), Sam Pittman (Arkansas)

While Pittman was on a bye, Venables and Oklahoma found new ways to lose against Missouri on Saturday night. A chaotic final few minutes ended with Jackson Arnold fumbling and Missouri returning it for a touchdown to put the nail in Oklahoma's coffin. The Sooners are 1-5 in the SEC in their debut season. That is nowhere close to the standard that Oklahoma holds itself to. How long will they put up with this much losing?

Warm: Brian Kelly (LSU)

Last week, this section of the heat index was empty, but now it has one resident. Kelly and the Tigers were utterly embarrassed by Alabama on Saturday night in a 42–13 blowout. It was unimaginable that LSU would lose by this much to this Alabama team that has already lost two games this season, but they did. They could not stop Alabama’s rushing attack led by Jalen Milroe and his 185 yards and four rushing touchdowns. Kelly’s loss to Kalen DeBoer in the latter’s inaugural season as an SEC head coach is a significant setback. The Tigers do not seem to be making progress in Kelly’s third season.

Room temperature: Kalen DeBoer (Alabama), Eli Drinkwitz (Missouri), Shane Beamer (South Carolina)

Once again, none of these head coaches are in any danger of losing their jobs. However, they have each made their fan bases angry with them for one reason or another.

DeBoer is finally back on the good side of Alabama’s fan base after picking up a huge victory over LSU. The Tide are not completely out of the playoff race anymore and handled the road atmosphere in Death Valley incredibly well after struggling on the road at Vanderbilt and Tennessee. Alabama seems to be a team that is improving as the season goes along.

Drinkwitz’s Tigers somehow found a way to win against Oklahoma on Saturday. The Tigers are not playoff contenders, despite Drinkwitz saying they are, but they are still 7–2 and in position to finish the season strongly. Another 10-win season would provide another building block for Drinkwitz to hang his hat on.

Beamer and South Carolina’s winning streak hit three in a row after dominating Vanderbilt on Saturday. The Gamecocks are one of the best three-loss teams in the country and are closing the season with a lot of momentum. Their close losses to Alabama and LSU now haunt them. If a few more plays had gone their way in those games, they would be contending for a playoff spot right now.

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

These head coaches have the safest jobs in the SEC, but that does not mean they are in perfect shape.

Heupel and Sarkisian now lead the only one-loss teams in the conference. Both Texas and Tennessee are positioned well to make the playoffs as long as they continue to win. The SEC championship race also includes Elko’s Aggies, which only have one conference loss. Meanwhile, Kirby Smart lost his first game to any team that is not Alabama since 2020. The Bulldogs lost on the road at Ole Miss and put their own backs up against the wall for the rest of this season. One more loss will eliminate them from playoff contention, and they may have a tough time getting in even if they win out.

Meanwhile, Kiffin got one of the biggest wins of his head coaching career on Saturday. His victory over Georgia is just his second ever over a top-five opponent. The win also puts Ole Miss right back in the playoff race. On the other hand, Lea’s Commodores looked very much like the Vanderbilt of years past in their 28–7 loss to South Carolina. Nevertheless, Lea has still achieved remarkable success at Vanderbilt this season.

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