On the SEC Coaching Hot Seat: 2025 Version
Every year we’ve put out our hot-seat list for 2025. Usually, there’s Auburn at the top and everywhere else just sitting there.
However with NIL, schools would rather pay money on a wide receiver than they would giving a coach paid vay-cay.
But with no further ado, here’s our 16
LET’S GET WORRIED.
- Sam Pittman (Arkansas): It’s not a matter of ‘if’, it’s a matter of ‘when’. The schedule is year is horrific for him, with games against Notre Dame, Ole Miss, Texas, LSU and Texas A&M. Our prediction is that Eli Drinkwitz will kick him when he’s down on the last day of the season.
- Billy Napier (Florida): Hugely under-pressure last year, the Gators played well down the stretch, giving Napier life. This season should be far more doable, with 7 winnable games on the roster (yes, I’m counting Tennessee at home as winnable).
- Mark Stoops (Kentucky): The Kentucky football story seems to get worse and worse every year. In fact, we can’t understand why they haven’t booted him. It’s simply not a steady ship in Lexington. The Wildcats are 7-17 in their last 3 SEC seasons. It’s simply got to stop sometime, right?
- Brent Venables (Oklahoma): The Sooners were pretty awful last year, with poor QB play and some bad defense. What stunned everybody was the win over Alabama, which covered up a steaming turd of a season, capped off by a loss to Navy in the bowl game. This happens again, and the knives are sharpening fast.
- Jeff Lebby (Mississippi State): He has one year’s grace, and that was last year. His buyout is not very big at all. The expectations of MSU are actually pretty low (gone are the Dak Prescott days), but still…
- Clark Lea (Vanderbilt): A fun, fun journey with Diego Pavia continues for another year. Last year it led to a stunning victory over Alabama, but if the Commodores have another 0-fer in the SEC (which they are prone to do), then everyone in Nashville’s going to get bored of the schick (which is weird bearing in mind how prohibitive it is even to get into Vanderbilt bearing in mind the grades).
PRETTY STRETCHY
- Eli Drinkwitz (Missouri): Drinkwitz’s passion for running his mouth is pretty incredible, but so far he’s met and gone beyond everyone’s albeit middling expectations, so people won’t mind. Having said all that, the mouth can get boring if the results aren’t there.
- Kalen DeBoer (Alabama): He’s got the keys to the kingdom. He’s got speed all over the place. But how often can f**k-ups like the one at Vanderbilt and Oklahoma happen before Bammer Nation gets infuriated and goes for someone else?
- Brian Kelly (LSU): Brian Kelly is a dick. There’s no two way about it. But he also won at Notre Dame. But since he came on board, LSU hasn’t made the College Football Play-Off, gone backwards on defense, and has been unentertaining to watch…the hallmarks of everything that might piss off the boosters. Let’s hope the top-ranked transfer portal class doesn’t fail. The buyout is definitely prohibitive, but this is LSU.
- Lane Kiffin (Ole Miss): This is looking very stretchy, but hear me out. Lane Kiffin can doubtless recruit. But his Rebels team are dreadfully inconsistent. Fun, but inconsistent.
- Josh Heupel (Tennessee): Horrible losses like the one at Oklahoma plus the whole Nico saga won’t help matters for Heupel.
- Hugh Freeze (Auburn): Because Auburn.
YEAH, WON’T HAPPEN BUT I NEEED TO GET TO 16.
- Shane Beamer (South Carolina): For the first time in years, this team is exciting, interesting, good to watch and can be seen as a challenger. That is BeamerBall 2.0, and everyone’s on board, baby!
- Mike Elko (Texas A&M): Steady hand and good recruiting is what the guys at College Station need after the Jiimbo years, and that’s what they are going to get. This might be more ‘project’ than ‘firework’, and that’s OK.
- Kirby Smart (Georgia): The epitome of ‘Yeah, won’t happen’. Unless the Dawgs lose to Georgia Tech and/or Florida.
- Steve Sarkasian (Texas): The epitome of ‘Yeah, won’t happen’. Unless the ‘Horns lose to Texas A&M. Ever.