Welcome back to the SEC Head Coaches Hot Seat Index.

Week 10 of the SEC schedule saw a few coaches, already in significant danger, suffer crushing losses. However, some coaches who needed big victories managed to get them emphatically.

Let’s take the temperature of every SEC head coach with a few games remaining in 2024.

SEC Head Coaches Hot Seat Index – Week 10

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

Napier needed to pull off a miracle against George if he wanted to get back into the good graces of the Florida fans. Somehow he was almost able to do it. If the Gators’ true freshman quarterback DJ Lagway hadn’t gotten hurt, Florida might have beaten Georgia. But instead, Lagway could be lost for the rest of the season, and the rest of Florida’s schedule is brutal. Although his team fought hard for him, it appears Napier’s time in Gainesville has symbolically come to an end.

Stoops and Kentucky weren’t expected to come into Knoxville and upset Tennessee, but the Wildcats trailed by just three points in the fourth quarter. But despite Tennessee playing another poor offensive first half, Kentucky was unable to take advantage and earn what would have been Stoops’ first victory against Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel. The Wildcats are now 1-6 in the SEC and 3-6 overall. Unless Kentucky can win its final three games, they won’t be able to attend a bowl game for the first time since 2015. Missing the playoffs would accentuate the reality that Kentucky’s program has reached its peak under Stoops, and maybe it’s time to go. different direction before things get worse.

Lebby finally earned another victory as Mississippi State defeated Massachusetts 45-20. However, the Bulldogs have yet to defeat a Power 4 opponent this season and have looked like a disaster in Lebby’s first year. There are real questions about whether or not Lebby is ready to become a head coach or if he should have had an opportunity like this as his first chance to lead a program. Last season, Mississippi State pulled the trigger on firing Zach Arnett midway through his first season as head coach. The precedent is there for the Bulldogs to potentially do the same thing this season and fire Lebby for his disastrous start to his tenure.

Freeze had to be moved to the torrid section after Auburn’s home loss to Vanderbilt. It was the first time the Tigers lost to the Commodores at home. Auburn is now 1-5 in SEC play and has shown no signs of improvement throughout the season. Freeze still has a good reputation as a head coach and recruits heavily, but his team’s play on the field leaves a lot to be desired. Auburn’s culture appears to be on the brink of collapse.

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

Venables and Oklahoma finally had an offensive explosion they’ve needed for weeks, except instead of it against a conference opponent, it came against FCS foe Maine. This win won’t do much to move the needle in a positive direction for Venables. They desperately need to win one of their final three conference games.

Pittman is back where he started the season, in the hot seat. He bought himself some time with an upset win over Tennessee a few weeks ago, but since then the Hogs have shown the same worrying signs that put Pittman on the hot seat in the first place. The 63-31 blowout loss to Ole Miss marked the second straight loss Arkansas has suffered at home. If Texas does the same thing to the Razorbacks after their bye week, Pittman may not yet be in Fayetteville to coach the next game against Louisiana Tech.

Hot: empty

After Pittman returned to the hot section and Beamer scored a huge victory, this section of the heat index is vacant this week.

Ambient temperature: Kalen DeBoer (Alabama), Brian Kelly (LSU), Eli Drinkwitz (Missouri), Lane Kiffin (Ole Miss) Shane Beamer (South Carolina

Again, none of these head coaches are in danger of losing their jobs. However, they each built up their fan base, angry at them for one reason or another.

DeBoer and Alabama had a bye week before one of their biggest matchups of the season against LSU. If DeBoer and the Tide lost their third game of the season against LSU, the negative noise in Tuscaloosa would be unbearably loud. DeBoer is still in his first season and he has to follow the greatest coach of all time, but Alabama fans are impatient and they won’t settle for anything less than championships. Those expectations may be unrealistic, but they’re also reality, and DeBoer knew it when he signed. This week is a must win for Alabama.

This is also a must-win for LSU. The Tigers also already have two losses and would be eliminated from the playoffs with a third. Kelly needs to show Tigers fans that he can get them over the hump. LSU has had a bad habit of losing big games during his tenure, and losing to DeBoar in his first season wouldn’t be a good idea for Kelly, who is in his third season in Baton Rouge.

Drinkwitz’s Tigers were also on leave. They have a great chance to win their final four games of the season and finish 10-2. Although Missouri has been a disappointment so far this season, another 10-2 record would be something to build on for Drinkwitz’s future.

Kiffin and Ole Miss just finished destroying Arkansas 63-31 to set up a showdown against Georgia. This is arguably the biggest home game of Kiffin’s time in Oxford. A win in this game would change everything for the Rebels this season. A loss would put the finishing touches on what has been a huge disappointment of a season for a team that had championship aspirations.

Beamer enters the room temperature section for the first time this season with a massive victory over Texas A&M. The Gamecocks destroyed the Aggies 44-20 in front of an incredible crowd at Williams-Brice Stadium. This victory is a powerful reminder of the heights South Carolina can reach under Beamer. All they have to do is start being consistent.

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

These head coaches have the safest jobs and happiest fans in the SEC.

Smart, Heupel and Sarkisian each lead the top ten one-loss teams that still have national championship aspirations and are in excellent position to advance to the 12-team playoffs. Elko just lost its second game of the season, but it was only the Aggies’ first conference loss. His first season in College Station was always a resounding success.

Lea continues to make his case for being SEC Head Coach of the Year with a surprise road win over Auburn. The transformation the Vanderbilt football program has undergone under Lea is truly remarkable. The Commodores are 6-3 and bowl eligible for the first time since 2018.

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