ESPN Names College Football Coaches On Hot Seat Entering 2024 Season

It's an inevitability every year. There are a handful of college football head coaches that face a swift ending if expectations aren't met in 2024.

ESPN's Pete Thamel revealed which coaches are on the hot seat headed into the season, including a pair out of the SEC.

Florida's Billy Napier is headed into his third season at the helm of the Gators. After leading UF to a 6-7 bowl season in his first year, Florida regressed last season with a 5-7 finish and missed a bowl game for the first time since 2017.

It wouldn't be a surprise for Napier's stint in Gainesville to come to an end if things aren't turned around in 2024. Though the nation's toughest schedule looms as the most daunting challenge. Similarly for the UF leadership, Napier's buyout is also a tall task if the decision ultimately has to be made this year.

According to Thamel, Napier's $26.7 million buyout would be the second-largest in the history of the sport.

"Although A&M's $76 million owed to Jimbo Fisher changed the paradigm of buyout possibility, this would still loom as the second-biggest known buyout in the history of college football," Thamel wrote .

The Gators are slated to play an astonishing eight teams ranked within the Top 25 of the preseason AP Poll, including the season opener against No. 19 Miami. UF will also take on No. 1 Georgia, No. 4 Texas, No. 6 Ole Miss, No. 10 Florida State, No. 13 LSU, No. 15 Tennessee and No. 20 Texas A&M.

Thamel also names Arkansas' Sam Pittman, who is entering his fifth season in Fayetteville. The Razorbacks' best finish under Pittman came in 2021 (9-4). Arkansas is 11-14 over the last two seasons and missed a bowl bid last season after going 4-8.

"The new SEC dynamics make difficult jobs even harder, and that's why Pittman needs a bit of a trajectory correction to keep going in Fayetteville," Thamel wrote.

Arkansas is 20-18 since 2021. Pittman's buyout sits at $8.1 million if his record since that season is below .500 and $12.15 million if it's at or above .500, according to Thamel.

The Razorbacks' schedule is almost as daunting as Florida's, drawing matchups against seven teams within the Top 25. Arkansas will face No. 4 Texas, No. 6 Ole Miss, No. 11 Missouri, No. 13 LSU, No. 15 Tennessee, No. 17 Oklahoma State and No. 20 Texas A&M.

Baylor's Dave Aranda is the only other Power Five coach mentioned by Thamel. Aranda is entering his fifth season at the helm of the Bears.

After winning just two games in 2020, Aranda and Baylor made a splash in 2021 with a 12-2 finish, Big 12 Championship and win over No. 6 Ole Miss in the Sugar Bowl. Aranda's rise quickly took a turn, though, as the Bears dropped to 6-7 in 2022 and won just three games last season.

"The move is not something the school wants to do, as he has been an elite fit in both the athletic department and the school's culture," Thamel wrote. "But after a two-year backslide to 6-7 and 3-9 last year, the administration needs to see the trajectory set in a different direction."

Baylor has an opportunity to take the reigns of the new-look Big 12 in 2024 with perennial powers Texas and Oklahoma out of the picture. The schedule is manageable with three ranked matchups on the slate in No. 12 Utah, No. 17 Oklahoma State and No. 22 Kansas.

If the losing theme continues, however, the school may make the move. According to Thamel, Aranda would be owed somewhere between $15 million and $19 million if he were fired.

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