College football coaching hot seat rankings: Florida’s Billy Napier, Arkansas’s Sam Pittman the ‘focus’

CBS Sports’ Chip Patterson didn’t order the college football head coaches he feels are on the hot seat by a specific number, but he made it clear that Florida’s Billy Napier and Arkansas’s Sam Pittman are the “focus” of the thus-far-quiet 2024 in-season coaching carousel.

Patterson gave Napier the slight edge but made it clear that the Gators and Razorbacks aren’t actively looking to get rid of either.

“We have seen coaches leave their team before a major bowl game before, or even announce their intentions to depart after the game, but never in a situation where that team is as explicitly in the mix for a national championship as a playoff team would be in 2024,” Patterson wrote.

“In terms of attention, the focus certainly begins with Billy Napier at Florida and Sam Pittman at Arkansas. Pittman has cooled the hot seat talk with a home win against Tennessee and has the chance to replicate that positive momentum with a game against LSU on Saturday night. Napier has not had the same big wins, but the Gators have also not totally cratered despite obvious limitations.”

There’s plenty of season left for either or both coaches to completely lose their fanbases. But as things stand, Arkansas is 4-2 and 2-1 in the conference, while Florida is outperforming expectations at 3-3 (1-2 SEC).

No one is being removed just yet this season given the modern state of recruiting and NIL.

When it comes to replacing Billy Napier and Sam Pittman, Florida and Arkansas couldn’t have more different situations

Functionally replacing Pittman isn’t hard. Bobby Petrino is already in the catbird seat as offensive coordinator and could replace Pittman if things go south before the end of the season in Fayetteville.

Replacing Napier is a bit trickier. But luckily for Gator fans, Florida has the caliber of prospects that attract top-tier coaching talents like Lane Kiffin.

If not Kiffin, some coach will benefit from the alumni base and resources UF has.