Last year in the SEC was nothing short of mayhem. Underdogs toppled giants, playoff hopes unraveled in seconds, and stadiums turned into theatres of chaos. Like Vanderbilt upsetting Alabama was in no one’s prediction book. But amidst the madness, one thing never happened. Not a single HC got the boot. Brian Kelly survived. Billy Napier made an epic comeback. Still, in the SEC, that’s an omen. And if you ask this CBS Sports reporter, the coaching guillotine is about to make up for lost time. 

Brandon Marcello didn’t beat around the bush during his appearance on The Next Round on July 31 while speaking of SEC head coaches and hot seats. “Considering we didn’t have a single coach get fired or step down in the SEC last year…,” he began. “We’ve set ourselves up for a mass exodus, mass firings in the SEC this year. I could see as many as five SEC coaches getting the boot by the end of this season.” Why? Because this year’s schedules are career-enders, as Marcello sees it. 

Let’s start with Brian Kelly, who’s got a real problem in Baton Rouge. “Now you’re hearing chatter arise around Brian Kelly at LSU. Is 10 wins even good enough there?” Marcello said.  After seven straight 10-win seasons, he slipped last year. Now, LSU opens at Clemson, faces Alabama and Oklahoma on the road, and has Florida and Ole Miss in the first month. A tough schedule, but at least he’s returning some of his key playmakers, including QB Garrett Nussmeier. If the Tigers miss the playoff berth again, and if the HC records another 9-3 season, the school may start looking for someone who can actually win big.  

Then there’s Billy Napier, Florida’s hot-seat HC, who’s stuck in ambiguity with the health status of his star QB. Last year, he clawed his way off the plank with a strong finish, thanks to DJ Lagway’s late-season surge. This kid is supposed to bring redemption to the Swamp and save the HC’s job. But now, there are more questions than answers after a new lower-body injury happened. What adds to the concern is the 2025 schedule. The Gators will travel to LSU, Miami, Texas A&M, and Ole Miss with a three-week murderers’ row of LSU, Miami, and Texas. It’s no wonder that he’s high even on CBS Sports’ Shehan Jeyarajah’s list of hot seats. What about the rest of those SEC coaches fighting for their jobs in 2025?

More SEC HCs whose seats are red hot

Despite sitting on a hot seat in 2024, Arkansas HC Sam Pittman was able to flip the script, thanks to a late-season push and a bowl berth. But Brandon Marcello ranks the Razorbacks’ 2025 schedule as the third hardest in the entire SEC. We’re talking a non-conference bout with Notre Dame, trips to LSU and Texas, and hosting Ole Miss and Tennessee. Even the cupcake game, Arkansas State, comes with in-state pressure they’ve never faced. They can’t risk even one tiny stumble in Little Rock this fall. 

Don’t sleep on Hugh Freeze either. The Auburn reclamation project is still stuck in the mud. The HC is 11-14 in his first two seasons. For context, Gene Chizik was fired two years after winning a national title. If the HC doesn’t hit at least eight wins, and maybe steal one from Alabama or Georgia, he’s cooked. And then there’s Mark Stoops at Kentucky. The Wildcats have been limping along since Will Levis left. The HC brought in veteran QB Zach Calzada to plug the gap, but the offense still looks stuck in quicksand. With Vince Marrow now at Louisville and recruiting momentum fading, we might see mutual parting of ways instead of the boot. 

Billy Napier, Brian Kelly, Sam Pittman, Hugh Freeze, and Mark Stoops are Brandon Marcello’s top five most fireable faces. And with the SEC now boasting 16 teams, at least one-third of the conference’s head coaches are hanging on by a thread. Also, Oklahoma’s Brent Venables may not have made it on today’s list. But he’s still in a line of fire per Jeyarajah’s hot seat list. This fall, forget the College Football Playoff race. The real bloodbath might be on the sidelines for 2025 is going to be about survival.