It’s that time of the year, folks! The official off-season is here. It’s time for the analysts to come up with their prediction game. Who has got it all figured out, who will land in trouble? For now, the discussions about the toughest job in the SEC moving into the 2025 season are doing the rounds. The national reporters have come up with a final list of which coaches are going to land in the hot water. And guess who is leading the race? Clark Lea and the Vanderbilt Commodores. As teams follow them, there is also the program headed by the $9 million head coach on the list. However, one program is leaving no stones unturned when it comes to oomphing up their strengths. Even if it meant investing a hefty $60 million.

In the 2024 season, Lea gifted the Commodores fans with the biggest surprise. Alabama and Vanderbilt have faced each other in 83 football games. Out of which, 60 games went in the Crimson Tide’s favor. Finally, the 84th time turned out to be lucky for Lea and co. 40-35! That too against the program that has been coached for so long by the GOAT Nick Saban and now Kalen DeBoer. That called for some grand celebrations. But the fans went too far while seizing the moment in Nashville at FirstBank Stadium. The fans walked away with the goalposts. Now, one could guess how passionate the fans are about their program. But this is just one part of it. 

Analyst Jim Dunaway took this up on The Next Round podcast. Here, the competition is between Vanderbilt, $9 million coach Mark Stoops’ Kentucky, and Jeff Lebby’s Mississippi State. “Is Mississippi State the toughest job in the league now in the SEC is my question for the spotlight?” The co-host answered, “Probably Vanderbilt still. But if you take Vanderbilt away, I think Mississippi State is the toughest job.” Now the question appears why Lea’s program, why Stoops’ squad, why Lebby’s team? The 2024 win marked the first victory of the Commodores since 2013. But that did not whitewash their dark past. The program was in the throes of a 26-game SEC losing streak in 2022. In the SEC, what makes a great head coaching job? The factors we’re considering are: the school and program’s prestige, the university’s dedication to football, local recruiting grounds, in-state competition.

We have seen that in the case of Auburn and Alabama. When it came to Stoops’ Wildcats, they went off to their worst start in SEC play (1-5) since 2013, when it started 0-6 and finished the year without a conference win. They also averaged 19.1 points per game, which ranked last in the SEC and marked their fewest points per game through eight games in 13 years. The biggest problem lay in Stoops’ counting on a transfer quarterback for the third season.  The Bulldogs finished 2–10 overall and 0–8 in SEC play under first-year head coach Lebby.

So, are Vanderbilt, Mississippi State and Kentucky the only ones who are walking on a tight rope? No. Arkansas and South Carolina are also on the list. Among the programs that are on the hot list, Stoops is busy doing damage control while Mississippi State dished out a hefty amount.

A fresh start for Mark Stoops and Mississippi State’s $60 million makeover

The Wildcats had found some momentary respite, landing a big defeat to the Ole Miss Rebels. And what happened next? Stoops’ boys lost to Vanderbilt, and they looked as sloppy as a team can look. They followed that with a blowout loss to the Florida Gators and a 24 – 10 loss to the Auburn Tigers. With this, they wrapped up the 2024 season with a 4-8 record that ended their eight-year bowl streak. And post this, Stoops landed in the hot seat as Kentucky looked lethargic and non-competitive for the most part.

However, this time around, the head coach has tapped into a rebound mission. He emphasized a roster overhaul with 31 new players, including 20 from the transfer portal, to address last year’s depth issues and boost SEC competitiveness. First things first, Stoops addressed the nagging quarterback problem. Zach Calzada, a sixth-year senior quarterback, landed with the Wildcats carrying extensive experience from Texas A&M, Auburn, and Incarnate Word. Meanwhile, Mississippi State turned heads with its $60 million move.

According to analyst Sam Sklar, Mississippi State football plans to “build an indoor football practice facility and renovate the existing Leo Seal Jr. Football Complex.” The Palmeiro Center currently serves as the indoor facility for football. However, this $60 million glow-up attempt will be named after Billy W. Howard Sr., the co-founder of Howard Industries and a former MSU football, basketball, and track athlete. Jeff Lebby, Clark Lea, and Mark Stoops, who can break free from the “tough job” curse?