Life in the SEC isn’t for the faint at heart. That goes for players, fans and especially coaches. The hot seat shows no mercy and very little patience in this league.
Coming into the season there were two names that were firmly on the hot seat in the SEC. Shane Beamer of South Carolina and Jeff Lebby of Mississippi State were both on the short list of coaches on the chopping block. At the halfway point of the year one of them still is, and it seems like others have joined in on the (not) fun.
We’re six games through the season for most teams. Like a bad yelp review because of a bag of greasy french fries, five guys are starting to feel the heat. Here’s the current ranking, on a scale of 1-10, of hot seat concern for SEC coaches.
Beamer, South Carolina: 3 out of 10
This honestly has less to do with the big win over Florida than most would imagine. The hot seat talk seemed to hit a fever pitch multiple times over the last few weeks. The blown leads against Mississippi State and Kentucky were received, uhh, pretty poorly from the fan base. The blowout loss to Alabama sandwiched in between didn’t help either. But, even as the hot seat talks got louder and louder from the fans at the gates outside the building, they seemed to cool from sources inside the building.
Beamer’s job security was definitely strengthened by the win in Gainesville, but the collective sigh of relief you heard from Columbia may have been from the administration, not the fans. The resources needed for a turnover at head coach, and hiring of a new staff, would estimate around $50 million for South Carolina. That’s just not feasible with their current financial situation. There’s still a lot of season left, but outside of Georgia, most everyone on the backend of their schedule looks beatable.
Mike Elko, Texas A&M 3.5 out of 10
Maybe this is an overreaction for him to even be on there, but Mike Elko definitely didn’t help his case on Saturday after yet another embarrassing loss for the Aggies. Texas A&M has now lost three of its last four SEC games and they haven’t scored an offensive touchdown in two of them. After Saturday, Elko took a shot at Billy Liucci and the TexAgs site, as well as their fan base.
For those unfamiliar, that site is not only the largest fansite in the Aggies fan base, it’s the largest of any in the country. Openly calling them a “cesspool.” Not exactly the kind of thing you want to say in general, but it’s definitely not something you should’ve said after a 21-point loss where your team, not Billy Liucci’s, got their butt kicked.
Lebby, Mississippi State: 2 out of 10
What a fantastic start to the season for Lebby and the Bulldogs. There’s a lot of season left, and the Bulldogs will exit their bye week with LSU, Oklahoma and Texas on the horizon. They still have a trip to OIe Miss at the end of the season as well, but this team should not only go to a bowl but could still get to eight wins easily.
Ryan Silverfield: 4 out of 10
A win over Tennessee would’ve certainly helped, and to be honest, no first-year head coach should ever be on this list especially at a dumpster fire like Arkansas. Ryan Silverfield just doesn’t seem to be well liked in Fayetteville. No one does though. That definitely includes the athletic director and administration that hired him. Would he get fired in year one? Who knows. That whole program seems less stable than two decade old Ikea furniture.
UPDATE: Ryan Silverfield 6 out of 10
Silverfield opting to punt on fourth-and-10 down seven points with 1:36 left in the game was certainly a bold choice.
Brent Venables, Oklahoma: 0 out of 10
Brent Venables may get another extension after that big win against Texas.
Steve Sarkisian, Texas 3 out of 10
Texas fans are not going to handle this loss well. They’re especially not going to handle it well if they end up missing out on the College Football Playoff given the gauntlet they have in front of them. Texas still has games against Mississippi State, Florida, Ole Miss, and LSU. Those fans and donors already seem like logic never drives the conversation, so I can only imagine how well they’ll handle losing to their arch-rival in a game they should’ve never been in.
