One of the greatest things fans college football I tend to forget this time of year how very expensive it is to fire some head coaches. While this may be done on a whim in professional sports, we must remember that most notable college football programs are at public universities. So, these head coaches and their staffs are state employees, so everything must be accounted for.

In short, you and which army might want to fire your bad coach yesterday, but who is going to pay the bill? It’s about convincing a small, deep-pocketed booster who went to this school to grit his teeth so none of us have to. These ridiculous contracts signed by many of these head coaches are fully guaranteed. This means that they must be redeemed to be thrown out.

So what I’m going to do today is take a look at some of the biggest buyouts in college football today and pick five that probably would have already been laid off without their massive buyouts. Again, it can be difficult to find contract details for private schools and a few other select establishments. All I know is that these salaries are competitive because they all have similar representation.

Let’s start with one of the most underperforming who hasn’t exactly taken the SEC by storm.

Granted, it’s not an insurmountable redemption, but it does make you think for a second. Hugh Freeze is only in his second year at Auburn. Before returning to the SEC, the disgraced former Ole Miss head coach had won everywhere else, from Arkansas State to Ole Miss to Liberty. Unfortunately, he might be coaching the most sorry team in the SEC right now. Even lowly Mississippi State is playing a lot harder.

To leave Freeze, it would cost Auburn $20,312,500. This is just the 29th highest buyout in major college football among public universities. Certainly, Apple’s Tim Cook or YellaWood’s endless supply of money could make it disappear. However, leaving Freeze less than two years after leaving Bryan Harsin after less than two years would make this job so toxic.

Even if Freeze is doing as well in Auburn as a polar bear in the Sahara Desert, Auburn optically can’t get away from him after this season. The buyout will decrease after December 1, the deadline for each buyout listed in this fiscal year. If Freeze failed again during the third year on the Plains, it would be a much less bitter pill to swallow. Auburn needs to ride this out for at least one more year.

Freeze needs to get Auburn back to a bowl game in 2025 to have a realistic chance of keeping his job.

Hugh Freeze’s purchase of Auburn: $20,312,500

By far, Florida Gators head coach Billy Napier is the most likely candidate to be fired by the end of the season. Like Hugh Freeze at Auburn, Napier’s buyout is not unaffordable, but does give some pause. The Napier, Florida buyout will be worth $26,704,167 on December 1st. For me, it all depends on how hard Florida plays until the Ain’t No Sunshine Showdown.

Florida is 4-3 heading into the Cocktail Party with hated rival Georgia. The Gators are playing better under Napier, but Jacksonville is consistently a very embarrassing place for Napier. Win or lose at Duval, Florida must find a way to win one of these three games before Florida State at the end of the season: Texas, LSU or Ole Miss. Like Georgia, all three are playoff hopefuls in the SEC.

Personally, I wouldn’t fire Napier after this season unless the Gators lose to finish 4-8. Their three losses so far are against others College Football Playoffs contenders Miami, Texas A&M and Tennessee, which the Gators took to overtime in Knoxville. 6-6 should keep Napier safe, but I would be hesitant to fire him after the Florida State game. The Gators had to go through such a brutal season.

Of course, Gator Nation doesn’t feel that way. Scott Stricklin may not have a choice in the matter.

Billy Napier buyout in Florida: $26,704,167

This is a very difficult question to understand. Mark Stoops has been the longest-tenured head coach in the SEC since 2013, now that Nick Saban has hung up the headset for the sweet life of broadcasting. However, Kentucky is 3-5 and athletic director Mitch Barnhart’s biggest distraction is now working for Arkansas with men’s basketball coach John Calipari. UK has Mark Pope and also just went to the CWS.

So, where I’m going with this: Is 9-3 every three years still good enough for Kentucky? I’d say it’s because I remember what a joke the Wildcats were under Stoops’ predecessor, Joker Phillips. Who’s laughing now? Honestly, everyone who plays in the Kentucky offense. I understand that Bush Hamdan had to replace the popular Liam Coen who is now in Tampa Bay, but Kentucky can’t pitch.

Given that Stoops has a staggering $44,437,500 buyout, Kentucky may have to lose for that to be a realistic possibility. I will say that Kentucky having to give up wins from one of its best seasons in recent years might soften the blow. You and I may remember these victories, but unfortunately they have been erased from the record. It really depends on how bad Kentucky has looked in its last four games.

For nearly $45 million, Kentucky would have acquired Calipari, but would it do the same for Stoops?

Mark Stoops buyout in Kentucky: $44,437,500

With a buyout only slightly better than Mark Stoops’ at Kentucky, we seriously have to wonder if Brent Venables is going to get a fourth year at Oklahoma after this one. OU is 4-4 overall, but is playing really lousy football lately. The Sooners didn’t look dominant out of conference, and their only SEC win to date was against an equally pitiful Auburn team. Venables is feeling the heat.

Unfortunately, he just signed such a stupid mega-contract extension last offseason. For what? To help him navigate the early part of SEC play? Well, I think we have to point the finger at longtime athletic director Joe Castiglione for putting his head coach and the football team in a less than advantageous situation. It will cost $44,808,333 to buy out Venables under this current deal.

While the amount it would cost to fire Hugh Freeze at Auburn or Billy Napier at Florida may make some boosters reluctant to pull the trigger, you have to be certain that Venables’ eventual successor at Norman would be better than him. I might think that former OU South Carolina assistant head coach Shane Beamer could be the cure to their ills, but that’s a massive buyout!

The only way Venables will coach this contract is if Jackson Arnold shows up next season.

Brent Venables buyout in Oklahoma: $44,808,333

Unlike Brent Venables at Oklahoma, Mike Norvell obtained his contract extension with Florida State. Unfortunately, if you live near the gate, you will die near the gate, because this year’s Seminoles team bit it so hard in the butt. Florida State is 1-7 on the year, now assured of being the seventh team in the last 15 years finish the previous season at No. 6 or better only to have a losing record.

I don’t know if firing Norvell would be the right move this offseason, regardless of Florida State’s putrid record. Even though the Noles went 1-11 (1-7) with their only win of the year at home against Cal, do you have $63,778,333 in available money to spend? In fact, Florida State is strapped for cash because of the terrible TV deal the ACC made with ESPN. No wonder the Seminoles want out so badly.

Entering this season, only Alabama’s Kalen DeBoer and Georgia’s Kirby Smart have bigger buyouts than Norvell. The sums are colossal, but entirely in line with what the three have done so far. The only problem is that Alabama and Georgia are still very much in playoff contention, while Florida State’s season will end in a month, although I think their season is already very overcooked.

Financial ruin would occur if Florida State left Norvell after his breakout season.

Florida State buyout from Mike Norvell: $63,778,333