Welcome back to the SEC Head Coaches Hot Seat Index.

This edition of the index comes after Week 9 had several interesting results that caused several different coaches to move up and down the index. Without further ado, let’s take the temperature of the SEC head coaches.

SEC Head Coaches Hot Seat Index – Week 9

Scorching: Billy Napier (Florida), Mark Stoops (Kentucky), Jeff Lebby (Mississippi State)

Napier had this week off and didn’t hurt himself again. However, his next four games will determine whether or not he keeps his job. He faces four teams in a row that are all currently ranked in the top 20. It seems almost impossible that Napier will keep his job once these four games are over. If Napier coaches the season-ending game against Florida State, it will be one of the biggest upsets of the year.

Stoops needs to be included in the torrid section after Kentucky’s miserable performance against Auburn. The Wildcats made the Tigers look like a team that has already solved all of its problems. In reality, Auburn just showed how far Kentucky has fallen under Stoops’ leadership. His $44 million buyout makes firing him difficult, but the Wildcats are moving back quickly. Everything he did for the program over the years now seems like a distant memory.

Lebby is in his first season at the position, but it’s going as poorly as possible. The Bulldogs are 1-7 after losing to Arkansas in convincing fashion. If Mississippi State can defeat UMass, it will finish 2-10. Is this acceptable for Lebby’s first year as head coach? Time will tell if he’s safe or not, but any head coach who doesn’t have any conference wins is certainly at risk of being fired.

Hot: Hugh Freeze (Auburn), Brent Venables (Oklahoma)

Freeze was able to temporarily calm the critics after beating Kentucky for its first conference victory of the season. However, Auburn still has some real problems and its record is still 3-5. Freeze has a chance to win its next two games against Vanderbilt and UL Monroe. It’s very important that he wins these two games and then at least one of his final two conference games so Auburn can make a bowl game.

If Venables hadn’t recently received a huge contract extension, he would be in even more danger than he already is. Oklahoma actually kept things close to Ole Miss longer than expected, but once again the offense failed for the Sooners. Jackson Arnold made Venables feel like he made a premature decision to bench him a few weeks ago by throwing for two touchdowns against the Rebels. Oklahoma will also have to fight very hard just to make a bowl game, and that’s not the norm in Norman.

Hot: Sam Pittman (Arkansas), Shane Beamer (South Carolina)

Pittman was able to pull out another conference win, even if it was against the worst team in the league in Mississippi State. Still, a 58-25 SEC road win will always win a head coach over at some point with his fan base. Meanwhile, Beamer was on a bye week with Texas A&M looming next.

Ambient temperature: Kalen DeBoer (Alabama), Eli Drinkwitz (Missouri), Lane Kiffin (Ole Miss), Brian Kelly (LSU)

Neither of these coaches are in real danger yet, but they did something to make their respective fans angry at them.

DeBoer and Alabama bounced back from their loss to Tennessee with a 34-0 victory over Missouri. Still, no Alabama fan is happy with two losses before November. The Tide are now off a week before the home stretch of the season begins.

Drinkwitz’s Tigers are now 6-2 but are clearly fraudulent contenders. They’ve been blown away by the two best teams they’ve faced this season and looked absolutely lost on Saturday against Alabama. Drinkwitz’s success a season ago keeps his position in stable condition. The Tigers are still ranked No. 25 in this week’s AP poll, but they look nothing like a top 25 team.

The Kiffin Rebels sleepwalked to a victory Saturday despite facing some challenges at times. Ole Miss and LSU are both in the same boat when it comes to the College Football Playoff. They both suffered two losses and would need a lot of help from outside forces to get on the court. Right now, Kiffin and Kelly are both good head coaches who have disappointed their respective fans.

Iced: Kirby Smart (Georgia), Josh Heupel (Tennessee), Steve Sarkisian (Texas), Clark Lea (Vanderbilt), Mike Elko (Texas A&M)

All of these head coaches aren’t hearing many complaints from their fans at the moment. Smart, Sarkisian, Heupel and Elko all have their teams ranked in the top 10. They are each in a great position to make the 12 playoff teams. Elko in particular is coming off the biggest win of his head coaching career thus far against LSU. Meanwhile, Lea and his Vanderbilt Commodores only lost by a touchdown to a heavily favored Texas team. Lea continues to make his case that he is the SEC Head Coach of the Year. At this point, it is difficult to dispute his results.

The SEC Head Coach’s Hot Seat Index will fluctuate throughout the season. Stay tuned for an update next week.

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