FLORIDA

No coach in the SEC is on a hotter seat that Billy Napier, who has had back-to-back losing seasons.

“I think Billy is really smart and a good coach, but I think he’s too nice for that place,” one coach said. “I don’t think he has control of the players. You need a Nick Saban Enema at Florida. Billy is not a huge disciplinarian. That’s what happened with (Will) Muschamp and (Jim) McElwain and (Dan) Mullen. Those Florda boys — you got to get in their ass.”

One coach blamed Napier’s inability to stop opponents.

“Billy Napier hasn’t played Florida Gator defense,” the coach said. “Hiring the defensive coordinator he hired (Austin Armstrong, age 29) that was a bad move. If I were Napier, I’d have hired Jeremy Pruitt. At least you would have had a championship defense.

“Kirby Smart at Georgia built a championship level defense first. Alabama built a championship level defense first under Saban. You’ve got to get the defense right.”

The schedule certainly isn’t right for success. It ranks as arguably the toughest in the nation, opening against Miami and closing with Georgia, Texas, LSU, Ole Miss and Florida State.

“Billy has the hardest schedule I’ve ever seen an SEC team have,” one coach said. “He has an impossible schedule (Miami, FSU, Central Florida, non-conference). He could win five games and do a helluva job but he won’t be there, either.

“Florida opens with Miami in Gainesville. If the Gators don’t win that game, Napier might not make it to October. That is a huge game for Billy.”

One coach said Napier doesn’t have the support of Steve Spurrier, a former Gator Heisman Trophy winner and national championship coach.

“When Steve Spurrier is against you at Florida, it doesn’t matter who’s for you,” the coach said. “That guy is still powerful in Gainesville.”

Said another coach: “Florida has been mismanaged by every head coach they’ve had since Urban Meyer.”

MISS STATE

Coach Mike Leach died at the end of the 2022 season and Zach Arnett was fired after one season as he diverted from the Air Raid offense.

Enter Jeff Lebby, who runs an up-tempo offense.

“I’m really a Jeff Lebby fan,” one coach said. “He’ll be a little bit like Josh Heupel at Tennessee. But does he have the talent to do what Tennessee does? He has 4-5 quarterbacks on the roster. We’ll see if he can find one.”

One coach said: “Lebby did a good job at Oklahoma with Dillon Gabriel. But the Big 12 is a huge step down from the SEC in terms of quality of competition. Look at the Georgia-TCU score in the national championship game, that was an embarrassment to college football.”

How will the defense fare?

“He hired a guy (Coleman Hutzler from Alabama staff) who has never had success as defense coordinator”, one coach said. “I doubt he’ll run Nick Saban’s system. But he has been at five different SEC schools.”

One coach emphasized State has got to upgrade its talent.

“I don’t know what kind of personality he brings in recruiting, but he’s a likeable guy,” said one coach. “I think Lebby will work harder at recruiting than Lane Kiffin. He’ll go to high schools and have more home visits and not rely on the transfer portal.”

ARKANSAS

Three years ago, Arkansas was a hot team. So was coach Sam Pittman.

The Hogs went 9-4 in 2021 with wins over Texas, Texas A&M and LSU.

Since then, the Hogs have been haunted by injuries and poor play. Arkansas was 4-8 last year, placing Pittman on the hot seat.

“It’s a make-or-break year for Sam Pittman”, one SEC coach said. “He’s got (offensive coordinator) Bobby Petrino there. Everybody is betting on the past. We’ll see if the past works. They might be doing Halloween without the Razorbacks (current staff).

One coach wasn’t enamored with former quarterback KJ Jefferson, a three-year starter who transferred to Central Florida.

“I didn’t think the Jefferson kid was a very good quarterback,” one coach said. “The offensive line was horrible, and that’s Sam’s bread and butter. The offensive line needs to play better.”

One coach said Pittman’s was hurt when he lost his first defensive coordinator.

“They miss defensive coordinator Barry Odom (who left two years ago for UNLV),” one coach said. “I don’t think there’s any question. Barry Odom to Travis Williams was like going from driving a sports car to a used car. Just because you do rah, rah stuff with players, don’t make them better.

“I like Sam but I thought he’d have a better program by now. If you get more than four wins this year, you’re lucky, right?”

One coach made this observation: “Everybody says they brought in John Calipari because they didn’t want the (men’s) basketball program to be subpar, just like I don’t think they want the football team to be subpar, either. There’s lots of money in Arkansas, some of the most powerful people in world. And they want to win.”

SOUTH CAROLINA

After South Carolina closed the 2022 season by beating Tennessee and Clemson, there was optimism in Columbia. S.C. It proved to be false hope.

The Gamecocks went 5-7 and beat just two teams with a winning record.

“I think Shane Beamer is on the hot seat,” one SEC coach said. “He had some issues with the portal and NIL. Shane Beamer’s first head coaching job was at South Carolina. Beamer wasn’t ready for that. You can tell by the way he handles his press conferences. He’s had a few big wins, yes. But I see that program dead in the water.”

One coach said Beamer made a good move bringing back run-game coordinator Sean Elliott, a former interim USC head coach.

“He’s beloved by South Carolina people and coached there for a while (2010-16),” one coach said. “Many thought he’d been a better head coach move than Will Muschamp or Beamer.

“Elliott is a South Carolina homer. He may buy Beamer another year if they can win 7-8 games.”

Another coach echoed the smart move of bringing back Elliott.

“Sean will get the locker room right where Shane lost the locker room last year,” a coach said.

Said another coach: “I put South Carolina and Arkansas in the same category. It’s a make-or-break season for both of those coaches.”

VANDERBILT

Vanderbilt went 0-8 in the SEC last season, allowing at least 36 points in eight games. Nine overall defeats were by at least 16 points.

“I hear nothing but good things about Clark Lea,” one SEC coach said. “But you could have Knute Rockne and The Gipper and everybody else and it would be remarkable if they won six games.”

Another coach underscored how hard it is to win at Vanderbilt,

“There’s only one guy in my lifetime that’s done a great job at Vanderbilt and that’s James Franklin,” said the coach. “The job he did at Vanderbilt (back-to-back nine win seasons) is better than his body of work at Penn State and he’s done great job at Penn State. Auburn should have done everything they could to get James Franklin. I think Franklin could have Auburn winning the West in 3 years.”

Another coach sympathized with Lea.

“I don’t think Clark Lea is doing a bad job,” the coach said. “It’s such a difficult job. They’ve never really put resources into the football program. They are renovating the stadium. But a building by itself don’t get it done in football. You’ve got to have people and resources.

“They get good players in spots but it takes 22 at least. You got have about 18 on offense and 18 on defense to have a solid team and they’ve got about 8-12 total. They’re running at a deficit of 24 quality players because in the SEC it’s hard.”

Another had this to say: “I love what Vanderbilt stands for: academic integrity. But you’ve got to have some studs in this league and it’s hard for Vanderbilt to compete with the Alabamas and Georgias and Tennessees for elite players.”