SEC football's 2026 hot seat list starts with a coach who knows he's under fire
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Shane Beamer‘s rump roasts on the hot seat. Even he admits it.
South Carolina’s coach acknowledged his hot-seat status in a recent interview with The Greenville News, part of the USA TODAY Network. He’s not the only SEC coach feeling heat, although the coaching carousel projects to be quieter this season, after six SEC schools hired a new coach last year.
On this edition of “SEC Football Unfiltered,” a podcast from the USA TODAY Network, hosts Blake Toppmeyer and John Adams list SEC coaches on the hot seat.
Beamer tops the list, but another coach coming off a losing season isn’t far behind.
Two coaches at premier SEC jobs might encounter some warmth, too, even though they have playoff appearances on their resume.
Toppmeyer and Adams also each offer a wild-card contender to monitor in the longer term for the SEC’s hot seat.
SEC football coaches on the hot seat
Shane Beamer (South Carolina)
As Beamer put it to The Greenville News, the hot seat comes as expected terrain after a 4-8 season. South Carolina started last year ranked No. 13 in the preseason Top 25. It finished with no wins in October and just one in November, and Beamer will have a tough time living down blowing a 27-point lead in a loss to Texas A&M.
Beamer’s tenure has yo-yoed between good seasons and bad. In Year 6, he’ll need the yo-yo to go back up. He can’t survive another bad season. He seems to know it. He overhauled his offensive staff, including hiring coordinator Kendal Briles.
“People expect a winner,” Beamer told The Greenville News.
If he can’t deliver a winner this season, the Gamecocks must fire up the search.
Jeff Lebby (Mississippi State)
Lebby can coach offense. The Bulldogs scored at a fair clip in Lebby’s second season, but they couldn’t stop anyone and squandered opportunities for upsets in one-possession losses to Tennessee, Florida and Texas.
Lebby’s buyout is manageable, and Mississippi State doesn’t tend to stomach coaches who spin their tires. Joe Moorhead was fired after winning 14 games through two seasons. Zach Arnett didn’t even last one full season after replacing Mike Leach.
Lebby is entering Year 3. He has one SEC win. He needs to show progress.
In a fascinating twist, a former MSU coach could help Lebby save his job. He hired Arnett to run the defense. Arnett did that job well as Leach’s top aide, before Leach’s death resulted in a short-lived promotion for Arnett.
The question MSU must consider: Does it have a good coach in Lebby? Or, does it have two capable coordinators in Lebby and Arnett, with neither suited to the head chair?
It could get warm for these SEC coaches
Brent Venables (Oklahoma)
In a must-win season, Venables navigated past the hot seat in 2025. He took over defensive play-calling, and Oklahoma became the SEC’s best defense. The offense improved somewhat after the addition of transfer quarterback John Mateer, but the unit needs to keep making strides in Mateer’s second season in the SEC.
Is Venables safe? Well, for now. A 10-win season and a first-round playoff exit shouldn’t be viewed as blanket immunity. Venable’s tenure has gone like this: Bad season, good season, bad season, good season. No great seasons. No playoff wins. And, just a 1-3 record against Texas.
Venables has a squad built for another playoff pursuit. Recruiting is going well for the 2027 class. He’s in better shape than this time a year go, but a peek at OU’s tough schedule and the program’s lofty standards say he’s not bulletproof. Plus, he’s working for a different boss than the one who hired him.
Steve Sarkisian (Texas)
Sarkisian is not on the hot seat, but he spent the offseason acting like a coach who’s feeling some pressure. He took shots at Mississippi, Texas Tech and the playoff selection committee in an attempt to explain why those programs made the playoff last season while the Longhorns didn’t.
Those comments played weak.
The brass tacks: With as much as Texas invests in Sarkisian’s roster, he’ll have no excuses if he misses the playoff for a second consecutive season with Arch Manning as his starting quarterback.
On the whole, Sarkisian has done well as Texas’ coach. The Longhorns were the butt of the joke before his arrival. He restored them to power-program status and reached the playoff semifinals after the 2023 and ’24 seasons.
The 2026 schedule is a bear. Sark’s seat would warm up if he misses the playoff again. Most coaches envy Texas’ war chest. With investment needs to come elite results.
SEC hot seat wild cards to monitor
Josh Heupel (Tennessee)
Heupel deserves oodles of credit for pulling Tennessee out of a pit. Jeremy Pruitt left the program in shambles. Heupel swiftly restored respectability, then delivered a special season in 2022 and a playoff berth in 2024. He’s built up plenty of goodwill at a program where the coach is always under scrutiny.
The 2025 season ranked as Heupel’s worst, all things considered. His best win came against a Kentucky team that finished 5-7. The Vols got whupped by Vanderbilt. Still, they finished with a winning record, and Heupel didn’t face much blowback.
Entering Year 6, he’s never had a losing season. Considering the performance of those who came between Phillip Fulmer and Heupel, he’s been a gift to Tennessee.
Tennessee will start a new quarterback. If the team stalls, expect this question to arise in Big Orange Country: Did Heupel peak in 2022?
Pete Golding (Mississippi)
This season would have to go quite poorly for Golding to face heat. He was hired to a five-year deal and became the toast of Oxford for delivering two playoff wins after Lane Kiffin bolted for LSU. But, Charlie Weis Jr. called the offense in those playoff games. What if Ole Miss’ offense (and overall record) regress significantly? That would raise eyebrows.
Quarterback Trinidad Chambliss and running back Kewan Lacy returning position Ole Miss to remain a force and a playoff contender, but the schedule stiffened. That includes Kiffin returning to town with LSU in Week 3.
The gap between the Rebels’ floor and ceiling seems as big as it is for any SEC team. Most likely, if the Rebels struggle this season, that could simply result in a coordinator change. Golding’s hero status can’t totally fade in a single year, right?
Where to listen to SEC Football Unfiltered
Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network’s senior national college football columnist. John Adams is the senior sports columnist for the Knoxville News Sentinel. Subscribe to the SEC Football Unfiltered podcast, and check out the SEC Unfiltered newsletter, delivered straight to your inbox.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: College football SEC coaches hot seat starts with Shane Beamer, Jeff Lebby
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