2024 had a number of college football coaches who far-exceeded expectations such as Curt Cignetti and Dan Lanning but also some who fell well short such as Kalen DeBoer and Hugh Freeze. So which coach is truly on the “hot seat” heading into 2025?
That was the topic of conversation between On3’s Andy Staples and Ari Wasserman this week. Wasserman recently ranked his top eight coaches on the hot seat and noted that the top four on his list were all SEC coaches. Arkansas’ Sam Pittman, Auburn’s Hugh Freeze and Oklahoma’s Brent Venables all made that list.
But at the very top of his ranking was Florida head coach Billy Napier, whose seat is red hot heading into 2025.
Should Joey McGuire have been on my hot seat list? It's an intersting point, not because he's been bad, but because the expectations/investment into Texas Tech has changed so much. pic.twitter.com/2ZKUGcEHrB
— Ari Wasserman (@AriWasserman) July 31, 2025
In three seasons with the Gators, Napier is just 19-19 and just 10-14 inside the SEC. His teams finished tied for fourth in the SEC East in 2022 and 2023 and were 10th overall in 2024.
The fact that Napier managed to retain his job at all after his three underwhelming seasons is nothing short of stunning. By contrast, Will Muschamp, Jim McElwain and Dan Mullen all had nearly as many wins in just their first two seasons as Napier has had in three prior to being ousted within 3-4 years.
Unlike his three most recent predecessors at Florida, Napier has been given a level of leeway that few in Gainesville seem to be tolerating.
James Gilbert/Getty Images
Things aren’t going to be easy for Napier at the start of 2025 either. After a pair of home games against LIU and South Florida, things instantly get super challenging with back-to-back road games against LSU and Miami followed by a game against Texas off of their bye.
There’s a very good chance that the Gators are 3-2 at best and 2-3 at worst after the first Saturday in October. If that happens, there’s every reason to believe that Napier won’t make it to the Georgia game in November.
Will Napier right the ship in 2025, or will he walk the plank?
Related: Ryan Day Placed On ‘Hot Seat’ Entering 2025 Season
