Where Tennessee Vols HC Josh Heupel falls in CBS Sports' annual hot seat rankings
Each summer, CBS Sports puts together a list of hot seat rankings for each FBS head coach. CBS Sports assigns a "hot seat ranking" to each coach, ranging from a 5 (which is win now or be fired) to 0 (untouchable). Tennessee Vols head coach Josh Heupel received a 1 from CBS Sports in this […]
Each summer, CBS Sports puts together a list of hot seat rankings for each FBS head coach.
CBS Sports assigns a "hot seat ranking" to each coach, ranging from a 5 (which is win now or be fired) to 0 (untouchable).
Tennessee Vols head coach Josh Heupel received a 1 from CBS Sports in this year's rankings, meaning he's "safe and secure".
Interestingly, CBS Sports gave a couple of coaches who have had similar success as Heupel in the SEC a rating of 0 (untouchable) — Brian Kelly at LSU and Lane Kiffin at Ole Miss.
Kelly is 20-7 over the last two years at LSU, Kiffin is 19-7 over the last two years at Ole Miss, and Heupel is 20-6 over the last two years at Tennessee.
How in the world are Kelly and Kiffin "untouchable" and Heupel is just "safe and secure"?
Of course, it's not that it really matters what CBS Sports thinks about the job security of SEC coaches, but it's still odd that Kelly and Kiffin are viewed in a different light than Heupel.
If anything, Kelly, specifically, is facing more pressure at LSU than Heupel at Tennessee or Kiffin at Ole Miss, given that the three previous coaches in Baton Rouge (Nick Saban, Les Miles, and Ed Orgeron) all won national championships.
Regardless of CBS Sports' rankings, all three coaches would need to have disastrous seasons in 2024 to be in any real trouble.
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