5 SEC coaches under the most pressure during the 2024 football season

The SEC (no, not the Securities and Exchange Commission) is the college football conference of all conferences.

Despite the Michigan Wolverines bringing home a national title for the Big Ten last season, the Southeastern Conference is still considered the top dog of the college football scene.

While Nick Saban retired following last season, there are still legendary coaches, like Kirby Smart at Georgia, reigning over the conference.

While Smart wasn’t able to lead the Bulldogs to a third consecutive national championship to top off their 2023 season, UGA is still one of the best programs in the country.

Steve Sarkisian led the Texas Longhorns to their first-ever College Football Playoff appearance last year and while the Horns lost to the Washington Huskies in the semifinals, Sark cemented his place at Texas for years to come.

So, beyond the elite coaches who spent their offseason signing extensions and recruiting the socks off of other teams in the country, which SEC coaches are under the most pressure in 2024?

After an incredibly successful 2022, in which the Gamecocks finished 8-5 overall (including a bowl game apperance), fans expected an equally if not more succesful 2023.

However, head coach Shane Beamer led South Carolina to an abysmal 5-7 overall record last season and needs to re-find his footing this year.

Brent Venables is still relatively new to being a head coach. However, after his remarkably successful, decade-long tenure with the Clemson Tigers, many Sooner fans expected more.

So far, Venables is only 16-10 with Oklahoma and just lost his starting quarterback Dillon Gabriel to the Oregon Ducks. The Sooners need at least 8 wins in their first SEC season for Venables to come close to expectations.

Hugh Freeze did... okay-ish with the Auburn Tigers in 2023. He led the team to a 6-7 overall record but the Tigers kept their games against Alabama and Georgia close during the regular season.

Freeze is projected and expected to do even better in 2024 and if he doesn't, fans may start questioning if he was worth it.

The Florida Gators could be really good in 2024. Actually, scratch that, the Florida Gators should be really good in 2024.

However, there is a ton of pressure on head coach Billy Napier to improve his performances from the past two seasons, in which he fell well short of success. Napier is 11-16 with the Gators so far and needs a winning record to secure his job at Florida.

In his first season with the Alabama Crimson Tide, former Washington head coach Kalen DeBoer is having to fill some of the biggest shoes of all time.

Trying to follow Nick Saban's tenure may be the biggest burden that any head coach in the country carries in 2024, much less in the SEC.

Read more: