The Monarchists

Sun Belt Coaches Hot Seat Rankings

David Asbury

A few coaches could be in trouble.

It is a little hard to have fun discussing coaches who may lose their jobs.  They are real people with real families.  The head coaches may have made a lot of money to fall on but their staffs usually do not. College football is a business like any other.  If a coach fails to perform to expectations, then fans and administrations will lose their patience and try to find someone who will.  That is just the reality of the situation and a few coaches in the Sun Belt are feeling some heat.  So we decided to rank the hottest seats in the Belt.  Please keep in mind, hot seat rankings are measured by how the fans and administrations would react to a bad season in 2024.

Tier 1 – HOT, HOT, HOT! Like App. State

1.  Will Hall, Southern Miss. (4th on coacheshotseat.com) –  Will Hall took over a Southern Miss. team that was expected to compete in the Sun Belt West.  But it did not work out that way at all.  Disaster struck in 2023 and USM was one of only two Sun Belt teams not to go bowling.  Out of desperation Hall hired a new offensive and defensive coordinator and brought in quarterback Tate Rodemaker.  But will it be enough?  Hall needs to right the ship in 2024 or else he will not be there in 2025.

2.  Charles Huff, Marshall (17th on chs) – This is really high for a coach who took his team bowling in each of his three seasons.  But, They. Are. Marshall.  They have really high expectations. This is especially true after firing Doc Holliday who sported an 85-54 record.  They did not fire a great head coach to be worse off with Huff who enters the last year of his contract.  The Herd fans want to win the Sun Belt and Huff is just not doing that.  In fact, after starting 2023 strong going 4-0, they crashed and burned going 2-7 in their last nine games.  Technically, Marshall’s 3-5 SBC record ranked them LAST in the SBC East.  That’s unacceptable for Huntington.  Huff has a new offensive coordinator and a revamped offense but if they crash and burn again like last year, the Thundering Herd may be searching for a new coach in 2025.

3.  Butch Jones, Arkansas State (7th on chs)–  Ark. State hired Jones after his failed stint with Tennessee.  They expected him to rebuild the program.  After a couple of years, the team was more inept than ever and Red Wolves fans were calling for his head.  But last year he bought himself some time.  He finally found a quarterback and took the team bowling for the first time since 2019.  Those same fans are quiet right now.  But make no mistake, Jones has to continue that success.  Expectations are higher.  If his team regresses to what it was in 2022 then the Red Wolf faithful will be even louder than before.

Tier 2 – Sitting on a butt warmer

4. Clay Helton, Georgia Southern (47th on chs) – Entering his third season, Helton has implemented his offense successfully and took the Eagles bowling in both of his two seasons so he probably will not face termination this season.  Beating in-state rival Georgia State also helps.  But going 0-2 in those bowl games means he has two losing seasons.  Losing their last five games in 2024 is also a pretty horrible meltdown when they were in the driver’s seat to win the East.  He needs to give the Eagles fans a winning season.  He needs to be more competitive against SBC rival App. State.  He needs to start competing for the Sun Belt East rather than going 3-5 in Sun Belt play.  His seat is not hot but it is up a few degrees on the butt warmer.

Helton’s time at USC does not do much to help the temperature of his seat.  Photo Attributed to Daniel Hartwig at Wiki Commons.

5.  Michael Desormeaux, Louisiana (86th on chs) – Desormeaux’s seat is warmer than many outside understand and he himself explained it best on the Locked On Podcast.  Cajun fans have high expectations.  They want to compete for the SBC West.  They will give him more time but he understands that a 6-7 record with a New Orleans Bowl loss to a CUSA team is not going to cut it in the long run.  He needs to win more or else the butt warmer will get warmer.

Tier 3 – Not hot, not cold.  

6.  Shawn Clark, App. State (23rd on chs) – App. State just won the SBC East, beat James Madison, and won the Cure Bowl against Miami.  His job is not in danger at all right now.  App. State has high expectations and he is meeting those expectations.  However, App. State does have high expectations.  He really cannot afford losing seasons there.  He is a good coach with a good team and is my pick to win the SBC East.  He is in more danger of getting a fat P4 contract.  But hot seats are measured on how fans would react to a bad season, his seat will just never be cold unless he gives the Mountaineer fans a Playoff berth.

7.  Ricky Rahne, Old Dominion (31st on chs) – You would think that Rahne would be higher on this list after three years without a winning season.  But context and expectations are everything when it comes to hot seats.  Rahne took over a team that hasn’t had a winning season since 2016, went 1-11 in 2019, and canceled the 2020 season.  Expectations were very low.  Despite that, he took the Monarchs bowling in two of his three seasons and is building something special.   The team is heading in the right direction and he is in no danger of losing his job this season.  However, expectations will be higher for him going forward and he needs to start producing winning seasons or else he will climb this list fast.

Tier 4 – Freezing their asses off by their recent success

8.  Tim Beck (97th on chs) – Beck’s first season had high expectations but his team stumbled out of the gate with early losses, including a bad one to Georgia State.  He righted the ship quickly and led the Chants to a Hawaii Bowl victory and he did it without Grayson McCall at quarterback, who was out with an injury.  Beck will be given even more time to build his own team so his seat is cold…for now.

9.  GJ Kinne, Texas State (98th on chs) – Texas State was a bottom feeder in the Sun Belt for years.  And then GJ Kinne walked into town like a desperado wearing a 10-gallon hat.  His offense took off to be the best in the Sun Belt and the team went bowling for the first time since…ever.  Their fans were so excited that at the First Responders Bowl they drank all of the beer in the stadium.  All of it.  The team won the game and their fans are ready to build a statue of Kinne after just one season.  His ass is rock solid frozen.

Tier 5 – New hires. 

10.  Gerard Parker, Troy (75th on chs) – New hires almost always get time to build their own rosters and implement their own systems.  It is hard to get fired after your first season.  They would have to really stink to do that.  But Parker’s seat is warmer than other new hires because he has big shoes to fill.  Tulane poached Troy’s head coach Jon Sumrall, who won the SBC two seasons in a row.  Some fans will expect Troy to be back in SBC contention even though Parker is a new coach and the roster saw a lot of turnover.  Those fans should calm down and lower their expectations for Parker.  If they do not, he will be in a tough situation.

11. Bob Chesney, James Madison (109th on chs) – Chesney is a great hire and brought in some great transfers.  The schedule is also rather easy for the Dukes.  He is rightfully expected to have a good season in 2024.  But like Troy fans, JMU fans need to set their expectations better.  Chesney should be competitive in his first season but he probably will not win the SBC this year.

 

New JMU coach Bob Chesney annoyed with a Holy Cross player. Attributed to Kenneth C. Zirkel donated to Wiki Commons.

12.  Major Applewhite, South Alabama (94th on chs) – Like Parker and Chesney, fans in Mobile have high expectations.  Just not as high.  His biggest problem would be that fans see him as a continuation of the old regime and simply not give him the time he deserves to build his own team.

13.  Dell McGee, Georgia State (108th on chs) – Unlike Parker, Chesney, and Applewhite, Georgia State does not have high expectations yet.  Shawn Elliott also left the Panthers with a depleted roster.  McGee dove head first into the Spring Portal and found some talent, but most expect the Panthers to be last or near last in the Sun Belt East.  McGee knows Georgia, knows the Sun Belt, and knows how to win.  He seems capable of building the program to be competitive and their fans will give him the time he needs to do that.

14.  Bryant Vincent, Louisiana-Monroe (91st on chs) – Vincent’s job is by far the safest in 2024.  In his first year expectations are going to be LOW.  Like lower than the Norfolk Canyon.  ULM went 0-8 in Sun Belt play and lost their last ten games in 2023.  Vegas just set ULM’s total win total at only 1.5.  So any victories against any FBS teams will have Vincent celebrated.  He will eventually be expected to win games, just not in 2024 or even 2025…or maybe even 2026.  But definitely by 2027 they will expect him to start winning!