Oct. 28, 2023; Jacksonville, Florida, USA; Florida Gators head coach Billy Napier reacts against the Georgia Bulldogs during the second half at EverBank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement Neitzel-USA TODAY Sports The Florida Gators are more than a month away from their first game of the 2024 season, but coach Billy Napier is already on the hot seat.
The third-year Gators coach is being offered +400 by SportsBetting.ag, making him the first NCAA football coach to be fired this season. Napier, who is 11-14 in two seasons in Gainesville, failed to lead the Gators to a bowl game for the first time since 2017.
Napier tops a list of 18 names offered by the sportsbook. The second-lowest odds belong to Sam Pittman (+500), who is 23-25 in his first four seasons at Arkansas. Looking closer, the Razorbacks are 11-14 over the last two years, the same record as Napier.
Next up is Miami’s Mario Cristobal at +600. Those odds could change significantly with Miami and Florida opening their seasons against each other in Gainesville on August 31.
Cristobal, who just signed his third straight top-tier recruiting class, is 12-13 entering the fourth year of the 10-year contract he signed to leave Oregon in 2022.
FIRST NCAA FOOTBALL COACH FIRED*
Billy Napier, Florida (4/1)
Sam Pittman, Arkansas (5/1)
Mario Cristobal, Miami (6/1)
Dave Aranda, Baylor (7/1)
Clark Lea, Vanderbilt (8/1)
Kalani Sitake, BYU (10/1)
Justin Wilcox, California (12/1)
Pat Narduzzi, Pittsburgh (12/1)
Ryan Day, Ohio University (12/1)
Neal Brown, West Virginia (14/1)
Scott Satterfield, Cincinnati (14/1)
Mike Locksley, Maryland (16/1)
Shane Beamer, South Carolina (16/1)
Tony Elliott, Virginia (16/1)
Dabo Swinney, Clemson (25/1)
Lincoln Riley, USC (25/1)
Brent Venables, Oklahoma (33/1)
Deion Sanders, Colorado (50/1)
*SportsBetting.ag odds are provided for entertainment purposes only.
Following the top three names on the list are Baylor’s Dave Aranda at +700 and Vanderbilt’s Clark Lea at +800.
Aranda is 23-25 in four seasons as the Bears’ coach. Since winning the Big 12 in 2021, Baylor has just nine combined wins, including a 3-9 finish and five straight losses last season.
Lea is 9-27 in three seasons with the Commodores, including a 2-22 mark against SEC opponents.
Perhaps the most intriguing name on the list is Ohio State’s Ryan Day. Despite going 56-8 with the Buckeyes, he enters this season with considerable pressure as Ohio State is on a three-game losing streak to bitter rival Michigan.
–Field level media
