Kentucky coach Mark Stoops has one of the safest jobs of any college football coach in the nation entering the 2024 season.
That’s according to veteran college football analyst Dennis Dodd, who released his annual Hot Seat Rankings for all 134 FBS coaches on Monday.
Dodd used a 0 through 5 rating system to label which coaches faced the most (and least) pressure to win in 2024: 0 translating to a coach considered “Untouchable” with 5 translating to “Win or be fired.” Stoops received a rating of 1, which Dodds describes as “Safe and secure.”
Few would argue with Dodd on that. Stoops has led Kentucky to a handful of New Year’s Day/New Year’s Eve bowl appearances and wins over SEC rivals like Tennessee and Florida. He has recruited well in state, recently landing the commitment of four-star EDGE Javeon Campbell over Alabama, and is generally well-liked by his peers in the coaching industry.
Stoops became the longest tenured coach in the SEC in January when Alabama’s Nick Saban retired.
RELATED: Stoops is No. 6 in SEC football coach rankings ahead of 2024
Four SEC coaches were labeled as “Untouchable” in Dodd’s Hot Seat Rankings: Georgia’s Kirby Smart, Texas coach Steve Sarkisian, Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin and LSU’s Brian Kelly.
Other coaches to receive a 1 rating were Tennessee’s Josh Heupel and first-year SEC coaches Mike Elko (Texas A&M) and Jeff Lebby (Mississippi State).
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