The pressure is already building in the SEC before the season has really gotten going.
The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman singled out two league coaches as hot-seat candidates heading into the fall, and both names come with very different kinds of baggage. At South Carolina, Shane Beamer is being viewed as “toasty” despite the 9-4 season the Gamecocks posted in 2024. The reason is simple: last year’s 4-8 finish and a lone SEC win changed the temperature fast.
Feldman pointed to Beamer’s overall work in Columbia as a reason the job hasn’t fully gone sideways. “The son of Virginia Tech legend Frank Beamer has done better than most Gamecocks coaches.
He’s been a good cultural fit, rallying the fan base and also winning a bunch of big-time recruiting battles. He’s also beaten archrival Clemson a few times,” Feldman wrote.
Still, the margin for error looks thin. South Carolina’s September slate gives Beamer a chance to steady things early, and he’ll need to make the most of it.
The issue in Columbia, according to Feldman, wasn’t just the record - it was the offensive change that didn’t land. “...
But last year’s 4-8 season with just one SEC win was a gut punch. Beamer hired the wrong offensive coordinator after Dowell Loggains left to become the head coach at Appalachian State, and I suspect new OC Kendal Briles will be a better fit with QB LaNorris Sellers.”
Mississippi State is in a different spot, but the pressure is just as real. Jeff Lebby enters the season with a 7-18 overall record, and Feldman didn’t sugarcoat how quickly things could turn south in Starkville. “The schedule has the potential to get problematic in a hurry,” Feldman wrote.
That’s because the Bulldogs have no runway to ease into things. After hosting ULM, Mississippi State goes to Minnesota and then to South Carolina.
A 1-2 start against two unranked opponents would already raise eyebrows, and the stretch after that is brutal: vs. No.
25 Missouri, vs. No.
13 Alabama, at No. 11 LSU, vs.
No. 10 Oklahoma and at No.
5 Texas.
Feldman made the point plainly: “Falling back to 4-8 or worse feels dicey.”
For Lebby, the path to buying time starts immediately. For Beamer, it’s about proving last season was the blip and not the new normal.
In Other News...
Mississippi State Faces A Key Week 1 Question Up Front After Arrest
Mississippi States Week 1 prep got a little more complicated on the offensive line after Miles McVay was arrested Aug. 17 on charges of speeding and not having a drivers license on demand. Jeff Lebby addressed the situation at a news conference and said the issue had been handled internally, while also indicating McVay will be available when the Bulldogs open the season.
That matters because McVay is not just another body in the room. The North Carolina transfer is projected to start at tackle, giving Mississippi State a newcomer with a major role right away as the Bulldogs try to settle their front before the season gets rolling. The off-field attention may be brief, but the on-field importance of his spot is not. [Read more 🡒]
Dan Mullen Buzz Revives A Familiar Mississippi State Debate
Dan Mullens name is back in circulation around Mississippi State, and with it comes an old conversation the Bulldogs know well: whether a familiar coach can recapture the kind of momentum that once made Starkville buzz. Mullens previous run in the SEC showed he could build a competitive program and turn Mississippi State into a tougher out than most teams expected, which is why any hint of a return naturally gets attention from fans who remember that stretch so vividly.
The broader coaching chatter also includes Brian Kelly and Cincinnati, a reminder that these reunions are not just about nostalgia but about fit, timing and whether a school wants to lean on someone who already understands the place. For Mississippi State, the appeal is obvious because Mullen has strong ties there and a track record that still resonates, but a comeback would also bring the usual questions about whether the past can be recreated in a different college football moment. [Read more 🡒]
Jeff Lebby Enters A Make Or Break Year At Mississippi State
Jeff Lebby heads into his third season at Mississippi State with the kind of pressure that tends to define a programs direction before October ever arrives. The Bulldogs have gone 7-18 overall and 1-15 in SEC play under his watch, and the road only gets steeper with a tougher nine-game league schedule waiting in 2026. There is some real turnover on the roster and staff, too, with Kamario Taylor stepping in as the new starting quarterback and Zach Arnett back in the building as defensive coordinator.
Lebbys situation has already become a talking point beyond Starkville, with multiple media outlets putting him on the hot seat list for 2026. For Mississippi State, the challenge is straightforward and unforgiving: find enough wins in the games that are supposed to swing a season, or risk letting a difficult schedule and a thin margin for error turn this fall into a referendum on the programs direction. [Read more 🡒]