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First College Football Head Coach Fired: Odds and Betting Predictions

by Mike Allen - 8/14/2024

First college football coach fired Billy Napier Florida Gators

We remain, albeit barely, double-digit midgets, with 10 days left until the kickoff of the 2024 college football season on August 24, when the Florida State Seminoles play the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets.

We won’t get to see much else until the 31st, however, and that’s when we have a massive matchup that pertains to this week’s article on the first college football head coach fired. More on that in a moment.

Atop the betting odds sits Billy Napier, the head coach of the Florida Gators. You can get a 4-to-1 payout if you bet the third-year head coach to get the can before any of his peers. Just below him at 5-1 is another SEC signal-caller, Sam Pittman.

Miami's Mario Cristobal is up there at 6-1. Heck, we even see Ryan Day from The Ohio State University as the 7th guy down the list with odds of 12-1 to be the first head coach fired. There are other notable names on the list, as you will see.

Let’s break this one down the best we can pre-snap and make some predictions for the first college football head coach fired.

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Betting Odds for the First College Football Head Coach Fired

Billy Napier (Florida): +400

Napier’s two years at the University of Florida as the head coach have been brutal. I understand that the SEC is the closest thing to the NFL that most college football players will ever see. However, not every program is created equally.

Florida Gators football is the closest thing to religion that many atheists will ever see. Going 6-7 in your first year and capping it off with a 30-3 loss in the Las Vegas Bowl against the Oregon State Beavers wasn’t a good start.

That’s okay, though. He avoided another bowl game blowout loss the next season when the team went 5-7 and didn’t even qualify. There is a reason this guy is the betting favorite.

Sam Pittman (Arkansas): +500

So, Arkansas has brought back former long-time head coach Bobby Petrino to be the offensive coordinator this year. What does this mean, though, for the future of Sam Pittman? Does the offense get a boost, and they get off to a great start? Maybe Pittman is already a lame-duck head coach, and it's just a matter of time before Petrino is promoted.

Mario Cristobal (Miami): +600

Miami's Mario Cristobal is another head coach we could see get the hook by midseason. There's a game that we already spoke about, though, that could make or break the future of Cristobal or the aforementioned Napier.

On August 31, the Hurricanes are headed north to the panhandle to play the Gators in the Swamp. Right now, Miami is the slight betting favorite at (-122). I think Napier will get the hook eventually this year, but it's possible that Cristobal will get the boot first if he can't get the Canes out of the Swamp with a win.

Shane Beamer (South Carolina): +1600

People are saying that Napier's Gators have the toughest schedule this season, but I would argue that the Gamecocks have it rough as well. Head coach Shane Beamer is going into his 4th season at South Carolina, and the team has finished the year inside the top 25 once, and that was only 23rd.

Beamer is out there on an island, though, in the SEC. He isn't an assistant to his legendary father, Frank Beamer, anymore. He is just above the water mark at 20-18. The gauntlet this team has early in the year is gnarly.

They play the 13th, 6th, 5th, and 16th in the first 5 games. Then, they still have to play the current 20th, 11th, and 14th-ranked teams in the nation. The university has shown us in the recent past that they don't mind firing a head coach in the middle of the season.

Dave Aranda (Baylor): +700

Clark Lea (Vanderbilt): +800

Kalani Sitake (Kansas State): +1000

Ryan Day (Ohio State): +1200

Justin Wilcox (California): +1200

Pat Narduzzi (Pittsburgh): +1200

Scott Satterfield (Cincinnati): +1400

Neal Brown (West Virginia): +1400

Tony Elliott (Virginia): +1600

Mike Locksley (Maryland): +1600

Dabo Swinney (Clemson): +2500

Lincoln Riley (USC): +2500

Brent Venables (Oklahoma): +3300

Deion Sanders (Colorado): +5000

Predictions for the First College Football Head Coach Fired

Billy Napier: +400

Maybe there is a bit of value that has been sucked out of the betting odds on Napier. However, we need to follow this steam. He doesn’t have a great coaching record at a good program before this.

The guy has never been successful at this level before. So, I think it’s easier to let someone like that go. He is a better coordinator. It’s not a bad thing. He just isn’t a head coach.

Shane Beamer: +1600

I love you, Shane. We have shared beers in downtown Blacksburg, but I don't think you have what it takes to lead an SEC team to a successful season. Like Napier, Beamer doesn't have the legacy either, and with USC and UF being two of the biggest "win now" programs on our list today, these two predictions fit perfectly.

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