SEC football odds first coach fired: Will Muschamp, Derek Mason betting favorites to be conference's first coach gone

There are four new head coaches in the SEC this football season, which finally kicks off Saturday in the conference: Arkansas' Sam Pittman, Missouri's Eli Drinkwitz, Mississippi State's Mike Leach and Ole Miss' Lane Kiffin. How many openings could there be after this season? Probably not as many as four, but SportsLine oddsmakers have put out the favorites to be the first coach fired/leave.

There may not be as many coaching changes around the country overall in 2020 simply because of the coronavirus. Schools are taking a financial bath with few or no fans at home games; SEC schools each lost four highly-profitable non-conference games. It's far from a sure thing that each school will play the full 10-game regular-season schedule, either, with nearly two dozen FBS games around the country already having been postponed/canceled due to COVID-19 outbreaks.

Also consider that schools are losing money with many students choosing to take classes online instead of going to campus and paying for housing, meals, etc. Thus, perhaps some coaches who might have been fired in previous years will get a one-year reprieve.

South Carolina's Will Muschamp is the +250 favorite to be the first SEC coach to be ousted. Muschamp won nine games in 2017 at USC and the Outback Bowl but doesn't have a winning record in any other season. The Cocks slipped to 4-8 last year.

Frankly, Muschamp might be vastly overrated overall considering he's 43-44 as a head coach when one throws out a flukish 11-2 season at Florida in 2012 when he had mostly Urban Meyer's players. Muschamp is 2-13 against ranked teams at South Carolina, and there are seven Top-25 opponents on the schedule as of now.

That includes Saturday's home opener vs. No. 16 Tennessee, which is a 3.5-point favorite. If South Carolina is routed there, things could get ugly quick with a Week 2 visit to No. 5 Florida. Muschamp's buyout is reportedly around $13.475 million.

Vanderbilt's Derek Mason is next at +300 on the futures odds. Mason is by all accounts a great guy and good coach, he's just in a no-win situation at Vanderbilt with the school's stringent academic standards.  He is 27-47 at Vandy with no winning seasons. Last year's 3-9 mark tied the Commodores' worst under Mason.

In November 2019, athletic director Malcolm Turner announced Mason would return in 2020. Turner is no longer the AD: Candace Storey is. It's not clear what Mason's buyout would be as Vandy is a private school and doesn't need to make contracts, etc., public. The Dores likely will not be favored in a single game in 2020 and are +30.5 at No. 10 Texas A&M on Saturday.

Auburn's Gus Malzahn (+500) has seemed to be on the hot seat ever since Auburn finished 8-5 in 2014, the year after losing in the last-ever BCS National Championship Game vs. Florida State. The Tigers have lost at least four games every year since. Malzahn might have been looking for work had Auburn not upset Alabama in the 2019 Iron Bowl, only for the Tigers to fall flat in the Outback Bowl vs. Minnesota in which Malzahn was outcoached by PJ Fleck. No. 8 Auburn hosts No. 23 Kentucky on Saturday with the Tigers at -7.5.

Tennessee gave Jeremy Pruitt (+700) a two-year extension with a $400,000 raise on Thursday, but with more money comes higher expectations. Pruitt has been stellar on the recruiting trail and expectations are indeed sky-high entering this season after the Vols closed 2019 with six straight wins. The only way Pruitt is likely in trouble is if Tennessee completely faceplants.

Hard to imagine that Arkansas would dump Sam Pittman (+1000) after one season, but if the former Georgia offensive line coach looks overmatched in his first stint as a head coach, stranger things have happened. This prop includes if a coach leaves on his own, too. The Hogs, on a 19-game SEC losing streak, host No. 4 Georgia on Saturday. 

Mississippi State officials are thrilled to have Mike Leach (+1500), who should bring plenty of offensive excitement to Starkville. The only worry with Leach is he can sometimes put his foot in his mouth. Back in April, Leach made national news after posting on social media an image of a wife knitting a noose for her husband during social distancing.

Several MSU players were angry about that and one transferred. It forced athletic director John Cohen to put out a statement saying he was "disappointed." Perhaps Leach simply won't fit in the SEC – it's a lot different coaching in that league than the Big 12 or Pac-12. Leach's SEC debut is at No. 6 LSU on Saturday. 

Via SportsLine oddsmakers: Which SEC football coach will be first fired/to leave?

• Will Muschamp +250
• Derek Mason +300
• Gus Malzahn +500
• Jeremy Pruitt +800
• Sam Pittman +1200
• Mike Leach +1500

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