Most overpaid college football coaches include two from SEC. Who are they?
At this point, it’s a foregone conclusion that 2024 will be Billy Napier’s final season as the head coach at Florida. After going 40-12 across four years at Louisiana-Lafayette, Napier is headed toward a third losing finish in as many years.
Since being hired by the Gators in November 2021, Napier has earned more than $1 million per win — easily one of the worst returns on investment from any program in the Football Bowl Subdivision during this span.
This gives Napier the top spot on USA TODAY Sports’ list of the most overpaid head coaches in the country, joining coaches from the Big Ten, ACC, American Athletic and a second choice from the SEC.
Billy Napier, Florida
Napier is making $7.4 million in total compensation this season, 21st among coaches. Of the 20 coaches ahead of Napier, all but one has won nine or more games in a single season at a Power Four school. (The exception is Wisconsin’s Luke Fickell, and more on him in a moment.) With his tenure drawing to a close, the conversation has shifted to Napier’s buyout. As of Dec. 1, 2024, Napier’s buyout for being terminated without cause is $26.7 million. At 14-17 overall after Saturday's overtime loss to rival Tennessee, Napier should end up as the program's first full-time coach to finish his tenure with a losing record since Raymond Wolf went 13-24-2 from 1946-49.
Hugh Freeze, Auburn
As with Napier at Florida, the hype and fanfare around Freeze’s arrival at Auburn before last season has petered out amid the Tigers’ struggles. After going 6-7 last year, Auburn is 2-4 and winless in the SEC with wins against Alabama A&M and New Mexico along with a series of ugly, error-filled losses. While his $6.73 million compensation in 2024 ranks 12th among public SEC schools, the expectation was that Freeze would bring Auburn quickly back into Top 25 contention and eventually challenge for the College Football Playoff. Instead, his job security is failing after just 19 games as head coach.
Luke Fickell, Wisconsin
There’s a trend developing for the first three coaches on this list. Like Napier and Freeze, Fickell was able to translate a ton of success at a lesser program – he went 57-18 at Cincinnati and coached the first Group of Five team to make the playoff – into a huge deal at Wisconsin worth $7.725 million in compensation this season. But the Badgers have been mediocre or worse since he took over in late 2022, barely sneaking into a bowl last year and potentially missing the postseason in 2024. These struggles can be attributed to a strange shift in offensive philosophy from the meat-and-potatoes style that Wisconsin used to great impact for decades.
Mike Norvell, Florida State
Florida State fans and boosters want to know of Norvell: What have you done for us lately? After winning the ACC championship and just missing the playoff last year, the Seminoles are this year’s biggest disappointment at 1-5. One of the league favorites in August, FSU is now in real danger of missing a bowl game altogether. Thanks to his rebuild and ACC crown, Norvell is making $10 million in total compensation, tied with Alabama’s Kalen DeBoer for fifth among coaches at public universities. As of Dec. 1, Norvell has a buyout of $63.8 million, the third-most among coaches in our survey behind Georgia’s Kirby Smart ($118.1 million) and DeBoer ($70.1 million).
Trent Dilfer, Alabama-Birmingham
At $1.45 million in total compensation, Dilfer’s contract would be a steal if he had maintained the Blazers’ place among the most consistent programs in the Group of Five. That hasn’t been the case. After posting six winning seasons in a row from 2017-22, UAB is 5-13 overall under Dilfer and 1-5 this year. Rock bottom has come in recent weeks, with a 71-20 loss to Tulane on Oct. 5 and last Saturday's 40-10 loss to Army. Of Dilfer's five wins, two have come against Football Championship Subdivision competition and just one against an eventual bowl team. The former Super Bowl-winning quarterback will go down as one of the worst hires of the decade.
Follow colleges reporter Paul Myerberg on social media @PaulMyerberg