Paul Finebaum believes two SEC coaches saved their jobs in 2025

SEC Nation: Paul Finebaum | Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images

After the SEC completed the entire offseason without a head coaching change this past year, the 2025 season has brought total wreckage. Already 25% of the league's 16 head coaches have been sacked before the regular season has even finished up, and more changes could be on the way later this month and into December. However, SEC Network Paul Finebaum believes a couple of guys actually played their way off the hot seat.

To recap, Arkansas fired Sam Pittman to get the chaos rolling, then Florida fired Billy Napier, followed by LSU's firing of Brian Kelly. Most recently, Auburn cut ties with Hugh Freeze after they lost at home to Kentucky. And speaking of the Wildcats, their head coach, Mark Stoops, was all but fastened onto a guillotine after a disastrous 2-5 start, but his club has since knocked off Auburn and then returned home to whip Napier-less Florida 38-7 last weekend.

At 4-5 with FCS foe Tennessee Tech still to go, plus matchups against rivals Vanderbilt and Louisville, bowl eligibility is certainly in sight. For those reasons, Paul Finebaum believes Mark Stoops is no longer on the chopping block in 2025, perhaps barring a loss to Tennessee Tech.

"I mean, he was the one that was most vulnerable," Finebaum commented on Stoops during his appearance on a YouTube stream with Georgia fan website DawgNation. "Those feel like really big wins. When you look at the programs, they’re really not in reality, but that’s what Kentucky is right now. Any progress is a lot of progress there."

Paul Finebaum says Brent Venables is safe at Oklahoma

Oklahoma Sooners head coach Brent Venables | Randy Sartin-Imagn Images

The DawgNation hosts wondered if Finebaum believed any other SEC coaches could be fired, to which he responded, "I don’t see anyone else going." But that doesn't mean he didn't consider the possibility of Oklahoma parting ways with Brent Venables had 2025 not panned out quite as well as it has for a frisky Sooner squad on the egde of College Football Playoff contention.

"I think the other one that was vulnerable was Brent Venables," Finebaum shared. "Now, you know, what happens with a loss Saturday and maybe another loss? But that doesn’t even look very likely anymore, considering I think they have Missouri and LSU left. Those do not like look like programs that can beat anyone right now."

The Sooners do have Mizzou and LSU both remaining on the schedule, and at home, too. A trip to Death Valley may seem haunting, regardless of coach, but it's hard to imagine a fledglng LSU team making a huge ruckus on the road under an interim leader. Meanwhile, Missouri has really soiled away their greater postseason chances and are reeling following a 1-4 start to SEC play.

Mark Stoops is likely safe so long as he picks up the win over Tennessee Tech, and he's definitely got a golden ticket if the 'Cats stumble into a bowl game, while Brent Venables has Oklahoma right where they hope to be with a shot at the postseason with just a few weeks to go.