It’s almost certain that 2024 will be Billy Napier’s last year as Florida’s head coach. After a strong 40-12 record at Louisiana-Lafayette over four seasons, he is on track for a third consecutive losing season.

Since his hiring by the Gators in November 2021, Napier has accumulated more than $1 million for each win, making it one of the poorest investments in the Football Bowl Subdivision during this time.

This performance lands Napier at the top of YSL News Sports’ ranking of the nation’s most overpaid head coaches, alongside peers from the Big Ten, ACC, American Athletic, and another SEC coach.

Billy Napier, Florida

This season, Napier’s total earnings are $7.4 million, placing him 21st among coaches. All but one of the 20 coaches ahead of him have achieved nine or more wins during a season at a Power Four institution. (The exception is Luke Fickell from Wisconsin, more on him soon.) As his time at Florida nears its end, the dialogue has shifted to his buyout, which is set at $26.7 million if terminated without cause after December 1, 2024. With a record of 14-17 after an overtime defeat to Tennessee, Napier is set to become the first full-time head coach of the program to have a losing record since Raymond Wolf, who finished 13-24-2 from 1946 to 1949.

Hugh Freeze, Auburn

Similar to Napier, the initial excitement surrounding Freeze’s hire at Auburn has faded amidst the team’s ongoing difficulties. Auburn recorded a 6-7 season last year, and now stands at 2-4, failing to win any SEC games thus far, with victories over Alabama A&M and New Mexico overshadowed by a series of poor losses. Freeze’s $6.73 million salary in 2024 places him 12th among public SEC coaches, yet there was an expectation for him to elevate Auburn back into the Top 25 quickly and to eventually compete for the College Football Playoff. Instead, his job security is diminishing after just 19 games as head coach.

Luke Fickell, Wisconsin

The trend is clear with the first three coaches on this list. Like Napier and Freeze, Fickell moved from a successful stint at a smaller program — where he boasted a 57-18 record with Cincinnati and led the first Group of Five team to the playoffs — to a lucrative contract at Wisconsin, earning $7.725 million this season. However, since taking over in late 2022, the Badgers have performed poorly, barely qualifying for a bowl game last year and likely missing out on postseason action in 2024. This decline in performance is linked to a puzzling change in the team’s offensive strategy, moving away from the traditional approach that had served Wisconsin so well for years.

Mike Norvell, Florida State

Fans and supporters of Florida State are growing increasingly anxious about…
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Norvell: What have you accomplished recently? Following a successful ACC championship win and a narrow miss for the playoffs last year, the Seminoles have become this season’s most surprising letdown with a 1-5 record. Once viewed as one of the frontrunners in August, FSU now faces a significant risk of not qualifying for a bowl game. Due to his successful rebuilding efforts and the ACC title, Norvell’s total compensation has reached $10 million, placing him alongside Alabama’s Kalen DeBoer as the fifth highest-paid coach in public universities. As of December 1, Norvell has a buyout clause amounting to $63.8 million, ranking him third in our analysis, following Georgia’s Kirby Smart ($118.1 million) and DeBoer ($70.1 million).

Trent Dilfer, Alabama-Birmingham

With a total compensation of $1.45 million, Dilfer’s contract could be considered a bargain if he had kept the Blazers competitive within the Group of Five conferences. Unfortunately, that’s not been the case. After achieving six consecutive winning seasons from 2017 to 2022, UAB’s performance has fallen to a 5-13 record under Dilfer, including a dismal 1-5 so far this year. Recent weeks have been particularly tough, highlighted by a staggering 71-20 loss to Tulane on October 5 and a 40-10 defeat to Army last Saturday. Among Dilfer’s five victories, two were against teams in the Football Championship Subdivision, and only one was against a team that ended up in a bowl game. The former Super Bowl champion quarterback is likely to be regarded as one of the most regrettable hires of the decade.