Published March 9, 2011 - 1:52pm
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Before I start, allow me to state that the article written is my own personal opinion, and I have used my own criteria. To qualify, a coach must have coached at least ten years IN the SEC. There are a lot of great coaches who will not make this list because their tenure was either in another conference, or before the formation of the conference. Some of the names who did not make the list include; John Heisman and Mike Donahue (Auburn) because their coaching career predated the SEC, Frank Broyles (Arkansas) because he coached in the SWC, and Wallace Wade (Alabama) whose career also predated the conference.
(10) – Bobby Dodd (Georgia Tech): OK, before you get all up in arms, Georgia Tech was a member of the SEC for a long period of time. During his 19 years coaching in the SEC, Georgia Tech was a major power, winning two SEC Championships and a national championship.
(9) – Pat Dye (Auburn): After Shug Jordan’s retirement, Auburn’s program hit hard times. Auburn lost nine straight games to Alabama during this period. Pat Dye was brought in to resurrect the Auburn football program, and he didn’t disappoint. In only 12 seasons at Auburn, the Tigers won 99 games, four SEC Championships, but just as importantly put the Auburn program back on equal footing with Alabama.
(8) – Johnny Majors (Tennessee): In 16 seasons at Tennessee, Majors teams won three SEC Championships, and one national championship, and appeared in eleven bowl games.
(7) – Ralph “Shug” Jordan (Auburn): Jordan was Auburn’s winningest coach, winning 176 games in his 25 seasons at Auburn. He also coached Auburn to it’s first SEC Championship, and it’s first claimed national championship. He had winning records in 22 of his 25 seasons. Four times he was named SEC Coach of the Year.
(6) – Frank Thomas (Alabama): Thomas was the first Alabama coach after the creation of the SEC. It was during his time at Alabama that they became recognized as a national power. Alabama won four SEC titles during his years at Alabama, and Alabama claims two national championships while he was a coach there. He also coached a player who would later go on to even greater coaching heights, Paul “Bear” Bryant.
(5) – Vince Dooley (Georgia): Dooley Coached Georgia to five SEC Championships and one national championship. In his 25 years at Georgia, the Bulldogs played in 20 bowl games.
(4) – Johnny Vaught (Ole Miss): During Vaught’s time at Ole Miss, he produced six SEC Championship teams, and Ole Miss claims three national championships during his tenure. During his 25 years at Ole Miss, the Rebels were a prominent national power, appearing in 18 bowls.
(3) – Steve Spurrier (Florida/South Carolina): Steve Spurrier took over the reins of a Florida squad that had never been in the national spotlight, and made a national power out of them. He won a national championship as the Florida head coach, and created a team that has been the dominant team in the SEC for a quarter century. He has gone on to take South Carolina to their first SEC Championship game ever.
(2) – Paul W. “Bear” Bryant (Kentucky/Alabama): The numbers are indisputable; Six national championships, 12 conference championships, fifth all-time in wins with 323, and 24 bowl appearances in 25 seasons!!! Bryant has a coaching trophy named after him, and had his likeness on a postage stamp.
(1) – General Robert Neyland (Tennessee): Between two tours of duty in our nation’s military, Neyland amassed 173 wins in only 213 games, giving him the greatest winning percentage in SEC history at .829. In 21 seasons, Neyland had six undefeated seasons, nine undefeated regular seasons, four national championships and seven conference championships. Neyland is recognized as the greatest defensive mind of all time. At one point in his career at Tennessee, the Vols held 17 consecutive opponents scoreless!!! In 1939, Tennessee was the last team in major college football to hold their opponents scoreless for an entire season. There may be some disagreement with my pick of Neyland as the greatest coach in SEC history, but when you look at the careers of all of the SEC coaches, taking into consideration his two disruptions of his career for military action, and Tennessee’s dominance with him on the sidelines, I don’t see anyone better than Neyland.
I really enjoyed the article. General Neyland might be the most underrated coach in SEC history. I’m sure Bama fans will get riled up when they see that the Bear is #2, but I agree with you.
Not to nit pick, but Johnny Majors did not win a National Championship at Tennessee. He won the National Title while he was head coach at Pitt in 1976. I would probably rate Phil Fulmer over Majors.
Majors was 116–62–8 overall, and 57–40–3 in SEC play. Fulmer was 152–52 overall and 98–34 in the SEC. Fulmer also won a National Championship in 1998.
Nevertheless, great article, Jonnny!
No “might be” about it, Ben – the General is definitely the most underrated coach. I’ll have to say I was pleasantly surprised that the General was #1, definitely thought Bear would be because the General was coaching and serving his country before most of the audience was born – but then I also saw that the writer has an AU affinity :-) One big statistic not mentioned that Bammers don’t have an answer for – the Bear NEVER beat the General in head to head competition. The winning percentage is unbelievable – how do you hold opponents scoreless over an entire year?? You can go on and on with both men really – and yes, I would agree that Phil Fulmer should make the list ahead of Johnny Majors.
What do you mean “no answer for”? You make it sound as if we would try to deny the fact that Neyland never lost to Bryant. I don’t know any Alabama fan who would try to argue that statistic. You seriously need to get off the hate wagon.
My answer for you, Neyland was a great coach, that’s how he beat Bryant the way he did. Even the greatest meet their match sooner or later and Paul Bryant met his against Robert Neyland.
I forgot to mention and you failed to mention, Bryant was NOT at Alabama when Neyland beat him. Before you get crazy and try to insult me with a “bammer” comment, I am not trying to take anything away from Neyland.
Well im a Bama fan and while i spotted the headline my first through was Bear but…when i got down and seen General Robert Neyland my first thought was “Who?” but after reading the bio i dont see an issue with him at #1 while many people like myself know nothing of the man dont mean he wasnt a great coach just means he coached for the Vols while i dislike them now this was far before my time and makes you wonder what could of happened if not for his 2 tours of duty
Thanks Johnny for recognizing the General! One more thing to add to the General’s resume, 112 of his victories at Tennessee were by shutout!
I agree with Ben, Fulmer over Johnny Majors. Fulmer brought home the first-ever BCS Championship with the win in the Fiesta Bowl over Bobby Bowden and Florida State. Fulmer’s record at UT, 152 – 52
Thanks Ben & Michael. I missed that on Johnny Majors. You’re right. I should not have used his national championship won at Pitt, and if I drop that non-SEC national championship, Phil Fulmer would also beat out Johnny Majors for the Top Ten, in my estimation.
BG(R) Neyland certainly deserves the top spot.
Decent but Neyland 1 and “the Bear” 2 is ridiculous. It kills the rest of the article. I’m not a Bamer fan but come on?
As you can tell by my user name, I’m extremely biased. That said, in the words of Bear Bryant, “People think I’m the greatest damn coach in the world, but Neyland taught me everything I know.”
It warmed my heart to see him top this list.
Great list! I have to agree the Neyland is #1, Bryant is more known and won more championships, but you really can’t put someone over someone else when they never beat them. Coach Bryant was 0-5-2 against the Neyland.
Ok by the sure numbers Johnny Majors should not even be in the top ten and to put Coach Neyland over Coach Bryant, 323 wins compared to 173 wins and (yes he does have a higher winning percentage), but 4 National Championships to 6 National Championships and 7 SEC titles compared to 12 SEC championships and only in 4 more seasons. And go figure the writer of this article ia an Auburn writer….wow I wonder why Shug Jordan or Pat Dye was not the top all time coach of the SEC. I met Coach Dye and have to say he was a class act so not biased at all. I just know who is a good coach and who is not. As far as Spurrier goes, he is a great coach but a real piece of work as a human being.
Did you happen to see Bear’s record against The General? 0-5-2. How’s he the better coach again?
Did you happen to know that the Bear was at Kentucky win they coached against each other. Bear still had a winning record with them but he had no-where the recruits in state like when he was at Bama.
His articles are always BIASED. Pat Dye shouldnt count because he ran Auburn into the ground by cheating. And next season if you do this again Nick Saban better be thrown into the mix lol
Tideroller6, do you ever use your head for anything other than a hat rack? I invite you to post from any source how Coach Dye cheated. Auburn was placed on probation at the end of his tenure, but the only illegal activity involved an overzealous booster, and one assistant who was disassociated from the University. The only charge that was ever levied against Coach Dye was lack of institutional control in his role as athletic director at the time. None of the charges that were levied against Auburn was for cheating. Auburn gained no competitive advantage on the field or in recruiting because of the money and food that was given to a reserve player who was already on scholarship.
This is obvious skewed opinion! Just look at the first two. Pat dye over Bobby Dood? Really!? Dye had a 6-6 record against Bama during our lean yrs (Between Bear and Stallings). He also only has three SEC championships! His other is a Southern Conf. championship with East Carolina. The only reason he is on this list is because of it was written by an AU man. So, therfore, I’m shocked that Bear is #2 and Jordan isn’t #1.
Ok while I am an Auburn fan true and true even I can admit and say that THE BEAR should have been number one on your list. But it sure didn’t hurt me either that you didn’t do that. :-)
BTW for those calling Johnny “bias”, he did say “Before I start, allow me to state that the article written is my own personal opinion, and I have used my own criteria”. What about that didn’t you Bama fans understand????
Why dont you go back to the barn you crawled out of, im sure the donkey wasnt finished! While you’re there look at all of the articles he has written. They are all biased, his players revisted are all Auburn players and he always like to look over the Bama players, had he been unbiased and went with numbers you would know the Bear was a better coach, yes Neyland was great and the Bear learned alot for him but he didnt do for Tennessee what the Bear done for Alabama and the entire SEC. If not for the Bear I really dont think the SEC would be what it is today.
Tideroller13, let me correct you on one of your false assumptions. The players that I revisited were all first, second and third team All-South, AS RATED BY FORREST DAVIS in his 2007 Recruiting Annual. Before the internet sites sprung up everywhere, Davis’ annual was the most used of any for people who followed recruiting, and I can assure you that Forrest Davis did NOT have an Auburn bias. In fact, he was accused by many of having a bias towards Alabama during that period of time. I did not leave off a single player, and I accurately reported the collegiate career of all of them.
As for your assumptions about my reasoning for choosing Neyland over Bryant, there is simply one reason. I consider Neyland to be the better coach. When you consider the head-to-head records, winning percentage, and the dominance of the teams during their period of time, along with factoring in the fact that Neyland’s career was shorter than Bryant’s because of two tours of military duty, Neyland was simply a superior coach to Bryant. Also take into account that two of Bryant’s national championships were years that Alabama lost the national championship game; 1964 to Texas and 1973 to Notre Dame. Those are purely paper championships. They may look good on T-Shirts, but Bear Bryant and Alabama didn’t earn them on the field of play, and that’s where you rate the measure of a coach.
Your reasons are simply MORONIC, Why not mention the 1966 season ? Talking about a rip-off ! And let’s NOT forget the 1977 season , It was ALSO a rip-off but let me guess….You forgot about those didn’t you ? So there are a couple of should have been Championships there but being an aubarn man I can understand your ignorance to those two facts. Coach Neyland was a great coach and his record speaks for itself and there is no shame in him finishing 2nd to the greatest coach in the history of college football, Coach Paul “Bear” Bryant. His record speaks louder than ANY coach in the history of the SEC.
Well Johnny Smith, Alabama was chosen by the AP in 1964 as National Champions and in that time the Champion was decided prior to the bowl game. In 1973 Alabama was chosen as Champions by the Coaches Poll prior to the bowl game being played. You can cry all you want, but we were still awarded the National Title.
And come on, putting Neyland ahead of Bryant? Before you go on a tirade, I know you said it’s your “own personal opinion” and therefore it can be debated. It’s obvious you hate Alabama and Alabama fans and think you’re better than them so I’m not surprised that you put Neyland at #1 and Bryant at #2. If you honestly believe Neyland is better than Paul Bryant, then that’s fine with me. But I have a hard time believing that.
With that said, Neyland was a great coach and I would never say otherwise.
Coach Bryant, Coach Neyland – they’re both amazing (and yes, I’d heard of Coach Neyland); as a lifelong supporter of the Crimson Tide, here’s my question – do you all realize how ignorant you make yourselves sound when you call us “Bammers”? I know you think it’s makes us sound like ignorant hillbillies, but, really it’s the other way around. Just sayin’.
Roll Tide!!
Kinda like when the Alabama fans use the term Aubarn.
Oops… typo – “it” not “it’s” – thanks!!
What about Wallace Wade? I would have included him before a few of the others.
As I stated in the article, these are SEC coaches. Wallace Wade predated the SEC. Auburn Coaches John Heisman and Coach Mike Donahue were also not considered for the same reason.
BTW Where is Nick Saban on this list? He has already done more in the SEC than Pat Dye!
Nick Saban has not coached ten years in the SEC.
Typical of an auburn fan, has those orange glasses on!
…and I assume you don’t think you’re looking through Crimson glasses?
I would have put The Bear above Neyland, but you can make an argument either way so I don’t mind if one writer claims Neyland is better he was definitely one of the best. RTR
Great article! The Tennessee program will forever be bless to have had such a great coach!!
I am a huge bama fan, and Im not going to lie. At first I was shocked at Bear not being no. 1, and then I saw who was no. 1. And I agree 100 percent with the listings.
Neyland over Bryant… Bryant over Neyland… utterly debatable. Neyland definitely suffers from a lack of respect, both in the South and nationwide.
What isn’t debatable is the utterly ridiculous criteria of the article. Ten years? Amazing how that number is your criteria, seeing as Nick Saban has only been a coach in the SEC for nine years. Rubs you raw that he’s managed to win as many national titles as your beloved Auburn Tigers have throughout their entire history inside of a decade, doesn’t it?
Love this article, not only cause I’m a Tennessee fan, but because it’s SO true! It always angers me when I see the Bear put above the General. 0-5-2 doesn’t lie! :) I also agree that Fulmer should’ve been on the list instead of Majors. We need a list of all the SEC teams greatest coaches, like team by team, that would be good! :))
GBO! -Ashley Marie
Several years ago, ESPN ran a 2-hr. documentary, hosted by Chris Fowler. I don’t remember the title (I think it was The Gridiron Generals)…anyway, it was about the top ten all-time college football coaches. They spent about 8 minutes on each coach. From this show I learned that Knute Rockne was at the top of the profession during the 1920s. His annual salary was a whopping $80,000! Someone said that $80,000 then would be more than $3 million today. According to Fowler, about a year before Rockne died in a tragic plane crash in 1928 in Colorado he was asked by a reporter from the Saturday Evening Post what he thought about being the top football coach in the land. Fowler said that a humble Rockne demurred and told the reporter the best football coach in the land was in Knoxville, TN. The director used that as a segue to the segment on Neyland.
Another thing I learned was that there was a tremendous northern and midwestern bias among the college football orthodoxy dating back to the turn of the century up to about 1990. There were two college football coaches who were on the vanguard of the movement to that began to garner respect for southern football and they were Neyland and Wallace Wade at Alabama (who happened to be friends). Both took teams to the Rose Bowl which was considered The Super Bowl in football (college or pro) for decades.
I understand why so many in this generation don’t know of Neyland. Have you ever watched Jay Leno do his in the street spots where he asks people U.S. History questions like, “Who wrote the Gettysburg Address?” or “What is the name of our National Anthem?” (What is a National Anthem?”)