What does Dave Bartoo think of the offseason coaching hires in the SEC?

The founder of CFB Matrix, Bartoo uses his TLC metrics – centered on the belief that talent of a team’s roster (as opposed to the opponent’s roster), location of the game and coaching can accurately predict results of college football games months in advance. Bartoo also uses his system to evaluate coaches and determine whether they are exceeding expectations or failing to live up to them each and every Saturday.

Bartoo was a guest on Wednesday’s Paul Finebaum Show and was asked to give his thoughts on several of the notable coaching changes in the league this offseason.

On South Carolina hiring Will Muschamp:

“I thought it was a joke,” Bartoo said on the air. “I thought we were being catfished when he was hired. At Florida he was one of the biggest under achievements per the recruiting that we’ve seen in a long, long time. It just was not good. I was shocked when South Carolina hired him.

“I think (South Carolina’s) putting too much emphasis on (recruiting). Yeah recruiting is important, but you gotta be able to coach too. So if you have a whole staff full of recruiters, who’s really going to coach? The recruiting was great at Florida (under Muschamp) but the results on the field weren’t there.”

Muschamp’s four-year record at Florida was 28-21, with a 17-15 SEC record. Bartoo noted Steve Spurrier, only one of the greatest coaches in SEC history, was only able to average around seven wins per season in Columbia. It would be quite an accomplishment if Muschamp were able to top that in his second stint as a head coach.

On new defensive coordinator hires Dave Aranda at LSU and Bob Shoop at Tennessee:

“Awesome. Absolutely awesome,” Bartoo said. “In terms of total efficiency value, which is the efficiency of the team versus their schedule those guys were at the top. Aranda No. 1 and Shoop was No. 2 – and it wasn’t even close.

“When LSU picked (Aranda) up, wow. If I was an LSU fan I would have been freaking out happy, same thing with Tennessee. I think that could be the difference maker, what Shoop did at Penn State was really phenomenal and Aranda where he’s been – it hasn’t just been at Wisconsin (Utah State) – he’s been absolutely awesome.”

Under Aranda, Wisconsin finished the 2015 season ranked No. 1 in the nation by allowing only 13.7 points per game on defense. Under Shoop, Penn State finished No. 3 in the nation in sacks after registering 46 in 13 games – Alabama (No.1 with 52) and Clemson (No.2 with 48) played in two more games than Penn State.

On Kirby Smart landing his first ever head coaching job at Georgia and the history that’s stacked against such a move:

“I think Georgia is going to have its first year of growing pains because basically Georgia hired Bob Stoops,” Bartoo said. “The only guy this century to win a national title at his first head coaching stop at a Power 5 team that wasn’t already there is Bob Stoops. Georgia is probably looking at another 9-3, 10-2 season.”

If Georgia can get anywhere near the production of Stoops’ career at Oklahoma, 179-46 career record with a .796 career winning percentage and a national title (2000), they’d take it.

On Barry Odom attempting to replace Gary Pinkel at Missouri:

“They lost their best coach of all time, I think (Gary Pinkel) was underrated even when he left, so certainly could be a step back there,” Bartoo said.

Pinkel left Mizzou as the school’s all-time leader in wins with a 191-110-3 overall record and a .633 winning percentage.