The 14 SEC institutions have excellent athletic directors overseeing the sports of the Southeastern Conference.

While the ADs often stay out of the limelight, a lack of success on the football field is commonly what can bring negative attention to an AD and maybe even cost him his job. Winning national championships in swimming is great, but job security, for the majority of the SEC ADs, is built around success in football.

Before, we look at the top football ADs in the SEC, let’s briefly look at a few quick facts on the current 14 SEC ADs:

  • The longest tenured AD in the SEC is Florida’s Jeremy Foley who has been at it since 1992.
  • Ten of the 14 ADs were hired in 2008 or later. Eight of those ten were hired in 2010 or later.
  • Four SEC ADs are alumni of the same school: Auburn’s Jay Jacobs, Mississippi State’s Scott Stricklin, Alabama’s Bill Battle and Georgia’s Greg McGarity.

As we look specifically at football success for the SEC athletic directors, it is worth noting that several ADs have not been on the job for many years and thus haven’t had to make any major decisions such as a head coach hiring. As such, the jury is still out for many ADs with regards to football.

Auburn’s Jay Jacobs

Jacobs has been on the job since 2004. He hired Gene Chizik and Gus Malzahn as Auburn head coaches. While he received criticism after the Chizik hiring, it did lead to a national championship. Yes, most are quick to point out that Chizik is not given much credit for this national championship (Malzahn & Newton), but it doesn’t matter. Auburn won a natty.

Not long after, Chizik was fired and Malzahn was brought back as head coach. Auburn came close to winning another national championship after the 2013 season. Overall, Jacobs has done well overseeing Auburn football.

Florida’s Jeremy Foley

The veteran Jeremy Foley has been on the job since 1992 in Gainesville. He has made four head coach hirings in football starting with Ron Zook following Steve Spurrier stepping down after the 2001 season. Following Zook was Urban Meyer, Will Muschamp and Jim McElwain. You could argue Foley is 1 for 3 with McElwain still TBD, but hitting on Meyer was such a success that Foley’s got some serious equity built up.

Further helping Foley is the fact that he hired Billy Donovan which created a basketball powerhouse in Gainesville that few expected. Regardless of the misses with Muschamp and Zook, Foley delivered two national championships in football and two in basketball between 2006 and 2008.

Yes, he’s got equity built up, but with Donovan gone and Meyer winning titles in Ohio State, Florida fans are starting to wonder about the future. If McElwain is a bust, Foley could find his seat warming up.

Arkansas’s Jeff Long

After taking over in 2008, Long hired Bobby Petrino then fired him in 2012. While Long’s placement of John L. Smith as the interim head coach was a disaster, Long more than made up for the blunder by grabbing Bret Bielema from Wisconsin (which nobody saw coming). Arkansas doesn’t have any national championships in recent years, but Petrino did make it to the BCS, and Long has been praised for how he navigated the Petrino scandal that followed.

Long has received national exposure for his tenure as the Chairman of the Selection Committee which began last season.

Tennessee’s Dave Hart

Hart arrived in 2011 and oversaw much of Derek Dooley’s mess in Tennessee football. After firing Dooley, Hart hired Butch Jones which most believe was not his first choice. Still, Hart receives some credit for bringing in a head coach which – at least until now – seems to have Tennessee heading in the right direction.

While things appear to be heading in the right direction, Hart (and Butch Jones) need some big wins on the field.

Misssissippi State’s Scott Stricklin and Ole Miss’s Ross Bjork

Both ADs in Mississippi are relatively new (Stricklin began in 2010 and Bjork in 2012) and neither hired the current head coach of the team. However, both Stricklin and Bjork have been successful in retaining Dan Mullen and Hugh Freeze. Both Mississippi schools have seen great success on the field in recent years, and as a result, both have had to fight off other programs from poaching their respective head coaches. Kudos to Stricklin and Bjork for keeping the momentum in tact at both Mississippi State and Ole Miss.

Other SEC ADs

Alabama’s Bill Battle took over in 2013. He succeeded Mal Moore who held the position since 1999.

Georgia’s Greg McGarity took over in 2010 after a long run in the Florida athletic department.

Kentucky’s Mitch Barnhart has been AD since 2002. While football success has been limited, he’s done a nice job as Kentucky AD.

LSU’s Joe Alleva arrived in 2008 following a stint as the Duke Athletic Director. Many remember him as the AD during the controversial Duke lacrosse rape story.

Missouri’s Mack Rhoades took over as the Mizzou AD earlier this year.

South Carolina’s Ray Tanner has been AD since 2012. He replaced Eric Hyman who is now the Texas A&M AD.

Vanderbilt’s David Williams II is more than an athletic director. In addition to overseeing Vanderbilt’s athletics, Williams II is the chancellor for university affairs, general counsel and university secretary for Vanderbilt and its medical center and a fully tenured professor of law.