I believe most of the issues last year were the result of injuries. If Saban truly felt Golding wasn't performing on his end of the deal, he would have fired him after last season. It's difficult enough being a first year defensive coordinator - now just imagine both of your starting linebackers going down before you even played a snap. He was put into a losing situation from Day 1. I think the defense will be better next year, and I still think Golding can get the job done.

Nothing but love for Coach Cochran and much respect for how integral his presence was in building the Nick Saban dynasty. I know guys have been getting injured the last few years, but during those early years we hardly ever saw injuries. I have no idea how much of that fell on Cochran's strength training. Either way, Georgia got a good one! Good luck to him.

Really? Kiffin would have done fine at Tennessee had he stayed put. In his only year coaching y'all, he finished with a winning regular season record (the only one Tennessee had from 2008-2015), and he was on the verge of beating the only undefeated team Saban has ever had.

In an increasingly offense-heavy sport, it's become less and less difficult for elite teams to find an offensive coordinator that can coach. There's really no need to take a risk on Hugh Freeze. He's a great offensive mind, but he has a lot of baggage from Ole Miss. If Saban isn't fully happy with Sark, there are plenty of fish in the sea, especially when you're a program like Alabama.

I don't get the hate for Bielema. He didn't leave the Arkansas program in shambles. Arkansas stupidly hired an unproven head coach to win with a roster that was filled with players that didn't fit his system. Bielema did fairly well at Arkansas and picked up enough of the pieces left behind by Petrino and Smith to pass off a decent program to the right HC.

I always root for South Carolina in the East, and I am not completely sold that Muschamp can't get it done there. He finally gotten rid of his awful strength & conditioning coach, and Mike Bobo is a proven commodity at OC in the SEC. However, that schedule is still extremely brutal. Clemson, Georgia, Florida, LSU, and A&M are all potential top 10 teams. Even games like Kentucky and Tennessee will be hard-fought. 6-6 or 7-5 would constitute a good season.

I hope he comes in and helps Pete. He'll be such a valuable asset to a defense that really has the potential to rebound from last year and become a force again in the SEC.

Good lord - you're the worst person I've seen on this website in a while RonMexico. You couldn't even be bothered to have any imagination with your trolling either. "Hurr durr 1980!1!1!!"

Bielema was most certainly not a disaster. He wasn't able to get the job done, but that doesn't mean he didn't do a decent job during his tenure. They were at the very least beating competitive teams under Bielema. Chad Morris was what I would classify as a disaster.

Good for Carolina. He'll be a great player for them in the coming years.

10-2 worst case scenario? You guys play Texas, Florida, Auburn, Alabama, and A&M. You guys lost a lot of key players and coaches from 2019. I think 9-3 is a much more reasonable prediction for LSU.

We didn't lose nearly as much talent as we could have to the Draft - and we've got some great experience coming back on both sides of the ball. This last season was a down year because of the injuries. I really believe we can win the West again this year.

I'm really not buying the narrative that Leach's system can't work in the SEC. The conference as a whole in the last few years has embraced the up-tempo, air-raid style offense that Leach helped pioneer. This is not the same line-of-scrimmage league that it used to be. I don't doubt that he will find success in the SEC West.

I think he's a graduate transfer, which is why he decided to make the switch. It'd be a fair point if he was just transferring to get playing time.

I think Georgia will win the East again this year - I don't see Florida's offense beating Georgia's defense, and Georgia's offense can only improve given the sputtering mess it was last year. Kentucky and Florida will the most intriguing teams to watch in the East. I think Kentucky could surprise people again like they did in 2018 with Wilson back under center.

There aren't many coaches that can recruit and win big at Vandy. Derek Mason is a fantastic coach that could easily succeed at a lot of other programs. Just because he isn't James Franklin taking advantage of a terrible Eastern division (the guy had one win over a ranked opponent) doesn't mean he isn't a tremendous coach.

Wow, what a home-run hire for LSU! That guy can coach a defense, and he was a fairly successful HC. The SEC West is loaded with talented coaching this year - top to bottom.

I didn't know Costello was thinking about MSST. That'd be a fantastic grab for y'all, and it'd make MSU a much more intriguing team in 2020.

Yeah, like I said, I'm glad he turned out to be a great coach. I remember not too many were excited about the hire in the beginning.

I'm delighted to see Coach O has found success at LSU. I remember heavily doubting the hire. He felt like a placeholder when Herman and Fisher both declined the job, but he has proven himself to be a perfect fit for LSU. Glad to have him in the SEC.

I don't see South Carolina doing much this upcoming season, and I always root for Carolina to do well in the East. There are so many losses on both sides of the ball. It makes it hard for me to believe Muschamp can turn it around. With the rise of Clemson, and the resurgence of Florida and Georgia, winning at South Carolina has become even more difficult than when Spurrier was there.

Preseason polls are useless. You can look back every year and find 4-5 teams ranked in the preseason that fall out of the AP Poll completely within the first month. I am a believer that A&M will be a good team this year. They have a lot of returning starters, and teams like Auburn and LSU are going to be dealing with a lot of turnover. This is Jimbo's year to prove that he was worth the investment.

Oh well - when Mac leads us to an SEC Championship next season, I suppose he'll get the respect he deserves, but until then he'll continue to be undervalued by other fanbases. Our QB room is loaded, so no offense to Emory who does have talent, but he wouldn't come close to starting with Bryce, Taulia, and Mac all competing for the same spot.

He impressed me when I tuned into Miami games early in the season. SEC teams should definitely give him a look.

Mac Jones would beat Emory Jones in a quarterback battle without a doubt. Mac put on a clinic against Michigan. Emory Jones would be about 4th on the depth chart at Bama. I know you Florida fans are clamoring for one of Mullen's deadly dual-threat quarterbacks like Nick Fitzgerald, sub 60% completion percentage and all, but Kyle Trask is easily your best option going into 2020.

Jones didn't impress me at all in his limited action. Mullen didn't trust his ability to properly read a defense and make the right reads, which is why he only dropped back 38 times the entire season. Trask is unequivocally the best quarterback returning to the SEC in 2020. He could have thrown for 30+ TDs had he been the starter going into the Miami game. I don't understand the 'quarterback battle brewing in Gainesville' narrative when you have as proven of a commodity returning.

This could have been a championship year for Bama if the offense and defense weren't decimated by injuries. Our defense lost the game against LSU - and Mac threw the Auburn game away (literally). However, I'm excited for what's to come next year. We'll have some strong leadership on both sides of the ball, and a lot of young guys coming back that were thrown into the spotlight last year. I believe, if we stay healthy, we'll win the West next year.

Losing a fluke game to South Carolina suddenly invalidates your season in the eyes of many I suppose. Georgia just finished #4 in the country in route to a 12-2 season, capturing the East for the 3rd year in a row. I wouldn't bet against Georgia winning the East again next year; Kirby hasn't lost to Mullen since 2008.

Maybe, maybe not. There's no telling what LSU is going to look like 2-3 years from now. All we really know is that they will not be at this level again going into next year. They're going through the Bama treatment right now with the departures of staff and key players, but the difference is Coach O isn't Nick Saban. Also, Herb needs to calm down and let LSU have their moment. It's so hypocritical of commentators and writers that heap praise on old, scummy Miami teams to criticize LSU for having some fun.

Hopefully they're a decent team by 2030.