Which SEC teams have made the best hires in the last decade for their particular program?
We fudged a little for this list and included a pair of hires from 2005 — technically they’ve already coached at their respective schools for 10 seasons.
This list isn’t a ranking of the best coaches in the SEC in the last 10 years, but rather a ranking of the best hires, considering the program’s history and the circumstances before and after the hire.
Just missed the cut: Butch Jones, Tennessee; Bret Bielema, Arkansas; Jim McElwain, Florida
5. James Franklin, Vanderbilt
Think Commodores fans would take 18 wins in two seasons right about now?
Franklin was a short-timer who threw some dynamite in the tunnel on his way out, or else he’d be higher on this list. But what a hire for Vandy. The Franklin era produced three bowl games in three years, and half the bowl wins in school history. Plus, since when do the ‘Dores beat both Tennessee and Florida?
This was a tremendous hire for the team in Nashville.
4. Gus Malzahn, Auburn
About that 2010 national championship. Yes, Cam Newton has to be reason No. 1 (and 2, and 3) that Auburn won the thing. But in hindsight, you’d have to say Malzahn had more to do with it than just about anyone else, especially Gene Chizik.
He already has made another national championship game since the Tigers hired him as head coach. The offense excels wherever he goes — Arkansas with Darren McFadden and Felix Jones, Tulane with a cast of players you’ve never heard of. And he’s got enough pull now to attract great defensive players and coaches (see: Muschamp, Will).
Chizik set the program back, but Malzahn was able to wipe away those missteps fast. With a strong season in ’15, he could be recognized as one of the best coaches in the country.
3. Les Miles, LSU
I love the Bayou, but Cajun fans disparaging The Mad Hatter last season have been eating too much swamp gumbo.
Would anyone have predicted that Nick Saban would leave and the team would win 10 games or more seven times in the next decade? Remember, this is the same program coached by Curley Hallman and Gerry DiNardo prevoiusly.
He’s not the best coach in the country. He’s goofy and flawed and his clock management skills stink sometimes. Yet his program remains one of the 10 or 15 best in the country. He’s won a national championship and multiple SEC titles. It’s hard to ask for more.
2. Steve Spurrier, South Carolina
No, he hasn’t won an SEC championship with the Gamecocks, which is all I hear from some of the team’s fans. But this is South Carolina we’re talking about. Spurrier led the team to a division title in ’10, then won 11 games in three consecutive seasons to finish ranked in the Top 10 from ’11-’13.
He’s brought incredible talent, like Jadeveon Clowney and Marcus Lattimore. He often has the national media eating out of his hand. He’s stayed — in Columbia, S.C. — for more than a decade now.
Here’s a common theme: Steve Spurrier is not perfect. None of these guys are, as men or as coaches. But South Carolina’s not going to do better. Excellent hire.
1. Nick Saban, Alabama
I can hear the grunts and groans now. People love to hate Alabama. Why do you think that is?
When Saban arrived in ’07 (or, as Tide fans affectionately refer to it, the year of 2000-and-Saban), the program was an embarrassment. Mike DuBose, Mike Price, Mike Shula, none of them could get it done (at least the latter avoided a sex scandal). Dennis Franchione won, but then he bolted almost immediately.
Within three years, Saban took that mess and turned Alabama into the best program in the country. He’s brought three national championships to Tuscaloosa, and despite the way he left the Miami Dolphins, he’s stayed at Bama longer than he has at any place in his career.
Saban’s Tide teams have finished ranked in the AP Top 10 for seven consecutive seasons. Hard to argue with that hire.
An itinerant journalist, Christopher has moved between states 11 times in seven years. Formally an injury-prone Division I 800-meter specialist, he now wanders the Rockies in search of high peaks.
