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A number of former SEC head coaches are enjoying success at other (lesser?) football programs.
Former Georgia offensive coordinator Mike Bobo just landed the Colorado State job vacated by Jim McElwain. Former Missouri defensive coordinator Dave Steckel migrated to Missouri State to experience life as a head coach.
Steve Addazio (Boston College), Dennis Franchione (Texas State) and John L. Smith (Fort Lewis College) are among the former SEC coaches with jobs elsewhere.
This isn’t a complete list, but here are five of the most successful.
1. URBAN MEYER, OHIO STATE
Biggest post-SEC accomplishment: 2015 College Football Playoff champion
Record at Ohio State: 38-3
Threat level in 2015: Very high
After burning out at Florida, Meyer has found the path through the Big Ten less stressful. The Buckeyes have lost just one regular-season game in three seasons under Meyer, who also has raised the conference’s recruiting profile by a significant margin.
Now considered the No. 1 coach in the country ahead of Saban in most circles, Meyer beat his old SEC nemesis en route to the 2015 title. Ohio State was supposed to be a year away, so the Buckeyes enter ’15 with a strong chance of repeating. First Meyer must choose between three quarterbacks who would start for the majority of teams in the country.
2. CHARLIE STRONG, TEXAS
Biggest post-SEC accomplishment: Led Louisville to a Sugar Bowl win in 2012
Record at Texas: 6-7
Threat level in 2015: Medium low
The former Florida defensive coordinator led Louisville to 23 wins in two seasons behind quarterback Teddy Bridgewater and a stiff defense, then parlayed that success into arguably the biggest job in college football at the University of Texas.
It’s going to take some time to change the culture, which former coach Mack Brown seemingly left undisciplined and soft. And the Longhorns still need to discover a way to secure and develop a standout quarterback. But if Strong continues to succeed, he’ll soon become one of the most popular figures in Texas.
3. JAMES FRANKLIN, PENN STATE
Biggest post-SEC accomplishment: Guiding previously-ineligible Penn State to a bowl win in 2014 after petitioning the NCAA to scale back sanctions
Record at Penn State: 7-6
Threat level in 2015: Medium low
The Nittany Lions very nearly upended Ohio State last season before the Buckeyes won a national title. That’s in large part to the outstanding defense that Franklin constructed in his first season at Penn State.
Franklin must find a way to get potential first-round quarterback Christian Hackenberg retracked after a below-expectations 2014. But he’s rallied the fan base in State College, Pa., and remains one of the country’s better recruiters. The Nittany Lions appear poised to lodge themselves in the top three or four of the Big Ten standings, though it may take one more season to achieve that platform.
4. BOBBY PETRINO, LOUISVILLE
Biggest post-SEC accomplishment: Migrating from untouchable disaster back to power-conference head coach in just one season
Record at Louisville: 9-4
Threat level in 2015: Medium low
Petrino is Exhibit A in valuing a person’s ability to win football games in the ever-more-lucrative sport ahead of a man’s character.
When he crashed his motorcycle as head coach at Arkansas — leading to an admission of an extramarital affair that included personally recommending his mistress for a staff position and covering up the nature of their relationship — it was the latest in a long string of missteps and revealing character flaws. (Petrino’s word continues to be relatively worthless at Louisville.)
But, as he proved at Arkansas, at Western Kentucky and at Louisville in his first stint there, the man can win football games. He led the Cardinals to a respectable first foray into ACC football and could position the program as a strong annual challenger in the conference in the next few years.
5. TOMMY TUBERVILLE, CINCINNATI
Biggest post-SEC accomplishment: Led the Bearcats to a co-championship in the American Athletic Conference in ’14
Record at Cincinnati: 18-8
Threat level in 2015: Low
Once a giant thorn in Alabama’s side, Tuberville has been good, not great, in three stops away from The Plains. Still, Cincinnati is a respectable program, and in two seasons, the Bearcats are 12-3 in conference play.
Much like the Big East version of this team, Cincinnati is one of the better programs in a very thin college football middle class, capable of entering the fringe of the Top 25 in any given season. It’s not the SEC, but hey, Tuberville post-Auburn is much more successful than his successor Gene Chizik.
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.
