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Early March, I love to do this exercise. Ranking the SEC‘s top basketball-football coach combinations is an imperfect study because obviously, there are plenty of ways to go about this. If you just say “I’d take Kirby Smart over anyone on this list so Georgia is No. 1,” then you’ve defeated the purpose of it.
My goal is to stay as close to a 50-50 split as possible. In this hypothetical scenario, there’s not a discussion about football generating exponentially more revenue and being the far more important sport to have an elite coach.
That’s why a program like Auburn can’t make this list. Hugh Freeze is on the hot seat. To ignore that after an 11-14 start would be defeating the purpose of the exercise. If this were a list of the top SEC basketball coaches, Bruce Pearl might top it. It isn’t, though.
Remember that when you disagree with my ranking of the SEC’s top 5 basketball-football coach combinations in 2025:
5. Georgia: Kirby Smart & Mike White
I know, I know. I did an entire intro about how this has to be 50-50 and I’m putting Georgia in this group when it’s clear that Kirby Smart is doing the heavy lifting here as the clear No. 1 coach not just in the SEC, but all of college football.
You want to know why I’d put Georgia in this group but not Auburn? Well, White isn’t on the hot seat like Freeze. In fact, White might be a win away from clinching Georgia’s spot in the NCAA Tournament, where the Bulldogs have only been twice in the last 15 years. And while you can say that White could never quite reach Billy Donovan’s level at Florida, let’s not pretend that winning an NCAA Tournament game in 4 different seasons, including an Elite Eight trip, was nothing. White being in better standing than Freeze, who has yet to have a winning season at Auburn, is a big part of this. If Auburn fans want a reason to be upset with that, just follow the old “blame Bryan Harsin” logic.
4. Mizzou: Eli Drinkwitz & Dennis Gates
You’re going to tell me I’m wrong because neither Eli Drinkwitz nor Gates would be considered top-5 SEC coaches in their respective sports. They are, however, in the midst of an underrated 3-year stretch. Drinkwitz led Mizzou to consecutive seasons with double-digit wins while Gates could lead Mizzou to 25 wins for the second time in 3 years on the job. Not impressed? OK, here’s the list of active SEC duos who won both a New Year’s 6 Bowl and an NCAA Tournament game in the last 3 years (only at their current school so that excludes someone like Kalen DeBoer or Chris Beard):
- Mizzou
- Tennessee
- Texas
That’s better 2-sport company than some might’ve assumed Mizzou was in. Sure, Gates’ goose egg in SEC play last year was a 1-of-1 demerit. He admitted that most coaches would’ve been gone after a year like that. Instead, he got another shot and took advantage of it. Mizzou is back in the mix with potential to reach the Sweet 16 (or more). Combine that with Drinkwitz’s 21-5 mark the last 2 seasons and life could be a whole lot worse in Columbia.
3. Ole Miss: Lane Kiffin & Chris Beard
If this were a list of the most polarizing basketball-football coach combos in America, Ole Miss would have a shot at No. 1. Everyone’s got an opinion about both Lane Kiffin and Beard. What’s undeniable is that they’ve significantly elevated programs that were doormats upon arrival.
Kiffin fell short of the Playoff, but he’s riding a stretch of 3 10-win seasons in the last 4 years at a place that had 3 such seasons in the 50 years that preceded him in Oxford. That matters. It also matters that Beard has Ole Miss on the cusp of its first NCAA Tournament berth of the 2020s. He led Ole Miss to multiple wins vs. top-5 teams in the same season for the first time in program history, and he did that in Year 2. The guy can coach. That’s never been in question. The better question is how long Kiffin and Beard will both be in Oxford together. Until further notice, they’re an obvious annual inclusion on this list.
2. Tennessee: Josh Heupel & Rick Barnes
I could argue that Josh Heupel and Barnes are worthy of the top spot, but I didn’t go there for a couple of reasons. Heupel’s first Playoff appearance was one to forget and Barnes’ best shot to take Tennessee to its first Final Four came up just short. Ergo, both coaches are still in search of that signature feat.
At the same time, let’s not forget that both coaches inherited desperate situations and turned them around in a hurry. Even if neither ever wins a national title, they’re still leading their respective programs to their most year-to-year consistency in multiple decades. In the same school year that Tennessee earned its first Playoff berth, Barnes’ squad will earn its 4th consecutive AP Top 25 finish for the first time in program history. An early 2010s Tennessee fan could’ve never dreamed of a coaching duo like this. If Barnes can break through and lead the Vols to that all-important first Final Four, there could be a new No. 1 by this time next year.
1. Alabama: Kalen DeBoer & Nate Oats
Alabama’s coaching combination consists of guys who reached the College Football Playoff National Championship and the Final Four in the last 13 months. That’s a trump card.
No, DeBoer didn’t accomplish that feat at Alabama. Yes, it was the Tide’s worst season since 2007, but DeBoer is 15-3 vs. AP Top 25 teams and he’s 34-7 in 3 years as a power conference head coach. An inconsistent Year 1 didn’t suddenly turn him into a dud of a head coach. If Alabama sinks into 7-5 territory, then we can sound those alarms. Oats’ squad might’ve endured a rough 3-week stretch, but it’s still staring at another top-2 seed in the NCAA Tournament with a legitimate shot at earning a repeat bid to the Final Four, AKA the place the Tide had never been to until 2024. He might already have the title of “best coach in program history” locked up when you realize that he’s responsible for 28% of Alabama’s NCAA Tournament victories (8 of 29).
Time will tell how many Final Four trips are in store for both programs, but one thing is clear; any athletic director in America would sign up for a duo like DeBoer and Oats.
Connor O'Gara is the senior national columnist for Saturday Down South. He's a member of the Football Writers Association of America. After spending his entire life living in B1G country, he moved to the South in 2015.
