Six SEC coaches have made Pat Forde’s ‘Most Intriguing’ list for the 2015 season, headlined by Alabama’s Nick Saban at No. 5 who comes in behind two Big Ten foes, TCU’s Gary Patterson and Bob Stoops at Oklahoma.
SEC representatives within Forde’s Top 25 include …
5. Nick Saban, Alabama
Saban’s team won 12 games, won the Southeastern Conference championship and went to the first College Football Playoff last year. It wasn’t good enough. Neither was the 11-2 season the year before. That is the standard Saban has created and must attempt to live up to. With a largely rebuilt offense, does he have enough to win his fifth national title – and first since way back in 2012?
9. Gus Malzahn, Auburn
After playing for a national title in his first year at Auburn and winning eight games in his second with a defensive back as his starting QB, the suspicion is that Malzahn can win with just about anyone at the controls of his up-tempo offense. But new starter Jeremy Johnson doesn’t look like just anyone – he resembles Cam Newton. If he plays like Cam, the Malzahn deification campaign will kick up yet another notch.
13. Jim McElwain, Florida
If the Gators’ boom-bust cycle of football coaching hires continues, McElwain will join Steve Spurrier and Urban Meyer on the boom side of the ledger. But don’t expect any immediate miracles, given the offensive personnel he inherited from Will Muschamp. Still, if the offense at least looks competently coached and schemed it will be an improvement that bodes well for the future.
20. Kevin Sumlin, Texas A&M
Per the Dallas Morning News, Sumlin will be the SEC’s second-highest-paid coach in 2015, trailing only Nick Saban. But his SEC record in three seasons trails a lot of other coaches: he’s 13-11 in league play, just 7-8 the last two. Sumlin has recruited like a monster, and it’s probably time for a return to Manziel-level winning if he’s going to justify that $5 million a year salary.
22. Gary Pinkel, Mizzou
Doing the best work of his accomplished career in his 60s. He’s confounded the SEC in consecutive seasons, winning the East twice and going 14-2 in league play in that time. Once again this year, very few people are picking Pinkel’s Tigers to win the division. But count them out at your own peril.
23. Les Miles, LSU
Expectations are down a bit for the Tigers, which usually is precisely when Les does his best work. If LSU gets by the Mississippi State-Auburn double in September, it could well be 8-0 going to Alabama in November for another massive game between those rivals. Eleven losses the past three seasons have brought the Mad Hatter haters out, but this feels like the kind of season where everyone falls back in love with Les.
Several SEC coaches just missed Forde’s cut including Bret Bielema, Mark Richt, Butch Jones and Steve Spurrier.
You can view Yahoo’s full Top 25, here.
